Project affinity: the role of emotional attachment in construction projects

Abstract

Although a wide range of human and organizational factors have been found to be important in the operation of projects, those determined by cultural variables are less well defined. One such influence concerns the notion of 'project affinity', the commitment and attachment by stakeholders and participants to projects and their outcomes. The temporal nature and transient involvement context provided by construction projects arguably presents a climate in which many participants are less likely to display commitment to its goals. This note is concerned with the issue of whether an attachment to a project's goals or to the completed product can lead to improved commitment among those involved. The concept of project affinity was developed in the course of a case study investigation in which operatives' attitudes towards the construction of a cancer research facility were explored. Because of the contribution of the facility to the future care of cancer sufferers, the concept of project affinity proved helpful in understanding a factor that appeared to be influencing the commitment of those involved. The results suggest a complementary concept to that of 'project chemistry' (c.f. Nicolini, 2002).organizational citizenship behaviour, performance, project affinity, project chemistry,

Horseplay, care and hands on hard work: gendered strategies of a project manager on a construction site

“…Conceptually Laura's accounts of the site environment connect with literature on high satisfaction on completion of a challenging job, the intrinsic rewards gained, together with explicit pride in the nature of work, occupation and industry (see for example Dainty et al, 2005). It is this intense pride and sense of achievement as a result of survival in that tough environment that uncover Laura's value base and working class masculinities.…”

Emotional Attachment, Performance, and Viability in Teams Collaborating with Embodied Physical Action (EPA) Robots

“…Scholars generally view emotional attachment as a basic human need that occurs naturally and unconsciously (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 2014;Crowell, Fraley, & Shaver, 2008;Thomson et al, 2005). Emotional attachment can occur between human and nonhuman objects including sports teams, products, and even work projects (Dainty et al, 2005;Funk & James, 2006).…”

Perceptions of status and TMO workgroup cooperation: implications for project governance

“…While previous construction management studies have considered the performances consequences of other emergent state phenomena, such as organisational identification (Phua, 2004), empowerment (Liu et al, 2007;Tuuli and Rowlinson, 2009) and project affinity (Dainty, Bryman, et al, 2005), no study has considered the potential functional roles of the two status perceptions, pride and self--respect. The present study is, thus, unique in that sense.…”

“…Similarly, there is a growing body of empirical research on the outcomes and predictors of various emergent states in construction TMOs. For example, organisational identification (Phua, 2004), empowerment (Liu et al, 2007;Tuuli and Rowlinson, 2009), and project affinity (Dainty, Bryman, et al, 2005) have all been demonstrated to influence individuals' efforts aimed at specific organisationally--relevant outcomes. However, no construction management research has examined the extent to which the psychological mechanisms based on status--relevant evaluations of group membership -pride and self--respect -influence the cooperation of individuals with their proximal TMO workgroups.…”