Development of Effective Communication Network in Construction Projects Using Structural Equation Modeling Technique

Stakeholder management plays a critical role in successfully delivering construction projects; thus, identifying causes of miscommunication within primary stakeholders (owner, designer, and contractor) would be beneficial. Previous studies identifying significant causes of miscommunication have not studied how different causes work together to influence communication within primary stakeholders. Therefore, different appropriate statistical methods were used to identify the effective communication indicators (ECIs) within three primary stakeholders. Factor analysis technique was then utilized to investigate main components associated with ECIs. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was then used to identify the pertinent relationship between the identified main components. For this purpose, 38 completed case study projects were collected. As information related to other aspects of case studies was needed, a structured survey was developed and 38 completed surveys were collected. Thirty ECIs associated with three primary stakeholders were determined significant, which belonging to 20 main components. The results revealed that project target, scope clarity, filed labor, objectives and restrictions, and resource availability were critical components. The outcomes of this study help project managers focus on main effective communication factors to mitigate the risk of project failure because of dispute and conflict.