Individuals’ Capacities to Apply Transferred Knowledge in AEC Project Teams

Abstract

Architectural, engineering, and construction (AEC) project teams are multiteam systems that temporarily gather individuals with diverse expertise to develop a common project. Individuals in these project teams often fail to use properly knowledge that is transferred to them, especially across disciplinary and organizational boundaries. Consequently, project outcomes are less than optimal in terms of time, cost, and quality. Using a multiple regression model, this study examines the key knowledge-related factors that allow individuals to apply the knowledge transferred to them in AEC project teams. Researchers validated the model using longitudinal data from an AEC project team consisting of more than 160 individuals following the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) method. Peer-evaluated survey data treated with predictive mean matching to estimate the missing values led to measurement of the study variables for 129 team members from 25 disciplines and 12 organizations. Results show that individuals’ absorptive and articulating capacities determine how effectively the individuals can apply received knowledge, although they might lack a wide common knowledge with peers from other disciplines. The study contributes to the body of knowledge by expanding understanding of how AEC project teams and multiteam systems can capitalize on the knowledge-transfer interactions among individuals to optimize project outcomes.