Development of causal relationship model of knowledge sharing in construction projects

Abstract

Knowledge sharing among construction project members is very crucial for improving project success and project performance. It can also reduce mistakes in the construction process. Project management has been growing more complicated, and project members need to learn best practice from others. Currently, knowledge sharing is not well performed yet; especially, few research studies have been focused on the relationship evaluation of supporting factors that affect knowledge sharing from different contexts in construction projects. Therefore, this study aims to develop the causal relationship model of supporting factors from psychological, individual, organizational, and technological factors that affect mediators – knowledge sharing behavior and knowledge sharing processes, and evaluate the influence level of mediators on knowledge sharing outcomes. The questionnaire survey was used to collect the data from 25 building construction projects in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, of which 320 were returned indicating a 64% response rate. Research hypotheses and causal relationship model were developed. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was employed to test the model fit. Then, the structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine the hypothesized relationships among the independent, mediators, and dependent variables. The empirical result illustrates that psychological, individual, and organizational factors have a significant effect on both mediators. However, the technological factor has an insignificant impact in this study. In addition, this study reveals that both mediators have a significant influence on knowledge sharing outcomes, but knowledge sharing behavior is strongly influenced than knowledge sharing processes. These useful results can be used to provide a better understanding of knowledge sharing in the context of construction projects.