The impact of communication through collaboration on building project performance in Indonesia

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This paper study the impact of communication through collaboration on construction projects performance in Indonesia. The current descriptive study, applied quantitative method in data gathering, represented the construction companies in Indonesia.

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International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology (IJMET) Volume 10, Issue 03, March 2019, pp. 1773-1780. Article ID: IJMET_10_03_179 Available online at http://www.iaeme.com/ijmet/issues.asp?JType=IJMET&VType=10&IType=3 ISSN Print: 0976-6340 and ISSN Online: 0976-6359 © IAEME Publication Scopus Indexed THE IMPACT OF COMMUNICATION THROUGH COLLABORATION ON BUILDING PROJECT PERFORMANCE IN INDONESIA Vahid Aghania, Sara Ramzani and Valliapan Raju Post Graduate Centre, Limkokwing University, Cyberjaya. Malaysia. ABSTRACT This paper study the impact of communication through collaboration on construction projects performance in Indonesia. The current descriptive study, applied quantitative method in data gathering, represented the construction companies in Indonesia. The analysis shows a positive and significant relationship between formal and willingness to communicate with project collaboration. It also supports that project collaboration has an impact on project performance. Key words: Communication, collaboration, construction project performance, building project Cite this Article Vahid Aghania, Sara Ramzani and Valliapan Raju, the Impact of Communication through Collaboration on Building Project Performance in Indonesia, International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology, 10(3), 2019, pp. 1773-1780. http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/issues.asp?JType=IJMET&VType=10&IType=3 1. INTRODUCTION As the evolution of the global construction industry continues to accelerate, Indonesia is experiencing a rapid increase in the sheer volume of construction projects being undertaken. This is resulting in a corresponding intensification of competition in this geographical market, and when considered within the context of the increasingly complex project environment, collaboration in construction projects is emerging as a crucial feature to be incorporated into stakeholder strategic planning. While contributing to construction of infrastructure has played a primary role in the economic growth of nations around the world. Construction projects around the world are now growing at an unprecedented rate with regard to build capacity and corresponding market demand. These profound increases are now posing a serious challenge to the industry but are also providing significant opportunities. As the pace of this development continues, there remain a multitude of major construction networks that are barely managing to function at the edges of their capacity and operations capabilities. Building constructions continue to develop http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/index.asp 1773 editor@iaeme.com
The Impact of Communication through Collaboration on Building Project Performance in Indonesia at an equally prodigious rate which is abundantly clear that a robust construction network is absolutely necessary. The aim of this study is to investigate the relative effects of communication and collaboration on overall project performance, when observed within the context of construction projects undertaken in Indonesia. Up until recently, a major proportion of studies conducted on the subject of collaboration within project teams were viewed through the lens of management strategy, commonly framed by Hemple [1] as being either cooperative, competitive, or compromising. However, this study contests that the crucial aspects of communication affecting team collaboration and performance are generally under-appreciated and few of the existing studies adopted an appropriate, multi-dimensional approach for analysing the outputs of communication and the impacts of project complexity, nor the mediating role of project collaboration required to bring those aspects together. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW As organisations come to terms with the criticality of project complexity, communication and collaboration when it comes to project performance and due to a lack of existing consensus on this topic throughout the industry, a greater onus has been placed on project teams to research how they prefer to define project team performance and which factors contribute most strongly to it. As it stands, there are some fundamental knowledge deficits that need to be overcome in order to enable better management of construction projects. Construction projects by nature require significant and constant transfer of information between project team members [2]. Expedient communication of such information is a fundamental requirement for project success, especially considering the complex interdependencies of disparate project activities [3], and is critical for efficient and conclusive resolution of conflict between project stakeholders [4]. When project team members collaborate sincerely and in alignment with project goals, the resulting work environment opens itself up to the sharing of information and knowledge, facilitating a more complete and equitable understanding of the project context. This leads to a unified project team, possessing an intimate understanding of the status of the project, and greater capacity for tackling ambiguity and uncertainty. It allows for the application of joint understanding to important decision-making processes and coordinated actions resulting in significantly more effective management of ambiguous and uncertain situations. 2.1. Communication Axley [5] posited that the act of communication is analogous to a pipeline through which data flows from source to destination. Cheung [1] similarly defined communication as a two-way process between a sender and receiver through pre-defined media. DeSanctis and Monge [6] framed communication as being a transaction between two or more people of ideas, opinions, facts and feelings. Loosemore and Muslmani [7] expanded on this to say that communication is more of a cyclical process through which actors continue to share information over time. 2.2. Collaboration One of the key drivers of performance on a construction project is effective collaboration between project stakeholders, their contributions and their interdependent tasks. Both the general social sciences literature [8], and the literature specifically focused on construction project management [9], explore multiple avenues to achieving effective collaboration and integration amongst interdependent actors. These include formal, industry-developed tools, techniques and practices, as well as informal ones, such as trust [10]. http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/index.asp 1774 editor@iaeme.com
Vahid Aghania, Sara Ramzani and Valliapan Raju The efficacy of collaboration mechanisms established between stakeholders can depend on the nature and intensity of the interdependencies that lie therein. For example, where these dependencies are transactional and sequential in nature, it is possible to control them with a rules-based framework and supervisory hierarchical roles, particularly when outcomes are well understood and more predictable [11]. For the alternate types of interdependencies requiring stakeholders to integrate their resources in a more incremental manner, which Thompson [12] refers to as reciprocal interdependencies, it requires a more adaptive approach with more extensive negotiation [11]. 2.3. Performance The sacred triumvirate of time, cost, and quality have been long held as the key metrics of project success [13]. However, only a cursory meta-analysis is required to acknowledge that there exists a wide range of project outcome metrics, consisting of combinations and permutations of various technical performance and social system measures. Of the distinct technical performance measures, those most frequently referred to are efficiency, innovation, and effectiveness [14], and it must be noted that while these concepts do overlap with the three primary metrics mentioned above, they are still to be recognised in their own right. To this end, this study asserts that efficiency, innovation, and effectiveness are the primary technical system outcomes that should be assessed for measuring project performance. Arguably the more involved of the three, effectiveness refers to the degree to which key project stakeholders’ expectations have been met, in terms of project outcomes [15]. Different projects invariably elicit different expectations from stakeholders, who in turn have unique and ever-changing requirements. It is no surprise that numerous measures have been identified and used for the measurement of effectiveness in previous studies. The most commonly used measures of effectiveness were based on compliance with technical requirements such as functionality and reliability [16], fulfilling end-user requirements [17], achieving pre-defined quality goals [18], and addressing market needs [19]. 3. METHODOLOGY Using quantitative data analysis methods, this study analysed 292 surveys, representing a significant proportion of Indonesian construction companies in building and infrastructure sector. The study uses primary data and the collection was done via a description-based questionnaire set. This method of data collection enables the reliable identification and labelling of variabilities with the occurrence of different phenomena. 4. FINDING AND DISCUSSION Table 1 and 2 below show the standardized parameter estimates of the proposed model, AVE, Cronbach and R square values. http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/index.asp 1775 editor@iaeme.com
The Impact of Communication through Collaboration on Building Project Performance in Indonesia Table 1 AVE, Cronbach and R-square Composite R Cronbachs Redundanc AVE Communality Reliability Square Alpha y Formal Communicatio 0.6851 0.9156 0 0.8975 0.6851 0 n Informal Communicatio 0.638 0.8979 0 0.8597 0.638 0 n Willingness to 0.6168 0.9051 0 0.8864 0.6168 0 communicate Collaboration 0.9314 0.976 0.7928 0.9629 0.9314 0.2898 Performance 0.6589 0.8852 0.7977 0.8268 0.6589 0.5221 Table 2 Standardized Parameter Estimates of Hypothesized Relationships Original Sample Standard Standard T Statistics Sample Mean Deviation Error (|O/STERR|) (O) (M) (STDEV) (STERR) Formal Com -> 0.2371 0.2282 0.0689 0.0689 3.442 Collaboration Informal Com -> -0.0207 -0.0245 0.0718 0.0718 0.288 Collaboration Willingness to communicate 0.679 0.6916 0.0781 0.0781 8.6986 -> Collaboration Collaboration -> 0.8931 0.8974 0.0372 0.0372 23.9957 Performance Hypothesis 1. There is a significant relationship between formal communication and collaboration in construction projects in Indonesia. Analysis of hypothesis 1 states that formal communication positively affects collaboration. The results prove the relationship in the predicted direction with β = 0.237 (p < .05). Hypothesis 2. There is a significant relationship between informal communication and collaboration in construction projects in Indonesia. Analysis of hypothesis 2 does not support the relationship between informal communication and project collaboration. Hypothesis 3. There is a significant relationship between willingness to communicate and collaboration in construction projects in Indonesia. Analysis of hypothesis 3 states that willingness to communicate positively affects collaboration. The results prove the relationship in the predicted direction with β = 0.679 (p < .05). The result of study reveals that willingness to communicate has the most impact on project collaboration and in sequence formal communication has the highest impact. Fluid project communication networks, in which the transfer of ideas and instructions can flow through the entire project team [20], are essential for construction projects’ need for improved coordination if they are to achieve the necessary levels of efficiency and effectiveness within the Indonesia context [21]. Open channels connecting the client, consultant and contractor can only be achieved when the consultant can demand clear instruction from the client, and subsequently translates that http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/index.asp 1776 editor@iaeme.com
Vahid Aghania, Sara Ramzani and Valliapan Raju appropriately to the contractor. In this way, these three major stakeholders are brought into alignment and allowing them to meet common requirements and aim for the common project objectives, all of which facilitates a working environment more conducive to collaboration [22]. An effective way to promote higher levels of teamwork on a project is to schedule a comprehensive kick-off meeting during which the lines of communications can be negotiated between the stakeholders and formalised with protocols and contact lists to be kept by each project member [23]. Communication planning is highlighted as an important initial stage for communication management within the corresponding knowledge area of PMBOK [24]. It asserts the need for full support to conduct regular key meetings such as the client-consultant meeting, engineering meeting, and site progress meeting all of which are essential for collaborative problem-solving and consistent project coordination. It is suggested that project team members should meet on a weekly basis, consisting of fortnightly client-consultant meetings and site meetings conducted every other week. Additional brainstorming sessions should also be conducted for ongoing design reviews to allow the more technically proficient contractor to offer solutions in a more collaborative setting [25]. Hypothesis 4. There is a significant relationship between collaboration and project performance in construction projects in Indonesia. Analysis of hypothesis 4 states that collaboration positively affects project performance. The results prove the relationship in the predicted direction with β = 0.893 (p < .05). It is becoming increasingly apparent to researchers of the topic that there is a strong correlation between collaboration and performance [26]. It can be concluded also that a collective decision-making process can help expedite problem solving, enabling these construction projects to be launched before their competitors' solutions have been devised. It serves that better performance can therefore be facilitated through better collaboration There are numerous reasons that interfirm collaboration has further positive impact on levels of innovation [27], enabling more eclectic idea generation which would not be available through intrafirm collaboration, as without such external networks, it is especially difficult to even be cognisant of fundamentally different schools of thought that opens up brand new opportunities for the acquisition of new technology and learning [28]. This kind of ‘cross-fertilization’ of diverse disciplinary or experience bases ultimately leads to augmented levels of innovation and collaboration [29], and facilitates greater knowledge integration throughout the project team, increasing the team’s ability to grasp and process diverse ideas from their cohort’s different domains of expertise [30]. These different layers of collaboration are clearly beneficial for integrating and re- conceptualising different knowledge sets for the eventual creation of unique and novel solutions to modern project problems. 5. CONCLUSIONS As a project-oriented industry, the construction sector [31] possesses heterogeneous and fragmented organisations that come together to form joint but temporary project ventures [21]. Communication is therefore critical for success and must involve high volumes of information being exchanged between stakeholders from all project disciplines in a mutually dependent manner [2]. Even though these situations present a more complex set of communication requirements, a strong focus remains essential for the successful delivery of these types of construction projects [32]. http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/index.asp 1777 editor@iaeme.com
The Impact of Communication through Collaboration on Building Project Performance in Indonesia Project overruns and disputes can often be traced back to ineffective communication links between members of a project team [33]. Naoum [34] and Sun and Meng [35] similarly determined that a lack of timely and effective communication were heavy contributors to undesirable project change. Even nominally inadequate levels of information transfer are likely to result in poor project performance, according to Chapman [36] and equally that good communication is a substantial factor for achieving better project performance. More philosophical communication theories such as accommodation theory and diffusion theory may also be useful for improving of project communications [37]. The positive correlation between effectiveness of collaboration and project performance indicates that stakeholders should endeavour to engender such mutually beneficial relationship protocols as it will provide higher chances of realizing desired project outcomes. The need for collaboration on modern and inherently complex construction projects has become so great, project managers must start making the critical decision of establishing communications governance protocols to foster better collaboration, or risk project failure. An effective, contract-based governance framework can provide mechanisms that allow project teams to cope with deviating factors by systematically arranging activities, defining the member roles, and stipulating gains and losses. Relational governance can add to this by generating a project environment of shared principles within which member participants can feel a genuine commitment to the success of the project. Construction projects rely on a series of interconnected, complex activities to be attend to by project members, and whether a project succeeds or fails depends heavily on the level and quality of collaboration between those members. Collaboration is commonly deployed as an operational process requiring joint activities between members in order to acquire some project objective, and so collaboration can be categorised into two styles; process and relationship [26]. Process-type collaboration enables stakeholders to aim for parallel goals by focusing on task-related activities including resource sharing, joint planning, information sharing, and process integration [38]. Conversely, relationship-oriented collaboration tends more towards long-term, intimate relationship development for the creation of a more positive co-working atmosphere [39]. This quantitative study contributes to the existing project management literature, by addressing in more detail the relative advantages and disadvantages of various project management practices that have been explored in recent conceptual studies. The results of this study provide the first empirical tests and verification of the relative importance of collaboration in project management practices for construction infrastructure projects that are initiated and executed within a setting where communication and complexity hold high importance. At a more detailed level, this study contributes to existing organizational learning literature by furthering the discourse on the central and mediatory role of collaboration. One limitation to the findings presented in this study is that only a single member of any team was used to measure team level variables. While most available evidence suggests that individual team members can adequately respond on behalf of their teams, collecting data from entire teams would allow researchers to obtain more accurate measures of said team-level variables, and better evaluate the extent of agreement inherent within team member responses. As this study continues to be developed and feedback from a greater number of respondents can be obtained, multiple questions may be used to assess each of the factors potentially influencing outcomes of IEPC projects. A theoretical framework can then be developed to study the relationships between these factors, and such relationships may be analysed to obtain further insights. In addition, inclusion of projects carried out by non-Indonesian enterprises may bring in new perspectives. http://www.iaeme.com/IJMET/index.asp 1778 editor@iaeme.com
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