Comparative study on perception of causes for construction task delay in China and the United States

Rapidly growing construction markets in China and the United States have provided opportunities for contractors to venture into foreign industries. To help project managers understand the fundamental difference in culture and the way projects are managed, it is useful and critical to reveal and compare the causes of delay and construction management practices in China and the US. The research is aimed at identifying and comparing the most prevalent reasons for task-level delay between the two countries, as perceived by various levels of management, and understanding how the culture and tradition influence management practice and performance. A questionnaire survey for public projects contracted to civilian construction companies was administered to contractors, 150 usable responses from China were collected, and the results were compared to the results from a similar survey in the US. The contributions are quantitatively examining the essential constituents causing task delay, discovering the root causes and key differences in construction management culture between the two countries, and developing strategies to help contractors minimize possible task delay when working in different culture and environments. The findings will help construction managers learn the essential differences in culture and their impact on the ways of project operation so that they can take proactive actions to interact with project managers from different counties to minimize delays.