Research On Project-Oriented Supply Chain Cross-Organization Knowledge Flow And Project Value-Added

With the development of social economy and the growth of fixed asset investment,architectural projects are becoming larger,more complex,and more clearly knowledge-intensive and knowledge driven.During the implementation of these projects,the timely,well-planned policy making of project-based organizations depend upon the precise acquisition of knowledge,in which prompt reception and processing the knowledge needed is the key to achieving increase in value of the projects.However,since a project-oriented supply chain concerns a great number of project-based organizations,once the transfer of project knowledge among these organizations goes not so smoothly,especially when there is lack of effective,cooperative and innovative mechanism among them,it will result in difficulties for knowledge transfer and acquisition and thus obstacles for making value growth.Therefore,it is currently a very popular topic,in the research of engineering project management,to explore how the knowledge flow along the project-driven supply chain should influence the growth of project value through the cooperative and innovative mechanism.A review of the study on project-based organizations,knowledge flow along the supply chain and the increase in project value both home and abroad affords to reveal the fact that the current research on this topic largely remains limited to theoretical considerations;a comparatively smaller amount of attention is paid in terms of cooperation,innovation and value increase,especially without much empirical study on how various attributes of knowledge flow affects the increase in project value.Therefore,this paper attempts to adopt an empirical approach to investigate the relationship among the knowledge flow along the project-oriented supply chain,the mechanism of cooperation and innovation,and increase in project value.After a review and interpretation of relevant literature,the paper provides clear definitions of such concepts as project-oriented supply chains,knowledge flow along the supply chain,increase in project value,and cooperation and innovation.Based on these concepts and the influential elements in value growth,the paper puts forward a hypothesis of the relationship among knowledge flow,increase in project value,and cooperation and innovation,before a theoretical model is constructed.The examination and analysis of the hypothesis and the theoretical model will be conducted by means of empirical study,and then conclusions are drawn,followed by suggestions given to practical needs.The current paper combines theoretical and empirical methods,provides a hypothesis of the relationship among knowledge flow,increase in project value,and cooperation and innovation,and explores this relationship by building SEM.Among these efforts,knowledge flow is defined as an independent variable,project value-added as a dependent variable,and cooperation and innovation as a mediator.And a questionnaire is designed based on the hypothesis and the theoretical model,as well as consideration of both current literature and practical situations.Collection of sample data is conducted through distribution of questionnaires and on-the-spot interviews,followed by the analysis of the credibility,exploratory factors and confirmatory factors of the collected data,and the analysis and examination of the relationship among knowledge flow,increase in project value and cooperation and innovation through SEM(Structural Equation Modeling).This paper will divide the concept of cooperation and innovation into three variables,organizational innovation,task innovation,and procedural innovation,and the examination and analysis are conducted accordingly.The empirical research turns out to show that:? the impact of knowledge flow upon increase in project value is remarkable and positive;? the impact of knowledge flow upon organizational innovation,task innovation and procedural innovation is remarkable and positive;?the contribution of organizational innovation and procedural innovation to increase in project value is remarkable and positive;?the impact of task innovation upon increase in project value is not remarkable;?a remarkable partial mediating effect exists in the impact of organizational innovation and procedural innovation upon knowledge flow.Based on the conclusion of this empirical research,some suggestions are provided as follows:firstly,the architecture industry should make the best use of project-based organizations and assemble its quality resources to improve the strength of project-driven supply chains;secondly,attention should be paid to the process in which knowledge flows among the organizational members along the project-driven supply chain,and stimulation should be provided for the conversion and upgrading of the knowledge possessed both by individuals and organizations;thirdly,with different types of cooperation and innovation,we should enhance the continuous improvement in knowledge storage,technical means and management styles in project-driven supply chains,increase step by step the overall performance of the entire architecture industry,in order to increase the value of projects.