Analysing the novated design and construct contract from the client's,design team's and contractor's perspectives

The novated design and construct (ND&C) contract is one of the increasingly preferred options among developers of large commercial and residential projects across Australia. As a consequence of novation, the design team's obligation to the client gets transferred to the contractor who becomes responsible for carrying out the detailed design work at a later stage of project life cycle. Subsequently, there are some inherent factors that can depict the effectiveness of how all parties in the process interact leading to a successful delivery of project through ND&C contracts. A common set of 31 influencing attributes have been identified through a systematic research approach and their relative significance and impacts have been determined based on a structured questionnaire survey in selected construction projects. By performing the factor analysis, a total of eight factors significant to ND&C contracts were extracted, namely (1) impact of initial design; (2) client's involvements in post novation design; (3) selection of design team; (4) contractor's obligation; (5) morale in post novation; (6) experience of design team; (7) relationship between contractor and design team; and (8) expertise of DT in ND&C projects. With a clear understanding of the roles of clients, design team and the contractors, these findings could potentially contribute to develop a company's procedures or enhance existing knowledge in relation to the ND&C procurement approach.     

The moderating effect of human resource management practices on the relationship between knowledge absorptive capacity and project performance in project-oriented companies

In response to recent calls for research on human resource management (HRM) in project management, this research investigates the links between HRM practices, the project team's knowledge absorptive capacity (ACAP) and project performance in project-oriented companies (POCs). Based on survey data from 198 projects in multinational companies (MNCs) in the Thai automotive industry, this research finds that HRM practices moderate the effects of a project team's knowledge ACAP on project performance, in particular of potential ACAP on long-run project performance. In addition, HRM practices covary with a project team's realized ACAP, the other dimension of ACAP, to affect short-run project performance. This research sheds light on the different roles that HRM practices play in a project, finding that HRM practices not only facilitate knowledge management from the current project to future projects but also strengthen the relationship between a project team's knowledge ACAP and long-term project performance. This research contributes to the understanding of HRM in the literature of project management.     

The impact of multiple project team membership on individual and team learning: A micro-meso multi-level empirical study

In this paper, we investigate the effects of multiple project team membership on individual and team learning. Data from 435 members of 85 project teams shows that, at the individual level, membership variety has a positive impact on individual learning. Moreover, this positive relationship is stronger for individuals with an average need for cognition, in comparison to individuals with a high or a low need for cognition. At the project team level, the simultaneous inter-organizational memberships of a project team have a positive impact on the team's external learning. However, the simultaneous intra-organizational project team memberships negatively moderate this positive relationship. Furthermore, cross-level analyses show that individual learning has a positive impact on both internal and external team learning. Our findings are relevant for project management practice as they suggest ways in which work design can be configured to increase individual and team learning.     

The negative consequences of knowledge hiding in NPD project teams: The roles of project work attributes

Knowledge hiding, a unique concept distinct from knowledge sharing, occurs frequently in NPD project teams. Although knowledge hiding has been proven to cause distrust and reduce individual creative performance, little is known about the negative influences of knowledge hiding on team performance in new product development (NPD) projects. Drawing on organizational learning theory and job characteristic theory, this study investigates how knowledge hiding influences project team performance through team learning and the contingent roles of project-based work attributes (i.e. cross-functionality and team stability). Data were collected from a sample of 92 NPD project teams in China. The results revealed that knowledge hiding was negatively associated with project team performance. This linkage was partially mediated by team learning. Team stability played a moderating role in the relationship between knowledge hiding and team learning. Moreover, as team stability increased, the negative indirect impact of knowledge hiding on project team performance was weakened. Finally, theoretical implications, practical guidelines and limitations were discussed.     

Knowledge sharing in information systems development projects: Explicating the role of dependence and trust

This study provides empirical evidence for the role of dependence and trust in knowledge sharing in information systems projects. As critical antecedents of dependence and trust among team members, four constructs are included in the study—environmental complexity, domain expertise, similarity of project value, and communication frequency. Partial least square analyses are conducted, using data collected from 135 project teams in two large IT firms. The results confirm that dependence and trust maintain a strong impact on knowledge sharing, leading to good team project performance. This study uses a cross-sectional survey as a research method. Longer term exploration seems necessary to further explore how trust and dependence are actually formed among team members. Findings indicate that team members share their knowledge when they trust their partners and when they feel dependent. Feelings of dependence and trust are influenced by the communication frequency, perceived similarity of the project's value, and the perceived expertise. Project managers need to pay attention to these variables in order to increase the level of knowledge sharing among team members especially in information systems development projects where primary tasks are critically knowledge-intensive.     

A parallel multiple mediator model of knowledge sharing in architectural design project teams

The demystification of the underlying mechanism for architects' knowledge sharing behavior in a project team context is of importance to better appreciate the behavior in a theoretical sense and for effective managerial intervention in a practical sense. However, most studies of knowledge sharing mechanism in current literature focus on the simple mediation. The likelihood of multiple mediators for knowledge sharing is yet to be investigated. To bridge this gap, structural equation modeling is applied to test the parallel mediation of team-based self-esteem and team identification between two types of trust and knowledge sharing with survey data. It is found that the relation between affect-based trust and knowledge sharing is completely mediated by team-based self-esteem and team identification. The model implies that project managers should pay attention to the cultivation of members' team-based self-esteem and team identification. Special measures should also be taken to build and strengthen the affect-based trust.     

Obsessive passion,competence, and performance in a project management context

Obsessive passion is when people have a strong inclination toward an activity that they like, find important, and in which they spend significant time, but also feel internal pressure to engage in. Prior research has demonstrated that obsessive passion typically brings several negative consequences. The present study nuances the picture by showing that there are indeed conditions when obsessive passion can be beneficial and that it has an important role for project management. It develops and tests hypotheses on the role of project leaders' obsessive passion for project goals. Results support that challenging goals are attained to a greater extent if the project leader scores high on obsessive passion. Such obsessive passion, in turn, is a result of the project leader's competence (positive relationship) and the team's competence (inverted U-shaped relationship). These results have important implications for theory and future research on passion, goal theory, and competence in projects.     

Optimal sharedness of mental models for effective group performance

This comment refers to two central concepts of Badke-Schaub et al.'s lead paper, the functionality of mental models for coping with the complexity of reality and sharedness as a prerequisite of group performance. For both ideas, a trade-off perspective is introduced. Major functionalities of mental models, e.g. organization of knowledge, not only provide benefits but also costs, e.g. oversimplification of a problem. The degree to what individual mental models in a team need to be shared in order to manage a task depends on multiple factors, e.g. the nature of the task and the developmental stage of the team. Related to the specific tasks of design teams, the idea of optimal sharedness is elaborated and conclusions on task-oriented processes in design teams are drawn.     

跨专业BIM团队的工作程序与动态

BIM将技术与方法论相结合,整合了设计和施工团队,从而优化了生产力和项目成果。跨专业团队的本质特色在于来自不同领域的成员引领着不同的项目目标和进程。建筑和施工专业的教育工作者们正面临着让学生融入跨专业团队环境中的挑战。一项为期三年的研究对跨专业团队在课堂环境中,在多个项目上的工作进行了调查。本文论述了该研究所取得的结果,主要侧重于团队工作程序和团队动态两方面,其中,团队工作程序的内容包括目标设定,沟通方式、备选方案分析、决策制定以及冲突管理,团队动态的内容包括人际关系、信任、冲突、承诺以及凝聚力。这些团队证明了综合战略对项目表现和成果的优化作用。除了关于该项研究成果的讨论外,本文还建议培养一个侧重于团队工作程序和团队动态的跨专业学习环境。     

Social connectedness and adaptive team coordination during fire events

Preparing for fire-related emergencies and consequence management is considered to be dynamic and challenging in managing crises, preventing losses, and in the allocation of resources. In this study, we argue that improving plans and operations of personnel involved in managing fire-related emergencies is an important area of investigation. Here, we investigate the effects of social connectedness among different team members to manage bushfires. We further analyze response coordination by exploring variables such as participants' preparedness quality, quality of incident action planning, and quality of accessibility of resources. In doing so, we also test the effects of these variables on improved adaptive behavior. Our results show high positive correlation between social connectedness for team members and coordination quality and also adaptive behavior. We also found significant relationship between coordination and adaptive behavior. Applying regression analyses, the results indicate positive significant effect of social connectedness on coordination and adaptive behavior and also the effect of coordination on adaptive behavior. By exploring the proposed model, we are able to develop a better understanding of the factors that support adaptive behavior in incident management teams responding to bushfire events.     

Demystifying stakeholders' commitment and its impacts on construction projects

Construction projects are typified by the involvement of a number of participants. Each project team member has his/own expertise, and would contribute towards the success of the project. However, since their inputs are often interdependent, conflicts may arise in some circumstances. This is particularly evidenced when they are working within limited resources in terms of time and budget. One cannot expect a project team to attain the necessary synergy when common goals are not being visualized or observed. To improve the implementation performance of construction projects, it is necessary to investigate the goal commitment amongst temporary project team members. This research study aims to investigate the impacts of commitment amongst major project stakeholders. The results indicate that high affective commitment induces high performance and satisfaction, while the continuous commitment provokes intention to quit.     

Designing a ‘green’ building: expanding ambitions through social learning

The process of creating a specific building – Miljøbygget in Trondheim, Norway – is analyzed in order to understand how the project team's ambitions expanded to embrace ‘green’ issues and create new targets. The decisions and roles of key actors are investigated regarding these goals and criteria. The analysis draws on two concepts. First, translation theory is used to highlight the potential role of new knowledge or technology that originates outside of the project. Second, the concept of social learning is employed to understand the process of expanding ambitions, developing goals and criteria within the project, and how this is related to the collective exploration, discovery and analysis of new practices. The wider implications are considered with respect to innovation in the construction industry. The project's initial moderate energy efficiency ambition was transformed, first into stricter energy efficiency goals, then into broader environmental aims. The resulting innovation is an ambition-enhancing, experience-based and enthusiasm-driven process of social learning in the project team, marked by interpersonal trust, including trust regarding competence and contractual relations. Translation efforts were also found to be important for bringing new knowledge into the project. The conclusion discusses some policy implications.     

Governing behavioral integration of top management team in megaprojects: A social capital perspective

Behavioral integration (BI), or the extent to which top management team (TMT) members engage in collective interactions, is a critical element for achieving business success in corporate management that has rarely been examined in megaproject studies. The organizational complexities of megaprojects contribute to biases in TMT's behavior. This study presents a team-level analysis of the drivers of BI in megaprojects through the theoretical lens of social capital. Based on a survey conducted with 128 senior managers from 48 megaprojects, the results showed that (1) both the structural and cognitive dimensions of social capital have a significantly positive effect on BI, with the structural dimension being more influential; (2) the relational dimension of social capital showed a partial effect on BI; (3) affective commitment plays a mediating role that bridges social capital and the TMT's BI. These findings shed new light on cultivating interactions among TMT members in governing megaprojects.     

Psychosocial aspects of project work: a comparison between product development and construction projects

Different project goals provide different prerequisites for project work and team processes. Two important aspects of project goals are technological certainty/uncertainty and adequacy of goal definition. Product development projects and construction projects are different in these respects. The study explores differences between the two types of projects with regard to psychosocial aspects of the work situation. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire study (n=98). The items in the questionnaire were designed to investigate social processes, individual work environment, and input/output factors. Results indicate that there were more developed team processes in the product development projects, and that co-workers on such projects experienced development of professional skills to a greater extent. In general, social processes requiring conceptual co-operation and communication were less pronounced in the construction projects investigated. The paper discusses how the differences found between the two kinds of projects can be related to work settings. Possible implications for future research are considered.     

Culture as a Battleground: Subversive Narratives in Constructivist Architecture and Stage Design

Abstract

In Russia of the twenties, the connections that were forged between architecture and theater were so strong that the narratives of one cannot be read without knowledge of the other. A lack of awareness of the extent of this interdependence has obscured understanding of both. Inverse but identical, the “acting machine” became an environment, and the building became a mechanical theater. Both transitions were predicated on a visual language that united the carnival with the machine and on the existence of a new type of relationship between the stage set and the play, a relationship that became a model for the spectator's engagement with art and society.     

Formation of inter-project ties from the sender–recipient perspective: Roles of task interdependence and functional interdependence

Linkages between project teams are critical to project and programme performance. Taking a sender–recipient perspective, we examined the effects of task and functional interdependence on prompting project teams to form ties in the multi-stage programme context. In analysing data of 886 inter-project coordination tasks of a large-scale infrastructure programme in Dubai, findings highlight that the two types of interdependence operate in different ways at different stages of the programme. In the design stage, sender and recipient teams’ task interdependence is negatively related to the formation of inter-project ties, whereas the sender team's functional interdependence is positively related to the formation of inter-project ties. In the construction stage, the sender team's task and functional interdependence are negatively and positively, respectively, related to the formation of inter-project ties. In the handover stage, the formation of inter-project ties is positively influenced by prior ties in the construction stage. This research extends the understanding of inter-project coordination from the project networks perspective, and contributes novel knowledge of inter-project interactions in programme management.     

Patrick troy: Public good and the intellectual

Abstract

The life and career of Patrick Troy reveal a remarkable consistency of purpose. He brings technical expertise and a strong commitment to social justice to bear on a range of issues concerning the natural and built environment. This overview of his life and career records his contribution to the study and implementation of equitable public policy.     

Project leaders as boundary spanners: Relational antecedents and performance outcomes

Research has shown that NPD project leaders should engage in boundary-spanning activities. The present study tested the impact of four boundary-spanning activities on NPD project performance and analyzed the antecedents of these activities. We hypothesized that NPD project leaders' abilities to perform these activities depend on the characteristics of their personal networks — structural holes, strength of ties, vertical and horizontal bridging ties. A Partial Least Squares test on 73 NPD projects showed that (a) “obtaining political support” and “scanning for ideas” are the boundary activities with the greatest impact on performance, (b) project leaders with strong ties in their network are more effective at these activities, (c) project leaders with structural holes in their networks are more effective in another boundary activity, “protecting the team”, although this activity does not affect NPD outcomes. These results represent an important contribution to understanding how team leaders contribute to project performance.     

Effect of a virtual project team environment on communication-related project risk

Over 150 Information Technology practitioners participated in a study of differences in communication risk between traditional project teams and those that operate virtually, with some team members physically remote. Contrary to prior research, results indicate the level of risk from inadequate communication is not significantly greater when team members are not grouped in one location. Further, despite increased dependence of virtual teams on technology for communication, there was no evidence of significantly more project risk due to technological failure. However, virtual team projects exhibited notably more risk due to insufficient knowledge transfer. A plausible explanation is decreased implicit or informal knowledge transfer in virtual environments. We conclude that the possibility of insufficient knowledge transfer should be included in virtual project risk management plans, and consideration should be given in such projects to the extent to which knowledge that is traditionally shared implicitly might be shared explicitly through electronic means.     

加强学科建设,提升核心影响力——面向未来的同济建筑教育

提升学术核心影响力,是知识经济时代教学机构的重大任务。其中竞争意识、文化特色、技术更新和队伍组织是提升 核心影响力最主要的措施。