How Does Relational Governance Affect Knowledge Collaboration in Integrated Project Delivery? A Transactive Memory System Process

Abstract Integrated project delivery mode (IPD) depends on high-level knowledge collaboration among project parties. Therefore, knowledge collaboration is critical for IPD to improve knowledge management performance and sustainable competitive advantage. However, effective knowledge collaboration is difficult to achieve because of the diverse knowledge and expertise area of IPD project parties. For a high level of cross-disciplinary knowledge collaboration, this study examines how relational norms and trust as two effective relational governance mechanisms affect knowledge collaboration through verifying the role of transactive memory system (TMS). Then, we proposed statistical hypotheses and tested them by using quantitative data from a questionnaire survey. The research findings present a remarkable indirect influence of relational norms and trust on knowledge collaboration via the mediating role of TMS. This study contributes to the literature in project and engineering management by demonstrating the significant role of TMS in IPD collaboration, especially the mediating effect of TMS on the relationship between relational governance and knowledge collaboration. The research findings provide the collaborative governance strategies for engineering managers by developing a well-functioning TMS to realize holistic knowledge collaboration for IPD projects.