Knowledge sharing among construction team members is important for improving project performance and successful project delivery. This study aims to develop an integrative understanding of factors affecting individual knowledge-sharing intention in construction teams in Hong Kong. Based on the widely accepted theory of planned behavior (TPB), a comprehensive research model and corresponding hypotheses were developed. To test the research model and hypotheses, a questionnaire survey was conducted to collect data from professionals working in construction companies in Hong Kong. Then the data were analyzed by the statistic technique of structural equation modeling (SEM). The results indicate that professionals’ knowledge-sharing intention is mainly determined by their attitude toward and perceived behavioral control over knowledge sharing, but weakly influenced by subjective norms regarding knowledge sharing. The research findings also reveal that professionals’ attitude toward knowledge sharing is ...

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to employ the theory of reasoned action (TRA) as a theoretical framework to investigate factors affecting individuals' attitudes toward knowledge sharing in construction teams in Hong Kong. Specifically, the factors are analyzed from a cost and benefit perspective grounded in social exchange theory.Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory study using semi‐structured interviews is conducted first to explore context‐specific cost and benefit factors. Based on the exploratory study results and TRA, a research model and hypotheses are developed. A questionnaire survey is then conducted among professionals working in contractors in Hong Kong. The quantitative data are analyzed using structural equation modelling.Findings: The research results indicate that individuals' attitudes toward knowledge sharing are positively affected by knowledge self‐efficacy and knowledge feedback, while negatively affected by losing face. Further, it is revealed that attitude toward knowledge sharing significantly determines intention to share knowledge, which then determines knowledge sharing behavior.Originality/value: The paper is one of the first to employ existing theories in social psychology to examine knowledge sharing behavior in the construction sector. The research results provide important implications for construction companies to promote knowledge sharing in project teams.

Purpose: The leadership style and communication practices of supervisors in the Australian construction industry were measured. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of leadership style and communication practices of Australian construction supervisors on workgroup health and safety (H&S) climate and behaviour.Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire was administered to members of 20 workgroups engaged in rail construction work on the Level Crossing Removal Project and the Melbourne Metro Tunnel Project in Victoria, Australia. The survey measured components of supervisors’ transformational and transactional leadership, communication practices, the group H&S climate and workers’ self-reported H&S compliance and participation.Findings: Supervisors’ transformational and transactional leadership, as well as communication practices, were all positively and significantly correlated with group H&S climate and workers’ self-reported H&S behaviours. The transformational leadership component of providing an appropriate model was the strongest predictor of H&S participation, while H&S compliance was predicted by the transactional leadership component of providing contingent reward, as well as supervisors’ communication practices. H&S climate fully mediated the relationship between supervisory leadership and workers’ self-reported H&S behaviour.Originality/value: The research demonstrates that both transformational and transactional supervisory leadership are important in the construction context. Effective communication between supervisors and workers is also important for H&S. The findings suggest that supervisory leadership development programmes may be an effective way to improve H&S performance in predominantly subcontracted construction workgroups.

In industries in which organizations work in decentralized and distributed structures such as construction, workers are more likely to be influenced by their workgroup supervisors than upper-level management. A study was conducted to quantitatively examine the relationships among supervisory safety communication, group safety climate, and safety behaviors, as well as to qualitatively explore effective ways for supervisors to communicate safety expectations and information to workers. A survey was conducted among workers engaged in rail construction work in Melbourne, Australia. Survey data were collected from 20 workgroups across 11 different worksites. Participant observation was also performed on these worksites to observe safety-related interactions and communication between supervisors and workers. The quantitative research results show that supervisory safety communication practices play a critical role in shaping safety climate within workgroups, which subsequently affects workers’ self-reported safety compliance and safety participation behaviors. The on-site participant observations identified various characteristics of effective safety communication between supervisors and coworkers, including regular engagement, consistent messages and actions, active listening, approachability, personal messages, and respectful delivery. The research results provide important practical implications for construction organizations to dedicate resources to developing supervisors’ leadership capabilities and personal skills, which could contribute to improved safety communication and safety performance in the workplace.

Safety climate has a positive impact on safety performance in the construction industry; it is a multilevel phenomenon that can be formed at the organization and group levels, especially in large organizations with a multilevel management structure. This study investigates how organizational support cascades down to cultivate a group-level safety climate at two time points over a 2-year period through a relationship with an organization-level safety climate, supervisory safety-specific transformation leadership, and coworker support in a large US-based construction contractor. Structural equation modeling analysis on data from an online survey among 284 construction professionals shows, unlike prior research, that organizational support at one point in time does not directly predict a subsequent group-level safety climate. Instead, it affects the group-level safety climate through the mediation effect of supervisory safety-specific transformational leadership and organization-level safety climate and its moderating effect on the relationship between coworker support and group-level safety climate. Importantly, the results also suggest that safety-specific transformational leadership may be an even more important predictor of group-level safety climate than organization-level safety climate and coworker support. These results imply that organizational support could focus on empowering leaders to demonstrate safety-specific transformational leadership behaviors for the sake of promoting a group-level safety climate.

Despite the increasing number of women studying built environment degrees in higher education, the construction industry has not seen an increase in the percentage of female professionals. Women’s experiences in the early stages of their career have a critical influence on their future career intentions, including leaving the industry. This study was motivated to explore the transition experiences from university into work for early career female professionals working in the Australian construction industry. Nineteen interviews were conducted to collect qualitative data which was thematically analysed. Findings indicate that women are primarily driven by an intrinsic motivation to pursue construction careers. Women have both positive and negative experiences during their transition processes. The positive transition experiences are attributed to supportive and respectful relationships with colleagues and the availability of and access to structured graduate or cadetship training programs. Regarding negative experiences, findings suggest that apart from common challenges associated with transition for all entrants, women must contend with additional gender-based challenges. Many participants intend to stay in construction for the next five years but have concerns about the possibility of combining work and family when they decide to have children and how their careers might be affected. The research provides important practical implications for construction organizations in terms of improving women’s transition experience into the industry, maintaining their interest in construction careers and enhancing subsequent retention.