Relationship between Project's Added Value and the Trust-Conflict Interaction among Project Teams

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of trust–conflict interactions among project teams on a project’s added value. Trust was classified into two categories, calculative trust and relational trust. The influence of trust–conflict interactions on a project’s added value was analyzed through process conflict, task conflict, and relationship conflict and validated with empirical data through structural equation modeling. Both calculative trust and relational trust were found to be positively correlated with and thus of great importance to a project’s added value, but calculative trust was found to have a greater influence coefficient. Relationship conflict and process conflict were found to be negatively correlated with a project’s added value, whereas task conflict was found to be positively correlated. The influence effect from high to low was determined to be as follows: task conflict, process conflict, and relationship conflict. Therefore, during the implementation phase of a construction project, more emphasis should be placed on nurturing trust among project teams, particularly on developing calculative trust. Trust mechanisms should be established among project teams based on equal cooperation to take advantage of the positive effects of task conflict and to avoid the negative effects of process conflict and relationship conflict. Because there have been few studies focused on the influence of trust–conflict interactions on a project’s added value, this research makes significant theoretical and practical contributions to improving the theory of conflict management and achieving added value in construction projects.