Virtual bouwteams: a qualitative report on how to implement short-distance virtual teams by focusing on collaboration

Abstract

The construction industry is shifting towards a more collaborative environment through relational contracts following the early contractor involvement approach. In the Netherlands, one of them is the bouwteam process. The peak of collaboration in bouwteam projects and the construction industry is during the pre-construction phases since there is a higher complexity due to the uncertainty and interdependence of elements. On the other hand, technology innovations opened the way to work across boundaries in a remote way, which is known as virtual teams. Taking both aspects into account, the importance of collaboration through relational contracts and the technological innovations, this research seeks to seize the opportunity to expand the traditional working scope into a virtual or hybrid one in a way that doesn’t jeopardize the performance of projects but rather improves it. Based on the problem definition and objective of the present research, a main research question is defined: How focusing on collaboration improves virtual teams in the bouwteam phase?