How Individual’s Proactive Behavior Helps Construction Sustainability: Exploring the Effects of Project Citizenship Behavior on Project Performance

Abstract

Sustainable development has been commonly identified as a vital target in the construction industry. Studies have examined different management strategies and procedures to promote resource utilization efficiency, while the human factors in sustainable construction have received far less attention. This paper investigates the influence of Project Citizenship Behavior (PCB) on project performance in the sustainable construction context. After introducing the concept of “relationship sustainability,” a moderating model is established. Data are collected from 152 experienced construction project managers in China. The results show positive relationships between most dimensions of Project Citizenship Behavior and construction sustainability performance, in spite of the negative effect of taking charge on relationship sustainability. Moreover, the degree of complexity of projects acts as a moderator in the relationship between Project Citizenship Behavior and construction sustainability performance. This paper endeavors to enrich the knowledge of sustainable construction by regarding human behavioral factors as important resources and explaining their effect on project sustainability, thus shedding light on the theory of sustainable construction by extending it to the micro-level analysis, as well as offering guidelines about how to raise the sustainability level of construction projects.