Assessing Collaboration Across Organizational Boundaries in U.S. Green Construction: Does working together with new information technology result in better buildings?

跨职能和组织边界的沟通和协作是管理中最困难的问题之一。除了其他因素外，用于交流的媒体极大地塑造了协作可以发生的实质性和社会层面，但我们对如何选择和使用特定媒体知之甚少。该研究小组将使用比较案例研究和调查来建立和测试有关新的3-D成像如何影响可持续设计和建筑业中跨组织边界的沟通和合作的理论。研究人员已经完成了初步的实地工作和理论构建。NSF的支持将使这项调查在三个阶段取得进展：a)对美国一个主要城市大型建筑项目期间的合作进行定性的现场评估；b)深入采访50位行业领袖，以便为技术采用和公司间合作制定量化措施；以及c)分析由美国绿色建筑委员会的LEED程序认证的100个建筑项目的现有数据库。除了促进对技术中介协作的理论理解之外，该项目还应该对那些寻求在许多制造环境中更好地管理协作和供应链通信的人具有实际意义。特别是，研究团队希望为从事可持续建筑项目的建筑师、工程师和建筑商提供实用的见解。

Communication and collaboration across functional and organizational boundaries are among the hardest problems in management. Among other things, the media that are used to communicate significantly shape the substantive and social dimensions within which collaboration can happen, but we know little abut how to choose and use particular media. This research team will use comparative case studies and surveys to build and test theory about how new 3-D imaging affects communication and collaboration across organizational boundaries in the sustainable design and construction industry. The researchers have already completed initial field work and theory building. The NSF support will enable this inquiry to progress in three stages: a) a qualitative field assessment of collaboration during a large construction project in a major U.S. city, b) in-depth interviews with 50 industry leaders in order to develop quantitative measures for technology adoption and inter-firm collaboration, and c) analysis of an existing database of 100 construction projects certified by the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED process. In addition to advancing theory-based understanding of technology-mediated collaboration, the project should have practical implications for those seeking to better manage collaborations and supply-chain communications in a number of manufacturing settings. In particular, the research team expects to offer practical insights for architects, engineers, and builders working on sustainable construction projects.