Collaboration and Integration in Project-Based Supply Chains in the Construction Industry

Abstract

This study investigates whether integrative and collaborative practices of the construction industry can be exclusively attributed to integrated project-delivery methods or whether traditional project-delivery methods also foster integration within project-based design teams. Project managers assessed team collaboration and the integration of teams into 46 construction industry projects in The Netherlands. Explanatory factor analysis (EFA) was used to identify the components that explained collaboration and integration within project design teams. Using analysis of variance of factor scores, the main finding of the study was that, in the construction industry, collaboration is an independent component in integrative and collaborative practices that can be reliably assessed in research. Furthermore, this study provides evidence suggesting that both traditional and integrated project-delivery methods might lead to collaboration over time. The third finding is that different project-delivery methods were not significantly different in terms of the dimensions of integration and collaboration, except in the component of inclusive decision making within the building team and for strategic partnering. The findings suggest that relying on the type of project-delivery method is not sufficient for managers communicating about the level of supply chain integration and collaboration.

Loosely Coupled Systems of Innovation: Aligning BIM Adoption with Implementation in Dutch Construction

“…After all, the ubiquitous collaborative culture in the Netherlands has been proven to be independent of delivery methods, e.g. traditional or integrated (Koolwijk et al 2018).…”

Evaluating Supplier Management Maturity in Prefabricated Construction Project-Survey Analysis in China

“…The concept of supply chain management (SCM) was initially introduced in construction industry from manufacturing industry in 1980s [15], it means management on materials flows, information flows, financial flows in project process and coordination of relationship among clients, designer, supplier and other parties to achieve cost, quality and time performance. Research on SCM focused on two domains, supply process management and supplier management [16].…”

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“…Vertical integration considers both the transaction relationship and physical logistics, while the horizontal integration turns to the effectiveness and efficiency of capital [28,29]. Strategic integration in the construction field focuses on vertical integration rather than horizontal integration [16,30,31] because the essence of vertical integration of a construction project related organization is to hold more parts of the whole supply chain.…”