31st Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC 31) - Lille, France - 2023

https://doi.org/10.24928/2023/0268

Exploration of Educational Backgrounds, Personality Traits, and Gender on Tendencies to Collaborate Among Owners, Architects, Engineers, and Contractors

Vishnu Ramanath1 & Zofia K. Rybkowski2

1Graduate Student, Department of Construction Science, School of Architecture, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA, [email protected]
2Associate Professor, Department of Construction Science, School of Architecture, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-0683-5004.

Abstract

The construction industry is challenged by a lack of collaboration and trust, leading to an adversarial relationship among project stakeholders. With the introduction of Lean-Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) processes, collaboration has become a key strategy for increasing productivity. This research leveraged game theory and the Maroon-White simulation to explore whether there is any correlation between the educational background of owners, architects, engineers, and contractors and their tendencies to collaborate. It also explored whether there is a correlation between tendencies to collaborate based on various personality types as measured by Jung/Isabel Briggs Myers typology. Although results from this research are preliminary, university students studying to enter the OAEC stakeholder practices (Owner Architecture Engineering and Construction) showed similar rates of tendencies to collaborate. Correlation with personality types was inconclusive. However, multiple rounds of play often revealed long-term negative impacts when one team betrayed a collaborative agreement for its personal benefit. Also, although teams with females did not significantly modify the numerical results, facilitators noticed that women often openly voiced that a collaborative strategy would gain the most points, yet their suggestions tended to be dismissed by teammates. Further research is needed in this area.

Keywords

Lean Construction, Maroon-White Game, simulation, integrated project delivery, IPD contract, collaboration, trust, betrayal, personality traits, gender.

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Reference

Ramanath, V. & Rybkowski, Z. K. 2023. Exploration of Educational Backgrounds, Personality Traits, and Gender on Tendencies to Collaborate Among Owners, Architects, Engineers, and Contractors, Proceedings of the 31st Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC31) , 687-697. doi.org/10.24928/2023/0268

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Founded in 1993, the IGLC is an international network of researchers from practice and academia in architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) who feel that the practice, education, and research of the AEC industry have to be radically renewed in order to respond to the global challenges ahead.

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