Dual Impact of Relational Embeddedness on Expertise and Administrative Coordination

The success of construction projects largely depends on the extent to which project participants coordinate with parties within or between organizations. Although existing research has recognized the pivotal role of coordination, most studies considered coordination as a unitary construct, with little attention given to expertise and administrative coordination simultaneously. In addition, stakeholders in construction projects are embedded in multiple networks, but the impact of dual relational embeddedness on these two categories of coordination remains unclear. This study distinguishes between expertise and administrative coordination in the context of construction, and examines the roles of internal and external relational embeddedness and the mediating effect of boundary behaviors. Utilizing data from 228 construction projects, the results reveal that the two types of relational embeddedness affect expertise and administrative coordination in distinct ways. Internal relational embeddedness positively affects both types of coordination and indirectly impacts them by enhancing boundary behaviors indirectly, while external relational embeddedness positively affects both types of coordination only through boundary behaviors. This study advances the relational embeddedness literature by providing a nuanced understanding of the different effects of dual embeddedness on expertise and administrative coordination. This allows managers to develop targeted strategies to improve expertise and administrative coordination, thereby enhancing project management performance.