The effect of communication on construction project management processes during the covid-19 pandemic period: a case study in Türkiye

Abstract

The construction industry has had to struggle with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in all sectors. In this process, effective communication has become more significant. This study is aimed to evaluate the significance of effective communication in the COVID-19 process in the Turkish construction industry. Moreover, the causes of communication problems during the project management process and the communication problems among the project stakeholders were investigated. A survey study was applied and the data suitability to the normal distribution was examined using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. The significance relations between the seven different demographic characteristics of the sample and the answers were determined using the Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis H tests. The relative importance index (RII) method was used to determine the participants' perceptions regarding relative importance. This study contributes to the literature by highlighting the views of architects and engineers on the significance of communication in the construction industry as well as investigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic period. This study provides a basis for construction practitioners and scientists who aim to examine the significance of effective communication in the construction industry and the communication problems experienced under the impact of the pandemic. Moreover, it will contribute to the elimination or minimization of communication-related issues. It will help managers and stakeholders in the construction industry develop strategies to avoid what may occur in ensuring effective communication due to any pandemic such as COVID-19.