Team Collaborations during Times of Disruption: Transaction Costs and Social Network Perspective with Hierarchical Linear Modeling

This study explored changes in communication patterns within construction project teams during times of disruption (i.e., the COVID-19 pandemic), focusing on transaction costs associated with communication and coordination through individual-level project team interactions. Nodes within the communication networks were classified based on their roles (owner, general contractor, designer) and were further categorized into three tiers according to their significance, decision-making authority, and involvement in the project. By utilizing social network analysis (SNA) and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), the study discerned considerable shifts in network dynamics. Designers and owners in tier 2 showed a decline in network centrality and importance, as evidenced by reduced eigenvector centrality and increased inverse of closeness centrality. Conversely, the owner and general contractor in tier 1 either maintained or slightly enhanced their network importance. Local transitivity, indicating the propensity for nodes to form clusters, fluctuated across roles and tiers. The pandemic typically decreased the authority score, implying diminished perceived credibility of nodes. The elevated communication load on tier 1, mainly including project managers, exerted pressure on their capacity limits. The disruptive period and the potential impacts of COVID-19 marked an irrevocable shift in global communication, not just in the construction industry, necessitating role and tier-specific strategies.