Key findings of the report show how formal and especially informal unwritten rules influence the dialogue and the actors’ relationship to each other and their willingness and ability to participate.
Communication in the construction industry continues to become more digital, which changes the context of personal interaction in project work.
Major players in the construction industry are focusing on becoming more competitive. Their ambition is to increase productivity by incorporating more technology.
In an age where digital media dominates the means of communication, this research turns its focus to verbal dialogue.
In the construction industry, many meetings are held by actors of varying roles and even competing interests – interests which need reconciled. This research investigates factors that may affect the dialogue and, therefore, the reconciliation of interests.
Observation was made of a number of dialogues conducted at four meetings in two different projects.
Upon condensing the dialogues, three central themes emerge as challenges to the project: the building’s location, disposition, and facade. After conducting a deeper and more thorough analysis, the dialogues that create change or conflicts between actors are identified.
This analysis makes use of the actor-network theory, which considers the rolls actors take - or are given by other actors.
Furthermore the analysis shows which elements are of significant importance to the dialogue.
The analytical process highlights the nature of the conflicts between the dialogues’ relations and provides an opportunity to look at the more fundamentally human aspects of the dialogue. Interviews with actors representing three roles were conducted and their perspectives are included.