Team Integration and Owner Satisfaction: Comparing Integrated Project Delivery with Construction Management at Risk in Health Care Projects

Abstract

Team integration among project stakeholders is paramount to achieving successful project outcomes and better value to the owner. Project delivery methods are key influences on the level of team integration as well as project performance. Integrated project delivery (IPD) is receiving increasing attention from both industry and academia because of the high degree of team integration it delivers. However, there is little research on the effects of IPD on the level of team integration and project success in comparison with construction management at risk (CMR). This research investigated how project delivery methods influence the level of team integration achieved in two alternative project delivery methods: IPD and CMR. This study further examined whether the difference in the level of team integration achieved by the two delivery methods has an effect on the degree of owner satisfaction with project outcomes. This study adopted an explanatory case study approach based on mixed research methods including qualitative and quantitative analysis using 17 health care projects executed by Construction Industry Institute (CII) member companies. The results showed that the levels of team integration in the IPD projects were significantly greater than those in the CMR projects, and that the levels of team integration were highly correlated with those of owner satisfaction with project outcomes. This research provides empirical evidence to support that higher team integration achieved by IPD compared to CMR leads to an owner being more satisfied with project outcomes. Although the findings are valid for health care projects delivered by CII members and, thus, need to be interpreted with caution, they can still provide meaningful insights into relationships of project delivery method and team integration with owner’s satisfaction.