Unveiling the Impact of Communication Network on Engineering Project Team Performance: The Interplay of Centralization and Tie Strength

Abstract

Purpose

Recent research has focused on the impact of communication networks on the performance of construction project teams, attempting empirical exploration from various social network analysis perspectives. However, there is still a significant gap in understanding the variations in performance and the mechanisms for teams using different communication networks. Drawing from organizational learning theory and social network theory, this study, based on the Input-Mediator-Output (IMO) model, explores the effects of the interaction between centralization and tie strength in communication networks on team performance, as well as the mediating mechanisms of knowledge sharing behavior and team resilience performance in engineering project teams.

Methods

Drawing on classic group communication experiment, we design an online communication and collaboration platform to simulate the execution of a construction engineering project. Finally, data was collected through the communication experiment with 720 participants, and hypotheses were tested using ANOVA and PROCESS.

Results

The results indicate that under conditions of weak tie strength, centralized communication networks yield higher performance. Conversely, under conditions of strong tie strength, decentralized communication networks demonstrate superior performance. Furthermore, this study also verifies the mediating role of knowledge sharing behavior and team resilience performance when tie strength is strong.

Conclusion

This study focuses on engineering project team, exploring the evolutionary development of knowledge sharing behavior and team resilience performance from the perspective of the interaction of communication network structural characteristics, as well as the paths to enhancing team performance. Our research results highlight the interactive effects of structural indicators and relational indicators of communication networks, revealing the mechanism by which the structure of communication networks impacts team performance. Additionally, from the perspectives of forming and timely adjusting team communication models, and motivating and supporting employee communication behavior, our study provides practical insights for project managers and relevant administrators.

Keywords:

• engineering project team
• communication network
• knowledge sharing behavior
• team resilience performance
• team performance

Ethics Approval and Informed Consent

All procedures conducted in this research strictly adhered to the laws and guidelines concerning human subject research, involving both human participants and/or tissue, for scientific purposes. This study protocol was reviewed and approved by Tongji University. The data collected in this research has been gathered and analyzed anonymously. We assured the participants that the laboratory behavioral experiment was conducted solely for academic purposes and did not involve any personal identification. Participants’ data was gathered with their written consent. This consent is included in the supporting information uploaded to the system.

Acknowledgments

The authors greatly appreciate the valuable advice given by the reviewers and the editors for the improvement of this manuscript. This material is based in part upon work supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No.72072131 and No. T2261129476, and the National Office for Philosophy and Social Sciences of China under Grant No. 20CGL047. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of any funding agencies.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.