Partnering effects on user-developer conflict and role ambiguity in information system projects

Context

Information system development (ISD) has been plagued with high failure rates. This is partially due to the activities being a combination of both a technical and social processes involving stakeholders with conflicting interests.

Objective

Existing software risk management theories and frameworks offer limited suggestions for actions that can be taken to reduce the chance of failure of ISD projects. Our objective is to examine the connections among some of the more important user related risks in order to shed light on how specific strategies enhance the chance of project success.

Method

We conducted a sample of information systems project managers to test a multivariate model to explain the impact of pursuing a partnership with users on the conflicts that arise between users and developers, role ambiguity, and subsequent impact on project performance.

Results

The proposed model was supported, suggesting that user-developer conflict and role ambiguity have a negative impact on performance estimation difficulty, which negatively affects project performance.

Conclusion

Pursuit of project partnering yields a number of significant relationships in the model indicating an organization can implement practices that reduce risks associated with role ambiguity and conflict in system development projects.     

Organisation, ‘anchoring’ of knowledge,and innovative activity in construction

The construction industry is characterised by the widespread use of project organisation. It has been suggested that the relatively low level of innovative activity in the industry can be explained by the temporary nature of firm boundary‐crossing projects. Survey data from the Danish construction industry is used to investigate the importance of learning and ‘anchoring’ of project‐specific knowledge at the firm level for participation in innovative activities. The data cover both the overall Danish construction industry and a specific region, North Jutland, which has a relatively high specialisation of construction workers. Latent class and regression analyses reveal that firms that make extensive use of partnering, together with internal product and process evaluation and knowledge diffusion (labelled ‘knowledge‐anchoring mechanisms’), are more likely to participate in innovative activities than firms which make less use of these mechanisms. This indicates that construction firms are able to compensate for the problems that temporary interorganisational projects may cause in relation to continuous learning at the firm level.     

The definition of partnering as a Wittgenstein family‐resemblance concept

This article on partnering and family‐resemblance makes two contributions to the debate about the definition of partnering in construction. The first is a distinction between general prerequisites, components and goals when discussing the concept. In order to understand what is specific about partnering the focus should be on the components, which are identified through a literature review. The second contribution is to apply Ludwig Wittgenstein's idea of family‐resemblance to the partnering concept. His idea is that a complex concept can be understood as a network of overlapping similarities. From the literature review it is concluded that there are two necessary components in partnering – trust and mutual understanding – and that a number of different components can be added to form a specific variant of partnering. This provides a new method to define the vague and multifaceted concept of partnering in a flexible and structured way.     

Cardboard as a construction material: a case study

A small cardboard building with a 25-year intended lifetime was developed as a live innovation project to explore and resolve the practical problems surrounding the design, fabrication and construction, costs, and use of an alternative building material. The primary aim to reduce environmental impacts was based on developing the potential of a recycled material as the main structural and cladding component that could be further recycled at the end of its working life. This case study of a small school building presents both the research and development undertaken by the project team and the practical implications of realizing this as a building for a client.     

Partnering模式在工程建设全过程中的应用探究

Partnering模式是国际建设的先进管理模式之一,其理念与传统项目管理模式不同;它不是从对立的角度去观察和解决问题,而是强调理解、合作和信任,已成为当前国际建筑管理的重要研究课题和实践之一.文章在介绍Partnering模式的概念、特征及应用现状的基础上,通过工作流程(组织过程)设计,将全生命周期思想引入到Partnering模式中,把Partnering模式的应用贯穿于项目建设的全过程.     

基于IDEF0 模型的业主——承包商Partnering 研究 ——对某大型国际电信项目的案例分析

工程项目中的Partnering 致力于建立相互信任、跨组织协作的高效项目执行模式。从信息流程的角度,将Partnering 分为3 阶段5 个子过程。运用IDEF0 模型,从输入、限制条件、驱动机制和输出4 个方面识别3 个阶段中影响Partnering 的因素。通过实际案例,分析Partnering 实施中网络型信息流,呈现其各子过程之间的逻辑关系。研究发现,组织的高层管理者在Partnering 前期是关键的驱动机制;组织间的信任水平是Partnering 实施效果的主要限制因素;问题解决效果和共同目标的达成与否是衡量Partnering 效果的关键子过程;项目执行中的一方的持续努力会局部改善Partnering 的实施效果。     

基于SPA的Partnering合作伙伴选择

选择优秀的Partnering合作伙伴是保证项目成功的关键。文章针对传统承包商选择方法主观性强、操作难度大的弊端,运用集对分析理论建立Partnering合作伙伴选择综合评价模型。并结合具体案例证明该方法具有客观明确、计算简便等特点;所得结果符合实际,为业主选择优秀的Partnering合作伙伴提供了一种科学、简便的新方法。     

博弈视角下EPC项目总包商与分包商的伙伴关系模式

伙伴关系模式在EPC工程实施过程中的有效性取决于总包商与分包商之间的合作关系。利用静态博弈和动态重复博弈理论分析了EPC项目中总包商与分包商建立伙伴关系可能存在的几种情况,并提出在特定条件下总包商与分包商建立合作关系的方式。     

伙伴关系模式的发展以及对中国建筑业的启示

伙伴关系模式作为一种西方建筑体制下的新型业主－承包商关系模式，已经在欧美发达国家建筑业中得到了广泛的应用，并被众多建设管理相关学者和建筑业行内人士视为未来欧美建设项目的一种重要管理模式。然而国内建设管理学界对于这种模式的研究既缺乏数量，又缺乏深度和质量。这不仅与我国建筑业体制本身的特点有关，也和国内建设管理相关研究不够活跃有关。文章在回顾相关背景问题的基础上，提出了一个关于伙伴关系模式的概念模型，作为理解伙伴关系模式的框架；介绍了欧美主流建设管理学术刊物对伙伴关系模式的相关研究；指出了伙伴关系模式的行为学本质对中国建筑业的启示。     

Key stakeholders’ perspectives on the ideal partnering culture in construction projects

This paper examines the current state of project cultures in the German turnkey construction industry and the ideal project cultures in terms of partnering from the perspective of various key stakeholders (i.e., Investors, General Contractors, (Sub-)Contractors and Designers). To investigate the current and ideal cultures, data were gathered among the key stakeholders by means of a survey study with 72 respondents divided over 12 companies. The respondents rated the current and desired cultures by using the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument, which belongs to the Competing Values Framework. The investigations show many similarities and differences between the stakeholder perspectives of the current and the idealized partnering project cultures. Mainly, the General Contractors desire more cooperative behaviors than the (Sub-)Contractors, and the Investors desire more pronounced flexibility than the General Contractors. All stakeholders desire a cultural change from highly competitive behaviors toward more cooperation. Changes in terms of clear procedures or more flexibility are only desired by the Designers. Defining both the current and an ideal partnering project culture enables academics and project managers to compare their actual project cultures to an ideal situation. With such an approach, academics and project managers could measure whether new tools or changes in resources affect their project cultures toward a partnering project culture.