The mediating role of team cohesion in the relationship between team integration and value co-creation in AEC projects: evidence from Peru

Despite growing recognition that team integration improves project outcomes in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry, the mechanism through which integration translates into value co-creation remains empirically unexamined. This study addresses this gap by investigating the mediating role of team cohesion in the relationship between team integration and value co-creation, conceptualized as a second-order construct comprising relational commitment, collaboration and innovation. Drawing on the resource-based view (RBV), social exchange theory (SET) and relational coordination theory (RCT), a mediation model was tested using covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) with data from 386 managers involved in medium- and large-scale AEC projects in Lima, Peru. The results confirm that team integration significantly enhances value co-creation (β = 0.662, p < 0.001), with team cohesion serving as a complementary mediator (indirect effect = 0.217, p < 0.001). The model explains 89.4% of the variance in value co-creation. Project budget and managerial experience showed no significant effects, underscoring the primacy of team dynamics over structural factors. This study contributes the first empirical evidence of team cohesion as a mediating mechanism between integration and value co-creation in AEC projects within an emerging economy context.