Interpersonal Communication, Relationships, and Collaboration Among Construction Specialty Contractor Project Management Professionals: A Single Case Study

Abstract

Ineffective interpersonal communication skills stifle healthy relationships and collaborative exchanges among project management professionals working in a construction project environment. Construction projects are complex, temporary social environments that rely on the effective exchange of information between project management professionals to organize project activities related to cost, scope, schedule, and quality. The construction industry recognizes the significant value of interpersonal communication on relationship development and collaborative outcomes to achieve project goals. Despite valuing interpersonal communication skills, the industry remains fixated on hard skills (e.g., scheduling, financial management, quality management) while relegating soft skills (e.g., interpersonal communication, relationship development, collaboration) to a secondary role. This fixation then perpetuates the cycle of revenue loss and risk exposure driven by ineffective communication skills. In this qualitative single case study, I explored the relationship between interpersonal communication and relationships and collaboration.

Guided by social network theory in construction (Pryke et al, 2017), I conducted a qualitative single case study. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the experiences of specialty contractor project management professionals and their perceptions of interpersonal communication, relationships, and collaboration. This study utilized two data sources, semi-structured interviews and direct observations, with observation debriefings. Four specialty contractor project management professionals participated in this study, providing rich and descriptive accounts of their experiences.

This study had three key findings. The first finding was that construction management professionals stressed the importance of developing positive cycles of dialogue through face-to-face interactions. The second finding was that construction management professionals emphasized that social behaviors were integral to creating strong interactions within their social networks. The final finding was that construction project management professionals described project partnerships that were built on collaborative problem solving and shared task completion goals. The findings from this study provided insight into the experiences of specialty contractor project management professionals’ perception of interpersonal communications, relationships, and collaboration. The study has implications for construction professional associations, higher education construction management programs, and the building trades and registered apprenticeship programs, suggesting the implementation of soft skills curriculum and coursework into existing programs to enhance construction project outcomes.