Investigation of Iranian General Contractorsʹʹ Collaboration in Social Network of Construction

The construction industry is a complicated network of relations between providers of knowledge and suppliers of materials and services. Meanwhile, creation of effective channels to identify existing capabilities in selection of best idea, material and implementation & integration methodology for central projectʹ components sounds essential. Although, goals we have in small-sized projects will be successfully achieved through applying the traditional communication methods, but in big-scale ones, certainly creation of a large and more systemic context is at the center of attentions. In this regard, the General Contractor (GC) companies, working as the focal point of communication and responsible for coordinating between main bodies in any project, are to take the primary responsibility of work. It is expected that these companies integrate the resources of contractors and consultants in order to achieve project goals and realize such objectives. At the same time, introducing the Collaboration Network or (CN), as a new initiative which is based on sharing companiesʹ resources, knowledge and information while maintaining their independence and sovereignty of members presents us with a modern tool of inter-organizational relations. Similarities and capabilities created through Collaborative Network could be suitable for general contractors to establish their goals and do their due performance. This paper analyzes cases of collaboration between Iranian’s General Contractor firms involved in big projects by the approach of Social Network Analysis. The results show that as the size of inter-firm networks increases, the networks become denser and center around the densest large group. The results also indicate that the centrality of General Contractors are too powerful in these project and networks have a Structural hole which if be deleted, the network would be destroyed