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The adoption of emerging information and communication technologies in construction project teams has engendered numerous virtual spaces, characterized by communication visibility and content persistence. As a result, the knowledge exchanged in these virtual spaces serves as a team’s digital resources. However, the extant literature mostly takes a process-based approach to examine the impact of knowledge sharing, thus failing to fully comprehend the process of converting digital resources into performance, resulting in a gap in the literature.

This study employs team resource-based theory to construct a theoretical model and develop hypotheses. Specifically, knowledge integration capability and team efficacy are hypothesized as two types of critical capabilities that mediate the links between knowledge sharing (quantity and quality) in virtual spaces and management performance. Data from 128 middle and senior construction project managers were collected to test the proposed theoretical model.

The results suggest that relationships between knowledge sharing (quantity and quality) and project management performance are both mediated by knowledge integration capability. Moreover, team efficacy could only partially translate knowledge sharing quantity into performance and couldn’t transform knowledge sharing quality into performance. Besides, knowledge integration is found to strengthen the link between knowledge sharing quantity and performance but weaken the relationship between knowledge sharing quality and performance.

This study explores how knowledge shared in virtual spaces could be leveraged for improving management performance in construction project teams. The findings in this study enhance the understanding of knowledge sharing in digital environments and afford important insights into transforming digital resources into performance within construction project teams.

Mobile messaging groups (MMGs) have been widely adopted in construction practice, yet, little is known about how to foster knowledge sharing (KS) in MMGs, characterized by communication visibility. This study is thus motivated to investigate mechanisms for KS in this context.

The paper employs knowledge governance theory to construct a theoretical model and develop hypotheses. Specifically, psychological safety is identified as a mediator between knowledge governance mechanism (KGM) and KS, and promotion regulatory focus is identified as a moderator between KGM and psychological safety. Data from 208 Chinese construction project team members are collected to test the proposed theoretical model.

The results suggest that both formal and informal KGM positively affect psychological safety, which in turn improves KS (quantity and quality). Moreover, the mediating role of psychological safety is confirmed, and the moderating role of promotion regulatory focus is validated.

This study explores how to foster KS in MMGs, which are pervasive in today’s digital age. The findings in this study enhance the understanding of KS in digital environments and afford important insights into knowledge management within construction project teams.

In today's digital and post-pandemic era, construction teams can span their boundary to obtain important resources and support in computer-mediated ways. However, the benefits of computer-mediated team boundary spanning (TBS) are mostly assumed. Empirical evidence for these benefits is in lack. Thus, this study attempts to investigate the influence of computer-mediated (instant messaging in this study) TBS on construction project performance and the underlying mechanism.

From the multiteam system (MTS) perspective, this study employs the input-process-outcome (IPO) framework and coordination theory to explore the influence of instant messaging-based team boundary spanning (IMTBS) on construction project coordination processes and project performance. A theoretical model is built and validated with a survey involving 206 construction projects.

Results show that IMTBS positively affects knowledge integration and project coordination, but negatively affects project commitment. The positive link between IMTBS and project performance is attributable to knowledge integration and project coordination. Further, project commitment is also found to negatively mediate the relationship between IMTBS and construction project performance.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to empirically investigate the influence of TBS on construction project performance. As such, this study contributes to the literature on TBS in the construction field. In addition, the findings of this study unveil the double-edged characteristic of IMTBS, which should attract managers' attention. This also indicates that the form of TBS is a significant determinant of its effectiveness, which should attract scholars' attention in the future.

Although previous research has recognized the pivotal role of mobile social media in knowledge sharing among project members, little is known about what factors affect knowledge sharing in mobile social media groups (MSMGs). Against this background, using normative social influence theory, this study attempts to explore factors influencing knowledge sharing in MSMGs.

Data from 205 Chinese construction project members are collected and used for analysis. Ordinary least squares regression by Stata 16 is used to test the proposed hypotheses.

Concerning role norms, gender difference in knowledge sharing behavior (KSB) is found, while it is not the case for knowledge quality (KQ). Work experience is found to positively affect KQ, but shows no influence on KSB. As for group norms, the inverted-U relationship between number of members and KSB is partially supported. In addition, organizational norms generally exhibit the greatest influence on both KSB and KQ among the three forms of norms.

This study deepens the understanding of knowledge sharing factors in mobile social media environments and affords practical implications for how to make full use of social media for knowledge management within construction project teams.

Despite the documented benefits of voice behavior for projects, little is known about antecedents of voice behavior in the project context, especially construction projects. Against this background, adopting a multi-team system perspective, this study attempts to investigate antecedents of team voice behavior from a contextual view.

This study identifies and examines six factors that influence team voice behavior. Specifically, project urgency, project temporality, and project complexity are identified from the project nature perspective. Satisfaction, trust, and commitment are generated from the relationship quality approach. Then, data from completed construction projects in China was collected to verify the effectiveness of these factors. Besides, the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique was used in this study.

All six factors are found to be significant predictors of promotive team voice behavior. For prohibitive team voice behavior, only project complexity and project commitment make significant effects. Further, the differential effects of these factors on two types of voice behavior are revealed.

This study contributes to the literature on voice behavior in the project context, especially construction projects consisting of multiple teams. Also, this research enriches our knowledge on antecedents of team voice behavior in construction projects and thus affords practical implications to foster voice behavior.

In today’s turbulent and complex era, initiative behavior is becoming more drawn to construction projects but challenging to arouse as it is free of the established regulations in project practice. Given the prevalence of social media (SM) in modern workplaces, this study is thereby motivated to investigate whether and how SM use can act to drive initiative behavior of construction project members (PMs) in this context.

This study sharply examines two distinct types of SM use – work-related and social-related – to explore their roles in driving the initiative behavior of construction PMs. Additionally, self-determination theory is employed to explore their underlying translation mechanisms and associated boundary conditions. A survey dataset collected from 229 construction PMs is used to empirically test the proposed theoretical model.

Empirical results show that role-breadth self-efficacy, psychological safety and project identification, by satisfying basic psychological needs respectively, act as crucial bridging roles in translating SM use into initiative behavior of PMs. Such mediation effects are applied to both work-related and social-related SM use with varied mechanisms. Besides, prevention focus is found to be a contingent moderator on these relationships, with a strengthening role toward role-breadth self-efficacy and a weakening role toward project identification.

This study digs into the nuanced mechanisms of how SM use benefits construction projects, especially in terms of PMs’ initiative. The findings of this research afford new insights into effectively invigorating the initiative behavior of construction PMs under the current digital momentum.

Megaprojects exert a significant impact on sustainable development, and it is imperative for stakeholders to collectively ensure their development occurs in a socially responsible manner. While there has been a growing focus on the involvement of megaprojects in social responsibility, scant attention has been given to understanding the collective actions of stakeholders in implementing social responsibility within these projects. Specifically, the institutional mechanism leading megaproject stakeholders to engage in socially responsible collective action is largely unexplored. To fill this gap, this study primarily aims to explore the institutional antecedents influencing socially responsible collective action in megaprojects.

Drawing on institutional theory, this study empirically examines the factors influencing socially responsible collective action in megaprojects. An online questionnaire survey was administered to collect data from 365 participants engaged in mega water transfer projects in China. The data analysis employed the partial least squares structural equation modeling technique.

The findings from the partial least squares analyses indicate that coercive isomorphism, mimetic isomorphism, and normative isomorphism all demonstrate positive associations with stakeholders’ intention to engage in socially responsible collective action. Moreover, the findings also show a positive correlation between stakeholders’ intention and their behavior in participating in socially responsible collective action within megaprojects. Additionally, coercive isomorphism positively moderates the connection between mimetic isomorphism and the intention to engage in SRCA, while negatively moderates the relationship between normative isomorphism and the intention to undertake socially responsible collective action.

This study enriches the existing body of knowledge by identifying coercive, mimetic, and normative isomorphism as antecedents to adopting socially responsible collective action in megaprojects. Furthermore, the study enhances our comprehension by demonstrating that stakeholders’ intention to fulfill social responsibility translates into tangible actions. The implications and recommendations provided shed light on how various types of institutional isomorphism can be used to encourage stakeholders to embrace socially responsible collective action in megaproject management.

Relationship conflict between the owners and contractors is inevitable, which could induce negative consequences. Yet, the existing literature mostly focused on its direct effects on project performance and ignored the process by which relationship conflict gradually deteriorates cooperation as well as corresponding managerial approaches. Given the fact that relationship conflict originates from interdependent tasks, the proposed theoretical model is intended to measure relational behavior as an instant outcome of relationship conflict, and explore the buffering role of contract enforcement approach.

This paper develops the conceptual model based on the literature review. Then the questionnaire survey was conducted. The dyadic data obtained from 168 Chinese construction project professionals were analyzed by the Partial Least squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) technique.

The results show that relational behavior partially mediates the link between relationship conflict and project performance. Besides, three types of contract enforcement approaches are found to differentially change the negative link between relationship conflict and relational behavior. Rigid contract enforcement can worsen the adverse effects of relationship conflict on relational behavior, whereas flexible contract enforcement can alleviate these negative effects. The level of mitigation hinges on whether compromising behaviors or obliging behaviors are chosen.

The study extends the knowledge of conflict theory and contract theory in the construction field. Based on the proposed conceptual model and PLS-SEM results, this study contributes to the understanding of relationship conflict’s consequences between the owners and contractors and enriches conflict management approaches in the construction field.

Informal learning networks are critical to response to calls for practitioners to reskill and upskill in off-site construction projects. With the transition to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, social media-enabled online knowledge communities play an increasingly important role in acquiring and disseminating off-site construction knowledge. Proximity has been identified as a key factor in facilitating interactive learning, yet which type of proximity is effective in promoting online and offline knowledge exchange remains unclear. This study takes a relational view to explore the proximity-related antecedents of online and offline learning networks in off-site construction projects, while also examining the subtle differences in the networks' structural patterns.

Five types of proximity (physical, organizational, social, cognitive and personal) between projects members are conceptualized in the theoretical model. Drawing on social foci theory and homophily theory, the research hypotheses are proposed. To test these hypotheses, empirical case studies were conducted on two off-site construction projects during the COVID-19 pandemic. Valid relational data provided by 99 and 145 project members were collected using semi-structured interviews and sociometric questionnaires. Subsequently, multivariate exponential random graph models were developed.

The results show a discrepancy arise in the structural patterns between online and offline learning networks. Offline learning is found to be more strongly influenced by proximity factors than online learning. Specifically, physical, organizational and social proximity are found to be significant predictors of offline knowledge exchange. Cognitive proximity has a negative relationship with offline knowledge exchange but is positively related to online knowledge exchange. Regarding personal proximity, the study found that the homophily effect of hierarchical status merely emerges in offline learning networks. Online knowledge communities amplify the receiver effect of tenure. Furthermore, there appears to be a complementary relationship between online and offline learning networks.

Proximity offers a novel relational perspective for understanding the formation of knowledge exchange connections. This study enriches the literature on informal learning within project teams by revealing how different types of proximity shape learning networks across different channels in off-site construction projects.

Infrastructure projects are pivotal for regional economic development, but also face low project effectiveness. Leadership is always regarded as a key enabler for project team effectiveness, including vertical leadership and team-level leadership. The purpose of this paper is to examine how vertical leadership facilitates shared leadership in infrastructure project teams.

This paper develops the conceptual model based on the literature review. Then the questionnaire survey was conducted. The empirical data obtained from 117 infrastructure project teams in China were analyzed by partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) for validating the proposed model. Finally, the results were comparatively discussed to explain the dual-pathway between vertical leadership and shared leadership. And the practical implications were presented for the project managers in infrastructure project teams.

Drawing on social learning theory and social cognitive theory, the results show that both participative leadership and task-oriented leadership can facilitate shared leadership. Further, team atmosphere fully mediates the link between participative leadership and shared leadership. Team efficacy fully mediates the relation between task-oriented leadership and shared leadership. Also, role clarity has a negative moderating effect on the former path.

The study extends the knowledge of leadership theory in the construction field. Based on the proposed conceptual model and PLS-SEM results, this study unveils the black box between vertical leadership and shared leadership and contributes to the theory of leadership on how the impact of different vertical leadership on team process promotes shared leadership.