Managing ex-ante power asymmetry for ex-post multi-party teamwork quality.

Abstract

This study examines how ex-ante power asymmetry influences teamwork quality in specialist-led complex projects, where effective collaboration is essential for project performance. Grounded in power-dependence and agency theory, a conceptual model linking power asymmetry and information disparity to project network structures and teamwork quality is developed. Using survey data from 236 projects and structural equation modelling, how information disparity embedded in asymmetric power relations shapes network density and concentration is analyzed. The results show that information disparity increases both network density and concentration, but with divergent effects on teamwork quality. Dense networks facilitate communication and coordination and are positively associated with teamwork quality, whereas highly concentrated networks reinforce leader dominance and are negatively associated with teamwork quality. These findings reveal two opposing structural pathways through which power asymmetry affects collaborative performance. The study advances project governance and teamwork research by explicating how power structures operate through network configurations to shape teamwork outcomes and underscores the importance of managing power asymmetry at the pre-contract stage to promote high-quality collaboration in complex projects.