This study aims to investigate the relationships between the different strengths of ties (strong ties and weak ties), types of trust and project performance in megaprojects.,A questionnaire survey was conducted with various experts and professionals involved in megaprojects, and 350 valid responses were received. Data was analyzed by means of structural equation modeling.,The results show that both strong ties and weak ties have positive impacts on trust in megaprojects, but weak ties have a more significant positive effect than do strong ties. Unexpectedly, the introduction of interorganizational trust significantly weakens the effect of the strength of ties on project performance. The indirect influence of the strength of ties on performance has different paths. Weak ties have an indirect effect via calculative trust and relational trust. However, in a strong ties network, inferior stakeholders lack the information necessary to complete a megaproject, and they believe that calculative trust will not promote project performance until the megaproject is successfully delivered. Thus, the effect of calculative trust on project performance is not significant.,These findings provide evidence in regard to strength of ties governance being a part of the effective strategy in improving megaprojects’ performance. It also demonstrates the mediating function of trust and advances the current understandings of the underlying mechanism of the strength of ties on project performance, thus providing implications for researchers and practitioners. However, this study has some limitations. For example, the strength of ties and trust between organizations are a dynamic process in megaprojects. This study does not conduct in-depth analysis of the evolution mechanism and investigate the different levels of trust at different stages of the megaproject. Future research can be guided by these directions.,The main contribution of this study is fourfold. First, this study enriches the literature on strength of ties by accentuating the roles of trust in megaproject context. Second, this study contributes to the theoretical development of a conceptual model for explaining the interrelationships among strength of ties, types of trust and project performance. Third, this study responds to the call “which dimension (i.e. strong ties or weak ties) is more influential” by exploring the direct and indirect effects of strength of ties on project performance. Finally, this study breaks through the limitation of traditional cognition that megaproject management can be met by relying on rigid contracts. In other words, trust can supplement the weakness of rigid contract by forming contract flexibility with different strength of ties. Meanwhile, the specific strategies to establish and maintain trust are given, such as building information model (BIM) collaboration platform and reputation management mechanism.

中文翻译：

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关系的不同优势如何影响大型项目的项目绩效：信任的中介作用

这项研究旨在调查大型项目中不同纽带关系（强关系和弱关系），信任类型和项目绩效之间的关系。对参与大型项目的各种专家和专业人员进行了问卷调查，获得了350份有效答案收到。通过结构方程模型对数据进行分析。结果表明，强关系和弱关系对大型项目的信任都有积极影响，但弱关系比强关系具有更显着的积极作用。出乎意料的是，组织间信任的引入大大削弱了关系强度对项目绩效的影响。关系强度对绩效的间接影响具有不同的路径。弱联系通过计算信任和关系信任具有间接影响。但是，在紧密联系的网络中，劣等的利益相关者缺乏完成大型项目所需的信息，他们相信，在大型项目成功交付之前，计算信任将不会提高项目的绩效。因此，计算信任对项目绩效的影响并不显着。这些发现为关系治理的力量作为提高大型项目绩效的有效策略的一部分提供了证据。它还演示了信任的中介功能，并提高了对关系强度对项目绩效的潜在机制的当前理解，从而为研究人员和从业人员提供了启示。但是，这项研究有一些局限性。例如，组织之间的联系和信任的强度是大型项目中动态的过程。本研究没有对演化机制进行深入分析，也不研究大型项目不同阶段的不同信任水平。这些方向可以指导未来的研究。本研究的主要贡献有四个方面。首先，本研究通过强调大型项目环境中信任的作用，丰富了有关联系强度的文献。其次，本研究有助于概念模型的理论发展，以解释关系强度，信任类型和项目绩效之间的相互关系。第三，本研究通过探讨关系强度对项目绩效的直接和间接影响，回应了“哪个维度（即强关系或弱关系）更具有影响力”的说法。最后，这项研究突破了传统观念的局限性，即依靠刚性合同可以满足大型项目的管理。换句话说，信任可以通过形成具有不同联系强度的合同灵活性来补充刚性合同的弱点。同时，给出了建立和维护信任的具体策略，如建筑信息模型（BIM）协作平台和信誉管理机制。