ITcon Vol. 12, pg. 305-321, http://www.itcon.org/2007/21

The development of online trust among construction teams in Finland

SUBMITTED: September 2006
REVISED: April 2007
PUBLISHED: April 2007
EDITOR: Björk B-C

Lorna Uden, Dr.
Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Technology, Staffordshire University, UK
email: l.uden@staffs.ac.uk

Marja Naaranoja, Dr.
Vaasan ammattikorkeakoulu, University of Applied Sciences, FINLAND
email: marja.naaranoja@puv.fi

SUMMARY: Construction is a complex process involving many different stakeholders. It is important that information among these stakeholders flows smoothly. A crucial aspect of the success of a project depends on the effective sharing of knowledge among the different people. Trust is important for knowledge transfer especially for online applications. There are different types of trust that have implications for knowledge sharing among the construction teams. This paper describes the importance of trust that we have identified during knowledge sharing among four construction projects in Finland. It begins with identification of the needs of online technology among construction teams. It is followed by a brief review of the different types of online trust. Section Three describes the case study methodology. In Section Four the implications of the online trust among construction teams are then discussed. Section Five concludes with suggestions for promoting trust among construction teams for knowledge sharing.

KEYWORDS: trust, online, team, construction.

FULL TEXT: file.pdf (163,788 bytes)

CITATION:

Uden L and Naaranoja M (2007) The development of online trust among construction teams in Finland, ITcon Vol. 12, pg. 305-321, http://www.itcon.org/2007/21