The influence of a collaborative procurement approach using integrated design in construction on project team performance

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to study the influence of procurement on the performance of integrated design teams. Design/methodology/approach – The research paradigm is based on Russian socio-constructivist approach to activity theory. Activity theory, as opposed to natural or social science, is a design science approach that focuses on the context aspect of project. A triangulation of qualitative research methods is used to investigate the dynamic of integrated teams in two different procurement contexts. Findings – The paper is conclusive regarding the influence of procurement on team efficiency. It demonstrates that traditional procurement processes reinforce socio-cognitive barriers that hinder team efficiency. It also illustrates how new procurement modes can transform the dynamic of relationships between the client and the members of the supply chain, and have a positive impact on teamperformance. Practical implications – The paper demonstrates first that problems with integrated design team efficiency are related to context and not process – they are not technical but socio-cognitive; second that fragmented transactional contracting increases socio-cognitive barriers that hinder integrated design team performance; third that new forms of relational contracting may help to mitigate socio-cognitive barriers and improve integrated design team performance, fourth that changing the context through procurement does not address the problem of obsolete design practices. Originality/value – The paper brings together theories of production in lean construction and social learning as a rival approach to traditional project management theory for demonstrating the importance of context on team performance

How Social Media-Enabled Communication Awareness Enhances Project Team Performance

Project teams increasingly rely on computer-mediated communication. In this paper, we propose that communication within these teams benefits from a communication-awareness feature that summarizes communication at one common place. We argue that such a feature pays out specifically during action episodes, when team members engage in taskwork. We conducted two studies of 51 and 35 project teams to examine how the amount of communication during action episodes relates to team performance under low versus high communication awareness. In both studies, we technologically designed communication awareness as the availability of a feed, known from social media platforms, that displays all team-internal, computer-mediated communication. The results show that the communication-awareness feature makes communication during action episodes more beneficial, both in term of effectiveness and efficiency. Zooming into the temporal patterns of communication during action episodes further reveals that high-performing teams in the high-communication-awareness condition stick out by early and steady communication. Implications for current and future research on team communication and awareness support are discussed

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT TEAM

The necessity of finding the connection between the planning, decision making, actions and results create project management interest to an evaluation of the project team performance. By analyzing the team performance, determining successful projects and assessing results, members of such project will have the necessary information to avoid failures, to monitor the progress, to compare similar projects and move to defined goals. The objective of this paper is to provide guidelines for evaluation of the project team performance in the software development project. This paper summarizes measures for evaluation of the team performance, an evaluation objectives and it benefits as well as factors that may have an influence on the team performance. Demonstration example of the guideline usage has been provided

Virtual Teams: The Impact of Varying Levels of Virtuality on Project Team Performance

Although virtual teams have existed for over two decades, in recent years the Covid-19 pandemic led to a wider adoption and transition to virtual teamwork by most organizations. Virtuality is operationalized as the proportion of work done remotely or virtually on a project. This research studies the moderating effects of virtuality in project teams on communication frequency, leadership effectiveness, and project team performance. Using the theoretical frameworks of Adaptive Structuration Theory and Transformational Leadership Theory, a survey was carried out that informed this cross-sectional study. Respondents were project team members and managers who were involved in AEC (Architecture, Engineering and Construction) and Finance/IT projects before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. This study showed that the inverted-u relationship between communication frequency and project performance was preserved in only low virtuality teams, while the shape of the curve was different for high virtuality teams. AEC project performance was also found to be more sensitive to communication frequency, as these projects exhibited inverted-u relationship with performance compared to Finance/IT projects which was more linear. Regardless of the levels of virtuality in project teams, transformational leadership leads to significantly better performance in both types of projects. This study contributes to the body of literature in project management and information systems by measuring one of several dimensions of virtuality in the proposed model and provides insights for project managers in industry to better lead their virtual project teams

The Effects of Group Personality Composition on Project Team Performance: Operationalizations and Outcomes

Teams are used to achieve organizational goals and objectives, and their success has led to a broad increase in their use in businesses, non-profits and NGO’s. Extant research suggests that group personality composition is related to team performance (Barry and Stewart, 1996; Halfhill, Nielsen, Sundstrom, and Weilbaecher, 2005; Peeters, Rutte, Tuijl, and Reymen, 2006; Bell, 2007). Project teams are frequently used in the business world and undertake a wide variety of tasks (Hackman, 1990). This paper investigates the relationship between the group personality composition of project teams and team performance. The study context is project teams involved in a semester-long business simulation in an undergraduate core capstone course at a large R-1 public university. Hierarchical regression is used to first remove any effect stemming from variables that are not of direct interest, such as team size and course section. The study’s nine hypotheses are then tested using the collected data. The research results are discussed in detail. Contributions to both research and practice are considered, as well as the study’s limitations. A continued stream of research is envisioned and detailed, followed by the study’s conclusions

The Influence of Team Cohesion and Contextual Performance on Project Team Performance Over Time

Theory and empirical research suggest that team cohesion and contextual performance relate to team performance. However, while general support exists for a team cohesion and contextual performance relationship, less is known about the how the relationship evolves over time. This study aimed to examine the extent to which team cohesion and contextual performance reciprocally relate over time. Data were collected from 245 individuals comprising 40 student project teams engaged in the Capsim business simulation over a 10-week quarter. Results supported hypothesis 1; based on a cross-lagged path model, a stronger relationship exists between contextual performance at time point 1 and cohesion at time point 2 than between cohesion at time point 1 and contextual performance at time point 2. However, hypothesis 2, which predicted the same relationship for time points 2 and 3, was not supported. Additional results reveal significant effects for control variables

Challenges negating virtual construction project team performance in the Middle East

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Emerald in Built Environment Project and Asset Management on 25/01/2022. The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.Purpose Over the last couple of decades, many organisations are increasingly adopting virtual team concepts, and construction companies in the Middle East are no exception. Members of a virtual team are geographically scattered and represent diverse cultures. Thus, challenging issues emerge more frequently than in a traditional team. There are challenges associated with space and time as well as high client’s demand. Therefore, this study aims to identify and probe the causes of the challenges in virtual project teams in the construction industry of the Middle East. Design/methodology/approach A list of challenges was derived through a comprehensive review of relevant literature. Questionnaire survey was conducted with professionals who are involved in construction virtual project teams. Further, the factor analysis technique was used to analyse the survey responses. Findings Results show that the challenges in virtual team arrangement in the Middle East construction industry can be grouped into seven categories, namely: organisational culture, conflict within the team, characteristics of the team members, trust within the team members diversity of the team, communication and training, and cohesion in the team. Understanding of these factors will drive the needed platform to support effective virtual project teams in the Middle East. Originality/value This study raises the prospect that organisations may establish an environment for team members to achieve higher levels of virtual cooperation by concentrating on these potentially crucial factors. This, in turn, will encourage further innovation and performance within construction organisations