Meng, J; Yan, J and Xue, B (2018) Exploring relationships between national culture and infrastructure sustainability using QCA. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 144(9): 04018082, ISSN 0733-9364
Abstract
Cultural factors are unavoidable in the infrastructure construction process, and understanding relationships between culture and infrastructure sustainability (IS) will help increase IS levels. A qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) method is adopted to find what combinations of culture dimensions with different level of scores affect IS. First, data are collected through the Envision System, comprising scores of 12 projects in five IS aspects. Second, by QCA procedures, specific combinations of culture dimensions that contribute to projects' behaving well in IS aspects are generated then discussed with the aid of Hofstede's theory. The findings show that project owners' attitudes and behaviors influenced by their national culture differ when an infrastructure project is implemented, resulting in different scores in IS aspects for the 12 infrastructure projects. Finally, a framework is established based on QCA results to reveal the relationship between culture and IS. Obtaining information on the relationship is of great importance for helping infrastructure owners change their attitudes and behaviors to increase IS levels.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | infrastructure sustainability; national culture; qualitative comparative analysis |
| Index terms: | national culture, dimension, infrastructure project, infrastructure sustainability, owner, infrastructure construction, qualitative comparative analysis |
| Subjects: | health monitoring assessment and metrics, civil engineering, research methods, sustainable engineering, sociology, cross-cultural studies, infrastructure and transport systems |
| Topics: | Stakeholder Management, Health and Safety, Engineering Principles, Research Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
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