Dynamics of Collaborative Networks for Green Building Projects: Case Study of Shanghai

Abstract

Close interorganizational collaboration plays a crucial role in achieving the sustainable goals of green building projects. Therefore, it is imperative to optimize interorganizational collaboration networks through mutual coupling between stakeholders. Few studies on collaborative networks in green building projects have focused on the network micromechanisms of dynamic collaborations among stakeholders. A stochastic actor-oriented model is developed in this study to investigate how collaborative networks evolve over time in green building project implementations. Furthermore, how the micromechanism influences this evolution was assessed using longitudinal data relating to green building projects in Shanghai from 2014 to 2018. The results showed that the size and density of collaborative networks increased with the entry of new organizations over time. The structure-based preferential attachment effect, the triadic closure effect, the ownership similarity effect, the geographic proximity effect, and the cognitive proximity effect positively affect the evolution of dynamic collaborative networks at the microlevel. This study helps to better understand the interactions between organizations during the implementation practices of green building projects. In addition, the dynamics of the interorganizational relationship were investigated from the network microlevel. These results enriched the existing body of knowledge on the dynamic collaborative network of stakeholders in green building projects. These findings are valuable for practitioners, and enable the development of corresponding strategies to promote the interorganizational collaboration and achieve higher performance in green building projects.