Exploring the interactive effects of safety investments,safety culture and project hazard on safety performance: An empirical analysis

This study aims to explore the interactive effects of safety investments, safety culture and project hazard on construction safety performance. Data were collected using multiple techniques from 47 completed building projects in Singapore. Data were analyzed using correlation analysis, regression analysis, moderation analysis and mediation analysis. The results show that: (1) safety performance improves when there is a higher level of safety investments, a higher level of safety culture or a lower level of project hazard; (2) the effect of any individual factor on safety performance varies with the changes in other factors; (3) the effect of voluntary safety investments on safety performance is mediated by safety culture; and (4) the relationship between accident frequency rate and accident severity rate is moderated by project hazard level. The study suggests that safety performance of building projects is determined by the synergy effect of safety investments, safety culture and project hazard.     

建设项目承包人履约行为的结构维度与测量研究——基于契约参照点理论

契约参照点理论以合同为参照点给出解释承包人履约行为选择的新逻辑,但受到合同参照点效应影响的承包人履约行为的类型及表现形式尚不明确,亟需厘清承包人履约行为的结构维度并进行量化。首先,借鉴已有的承包人履约行为的测量题项,并对相似概念的测量题项进行情境化处理构建承包人履约行为测量的初始维度和量表。然后,通过273份问卷调查数据定量分析确定了承包人履约行为的最终构成维度和量表。研究表明,建设项目承包人履约行为的构念是由字面履约行为、尽善履约行为和机会主义行为等三维二阶因子构成。其中,字面履约行为是最常见的形式,其次是尽善履约行为;字面履约行为维度包含正确履行、充分完成及达到绩效目标等三个因子;尽善履约行为体现在自愿利他、主动控制风险、协同互助和弥补合同漏洞等四个方面;而机会主义行为由隐瞒信息、未完成承诺、逃避非正式协议和利用合同漏洞等四个子维度构成。该量表开发后,可为建设项目承包人履约行为的研究提供完整分析框架并对建设项目履约管理研究提供技术支持。     

Collaboration and opportunism as mediators of the relationship between NPD project uncertainty and NPD project performance

This study aims to conceptualize NPD (New Product Development) project uncertainty and investigate how the project uncertainty influences project performance through collaboration and opportunism. An empirical examination is conducted to test such relationships within the scope of Korean manufacturing firms, which are currently engaging in NPD projects with their key partner. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is performed to prove proposed hypotheses. The empirical findings suggested that higher level of project uncertainty leads to collaboration and opportunism and that these two factors come into play in project performance in an opposing way: collaboration serves as a driver of project performance whereas opportunism acts as a barrier against it.     

Project complexity and team-level absorptive capacity as drivers of project management performance

Many believe that project complexity reduces project management performance. However, so far research has failed to establish this causal relationship conclusively. We extend research on project complexity by introducing the concept of team-level absorptive capacity and by studying its role as mediator between project complexity and project management success. Applying structural equation modelling to a sample of 285 respondents, we find an unequivocal, direct and positive statistical association between project complexity and delays and overspending. Further, we show that team-level absorptive capacity is critical for successful project management, but also that absorptive capacity can only partially offset the harmful impact of project complexity. Beyond adding to project management theory, the paper contributes to the wider management literature. We establish complexity as an antecedent of absorptive capacity and demonstrate how each dimension of absorptive capacity has unique determinants and outcomes.     

Goal orientations,leader-leader exchange,trust, and the outcomes of project performance

Previous research demonstrates the importance of goal orientation, leader-leader exchange, and trust in work engagement and performance. However, how the relationships among these three variables influence project performance remains unclear. Complementing and extending prior research, this study uncovers how leader-leader exchange and trust affect the relationship between goal orientations and project performance. A cross-sectional analysis of 320 auditing project managers from 50 financial service companies shows that leader-leader exchange and trust mediate how goal orientations influence project performance. We also find that trust further moderates the effect of leader-leader exchange on project performance. Subsequent quantitative analysis of structural equation modeling reveals that leader-leader exchange has the largest direct effect on project performance; team-mastery goal orientation has the second-largest direct effect but the largest total effect. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

The effects of project uncertainty and risk management on IS development project performance: A vendor perspective

The structural contingency perspective has been widely used in information systems development (ISD) project risk management research. This paper develops an integrative model to explore the moderating effects of uncertainty on the relationship between risk management and IS development project performance from a vendor perspective, rather than the client perspective that is mainly employed in the literature. A survey-based research design is used to collect data to test the proposed model. The results reveal that project uncertainty can moderate the effects of project planning and control on process performance and the effects of user participation on product performance. More specifically, the results indicate that project planning and control makes a greater contribution to process performance when there is a low level of inherent uncertainty and that user participation makes a greater contribution to product performance when there is a high level of inherent uncertainty. The results of this study contribute to a more acute understanding of the contingency approach to ISD project risk management.     

Research into the moderating effects of progress and quality performance in project dispute negotiation

Project disputes are inevitable. However, for disputes to be settled, a contractor is faced with the dilemma of choosing between an extension of the time for completion under its entitled rights, and expediting to avoid delay. In order to decide which strategy is the most beneficial, this paper explores the moderating effects of progress and quality performance on the relationship between bargaining power (dependent variable) and its critical factors (independent variable). To achieve this, we conducted a questionnaire survey. First, through a study of the literature and expert interviews, we identified 11 factors of bargaining power (as well as which ones were the most critical) using a principal component analysis to calculate the factors' influence weight on bargaining power. Second, we adopted moderated multiple regression (MMR) analysis to examine how progress and quality performance affect the relationships between these critical factors and bargaining power. The result suggests that there are nine MMR models that have a significant moderating effect on these relationships. We then identified six of these models with the strongest relative moderating effect. The results illustrate that progress and quality performance can help improve negotiation outcomes. Therefore, when project disputes occur, the contractor's best strategy is to strive to reduce the project time loss, guarantee the quality of the project, and gain the owner's recognition, which will help to resolve the project dispute successfully through negotiation, and achieve their shared intended goal.     

The role of inertia in explanations of project performance: A framework and evidence from project-based organizations

The paper argues that inertia governs the search for explanations of project performance in ways that potentially could impair the quality of feedback obtained about past performance, and thus jeopardise ongoing strategy-making. Based on a critique of relevant literature, the paper presents a novel three-stage framework for analysing connections among inertia and the search for explanations of performance in project-based organizations. This framework helps to show the significance of inertia for the adoption of alternative routes for such search. The framework is illustrated using case study vignettes. These are based on in-depth interviews with senior project management practitioners at two global organizations, about the explanation of project performance (i.e. the attainment or failure to achieve related objectives). Conjectures based on the framework and the vignettes are presented to stimulate further research on how organizations search for explanations of project performance, and on the implications of inertia for organizational and project level learning and strategy.     

Assessing the impact of COVID-19 and safety parameters on energy project performance with an analytical hierarchy process

COVID-19 has destabilized the global economy, disrupted the lives of billions of people globally, and caused the workforce to suffer. Furthermore, the spread of this disease has caused most nations to impose strict lockdown regulations and shutdown most industries. This study aimed to highlight the key issues of energy project performance alongside construction activities that were halted during the COVID-19 outbreak to follow social distancing, lockdown, and public safety parameters. A questionnaire survey was administered to accomplish the purpose of this study. The responses of 42 energy project professionals and experts were evaluated using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) for group decision-making. AHP shows that the biggest influences on project performance during COVID-19 pandemic were government measures and personal factors. The findings provide insight to support energy project planning and management during and after the pandemic, including prioritization of labor force health and safety.     

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.     

A conceptual framework of the impact of NPD project team and leader empowerment on communication and performance: An alliance case context

New product development (NPD) in an alliance context crosses organizational boundaries and therefore makes team and leader empowerment and communication an ever more important topic for the successful accomplishment of NPD goals. We developed a conceptual model that addresses some key questions: Under what circumstances should the project team and leader be empowered? How much empowerment? And what effects does this have on communication and NPD performance?