The purpose of this master thesis is to study how communication and collaboration can be
optimised in Danish construction projects during the construction phase. The methodology
used is Grounded Theory and the approach is qualitative. By using the qualitative approach
ten interviews were conducted with owners, advisors and contractors from the Danish
construction industry. The interviews were semi-structured which allowed the interviewer
to explore interesting topics as they emerged during the interviews. It was analysed
which initiatives the interviewees use to optimise communication and collaboration. These
initiatives were supplemented with initiatives from the systematic literature review as
part of the continuous collection of data using Grounded Theory. The literature review
was also the basis for exploration of what communication and collaboration is and what
barriers exists for effective communication and collaboration. The purpose of the initiatives
is that they must overcome the barriers to optimise the communication and collaboration.
The initiatives which the thesis consider will overcome the barriers are; Evaluation, Joint
office, Common goal, Joint site hut, Communication plan, Project network andWorkshops.
Furthermore, the thesis studies how the management on construction projects must be
aware of the given situation on a project and from here adapt their management style,
hereby using situational leadership. The use of situational leadership will ensure that
the full effect of implementing the initiatives is reached. The managers qualifications are
also important according to both the interviewees and the literature as shown in the
analysis and discussion. Especially the social skills of the manager are important, because
they enable the manager to analyse the social situations on the construction project and
from here adapt the management style. Which initiative will bring the most value to a
construction project is discussed and it is found that the appropriate initiatives will vary
from project to project since the barriers will be different. Therefore, the management
must analyse the magnitude of the barriers on the unique construction project and from
there decide which initiatives to use. This decision must be made when bearing in mind
which strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) each initiative has. The
SWOT-analysis illustrates the complexity of each initiative. The suitable way to overcome
the barriers for a construction project may therefore be to implement a combination of
initiatives or to only implement a single initiative, which may overcome more than one
barrier for effective communication and collaboration.