How Team Voice Contributes to Construction Project Performance: The Mediating Role of Project Learning and Project Reflexivity

Abstract

Voice behavior has been widely recognized as having various benefits for organizations, while researchers seldom notice its consequences in construction projects. Against this context, this study empirically explores the impact path of team voice on project performance in construction projects from a multi-team system (MTS) perspective. Considering the essence of voice behavior is to provide information, this study introduces the input–process–outcome (IPO) framework to verify how team voice can affect project performance by influencing project learning and project reflexivity. The online survey method, monetary incentive method, and chain-referral sampling method are adopted to distribute the designed questionnaire. A total of 184 data points from completed construction projects in China supported the research conclusion by adopting the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique. Project learning and project reflexivity positively mediate the relationship between team voice and project performance in construction projects. Specifically, team voice can first positively influence project learning and project reflexivity, which both have a positive relationship with project performance. For theory, this study opens the black box between team voice and project performance in the context of construction projects by unveiling the mediating path of project learning and project reflexivity, which also enriches the literature on voice behavior and expands its application. Furthermore, this study provides one new perspective for MTS knowledge by adopting the IPO framework to explore the underlying mechanism between the focal team and the overall team performance of the MTS. For practice, this study has a directive function for construction project management and MTS management, while providing reminders for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners about the significance of project learning and project reflexivity on project performance.