How to Achieve Better Cooperation and Performance in Construction Projects: A Perspective of Interorganizational Conflict Profiles

Abstract

Conflicts in construction projects have received considerable attention because of their significant impact on cooperation between participants and project performance. Existing literature typically categorizes inter-organizational conflict into three types: task, relationship, and process conflict. These conflicts have been studied from a separation perspective, leading to inconsistent views in the existing literature. This study aims to fill this gap by examining inter-organizational conflict profiles in construction projects, providing a more accurate understanding of the influence of conflict on cooperative behavior and project performance. Based on survey data from the Chinese construction industry, this study reveals that inter-organizational conflict exists in the form of four profiles: high-level, balanced, task-process-dominant, and low-level. Among these profiles, the levels of cooperative behavior were highest in the task-process-dominant and low-level conflict profiles. Furthermore, conflict affects project performance through the mediating role of cooperative behavior, with the highest project performance observed in the low-level conflict profiles. By uncovering the existence of these inter-organizational conflict profiles and their subsequent effects, this study offers a more comprehensive view of the impact of conflict on organizational cooperation and project performance under conditions of bounded rationality. It helps explain the contradictions in the inter-organizational conflict literature, provides supplementary insights into conflict profile research, and provides guidance for construction project participants in conflict management.