{"title":"Time pressure and coordinating project design in inter-functional teams: a configurational approach","authors":"C. Ju, Y. Ning","doi":"10.1080/09537287.2021.1926567","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Project design has to be coordinated in an inter-functional team. This is critically challenging due to the knowledge-intensive nature of project design, the occupational boundaries between functions and time pressure facing project teams. This study aims to tackle this challenge by identifying the configurations of coordination mechanisms, i.e. mechanistic and organic coordination, adopted by inter-functional teams in the face of a high level of time pressure. A questionnaire-survey of 311 respondents from 46 building design projects was undertaken in China. Data were analyzed through a configurational analysis approach. The results show that two configurations could equally lead to high performance. Under a high level of time pressure, the configuration of formal coordination, digitally-mediated structured coordination, and cross-functional meetings is helpful to achieve high project design performance. If mechanistic coordination is absent, team members could equally accomplish superb design performance through organic coordination. This research contributes to the body of knowledge by presenting how inter-functional teams configure coordination mechanisms to deal with knowledge-intensive project design in the face of time pressure.","PeriodicalId":20627,"journal":{"name":"Production Planning & Control","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.1000,"publicationDate":"2021-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"1","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Production Planning & Control","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09537287.2021.1926567","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENGINEERING, INDUSTRIAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 1
Abstract
Abstract Project design has to be coordinated in an inter-functional team. This is critically challenging due to the knowledge-intensive nature of project design, the occupational boundaries between functions and time pressure facing project teams. This study aims to tackle this challenge by identifying the configurations of coordination mechanisms, i.e. mechanistic and organic coordination, adopted by inter-functional teams in the face of a high level of time pressure. A questionnaire-survey of 311 respondents from 46 building design projects was undertaken in China. Data were analyzed through a configurational analysis approach. The results show that two configurations could equally lead to high performance. Under a high level of time pressure, the configuration of formal coordination, digitally-mediated structured coordination, and cross-functional meetings is helpful to achieve high project design performance. If mechanistic coordination is absent, team members could equally accomplish superb design performance through organic coordination. This research contributes to the body of knowledge by presenting how inter-functional teams configure coordination mechanisms to deal with knowledge-intensive project design in the face of time pressure.
期刊介绍:
Production Planning & Control is an international journal that focuses on research papers concerning operations management across industries. It emphasizes research originating from industrial needs that can provide guidance to managers and future researchers. Papers accepted by "Production Planning & Control" should address emerging industrial needs, clearly outlining the nature of the industrial problem. Any suitable research methods may be employed, and each paper should justify the method used. Case studies illustrating international significance are encouraged. Authors are encouraged to relate their work to existing knowledge in the field, particularly regarding its implications for management practice and future research agendas.