Stable Social Knowledge Creation to Solve the Contract Failure Dilemma in International Construction Engineering: A Liquid Crystal Metaphor

The importance of social knowledge in the theory and practice of international construction engineering is growing, yet related contract failures are still frequent to date, and much less is known about the inner content of social knowledge and how to realize its full potential in international projects. Therefore, this study attempts to demonstrate the internal structure of social knowledge in the context of the current intercultural era to enhance the development of international construction engineering. Considering the commonalities between the social knowledge iceberg and the liquid crystal, the study regarded liquid crystal as a metaphor for the social knowledge iceberg and embodies the flow path of social knowledge from internal formations to external effects. A multiple case study was used to verify the proposed metaphorical model and visualize the internal structure of social knowledge. We find that cross-cultural leadership, which determines the stability of the social knowledge iceberg by adjusting the degree of cultural integration within the range of 20–40% and thereby promoting the catalytic effect of social knowledge for contract completion, is the core of social knowledge creation. This paper theoretically explores the structure, influencing factors, and functions of social knowledge stability and, in the meantime in practice, provides guidance for the success of international construction engineering by combing knowledge management and chemistry theory.