Effects of Collaboration in Projects on Construction Project Performance

Collaboration among project actors has been subjected to much attention in recent years within the field of construction management. Several case studies support the argument that collaboration has positive effects on project performance. There is however, a need for quantitative studies investigating statistical relationships between collaboration and performance. Joint activities and collaborative tools (e.g. workshops, joint objectives, and teambuilding activities) are commonly used in order to establish a collaborative spirit among project actors. The purpose of this research is to investigate how collaborative tools affect collaboration and further collaboration’s effect on project performance. The empirical data was collected through a survey responded to by 106 Swedish construction clients. Results from hierarchical regression analyses show a positive relationship between collaborative tools and collaboration suggesting that joint activities are crucial for collaboration to emerge. A positive relationship was also found between collaboration and project performance. The statistical results support previous case study findings where collaboration is positively affected by joint activities and project performance is enhanced by collaboration.