Investigating the relationship between communication-conflict interaction and project success among construction project teams

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the effects of communication-conflict interaction on the success of construction projects. The conceptual model was validated with empirical data via the structural equation modeling. The results showed that task conflict was positively related to project success, while enhanced communication among teams stimulated the positive effect of task conflict. Process conflict and relationship conflict affected each other and were negatively related to project success, leading to poor communication among teams. Additionally, communication willingness and formal communication were positively associated with the project success, whereas informal communication negatively affected project success. Therefore, it is necessary to enhance the communication willingness and effectively enhance the formal communication among various project teams during the implementation of construction projects. Efforts are required to establish the formal communication mechanism to take advantage of the positive effect of task conflict whereas mitigating the negative effect of process and relationship conflict.