Lai, K S; Yusof, N A and Kamal, E M (2016) Organizational culture of the architectural firm: A case in a developing country. International Journal of Construction Management, 16(3), pp. 197-208. ISSN 1562-3599
Abstract
The construction industry has been reported to experience problems in efforts to be innovative due to its complex nature. One of the factors that contributes to the problem is culture. Despite their perceived innovations, architectural firms have a limited understanding of their organizational culture in relation to innovation. This paper examines the organizational culture within the architectural firm in Malaysia, in response to the wider need for more organizational studies in the construction industry, especially in developing countries in Asia. A postal survey was employed and 151 architectural firms responded. The exploratory factor analysis revealed four cultural dimensions, namely (1) innovation-supportive behaviours, (2) freedom, (3) collectivism/teamwork and (4) individualism. The findings indicate that innovation-supportive behaviours and collectivism/teamwork were dominant in these architectural firms. The findings also revealed a lack of freedom and individualism within the architectural firms of Malaysia. Therefore future strategy should focus on encouraging more freedom and individualism within architectural firms as a way of fostering innovation, particularly in the context of developing countries.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | architectural firms; developing country; innovation; Malaysia; organizational culture |
| Index terms: | dimension, construction industry, Malaysia, architectural firm, teamwork, Asia, organizational culture, developing country, exploratory factor analysis, strategy, survey |
| Subjects: | business, data collection methods, health monitoring assessment and metrics, regions and continents, management, development economics, Geography, sociology, statistical analysis, industry analysis |
| Topics: | Geographical Context, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Health and Safety, International Construction, Organizational Design |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here