Rehan, A; Thorpe, D and Heravi, A (2025) An empirical study on project managers' leadership behavioral practices impacting project success–the Australian construction sector. International Journal of Construction Education and Research, 21(2), pp. 164-188. ISSN 1557-8771
Abstract
The study aims to bridge the gap for an in-depth empirical analysis by investigating the project managers' leadership behavioral practices, helping practitioners tackle unique challenges in the Australian construction sector. A quantitative approach was employed using a survey questionnaire to collect responses from (66) project managers/leaders. Exploratory factors/multivariate regression has identified four key success factors: (1) Relationship Management, (2) Leading by Example, (3) Self-Management, and (4) Interpersonal Sensitivity and thirteen contributing leadership practices, emphasizing inclusiveness, relationship-building, self-feedback objectivity, sharing information, and controlling emotions that significantly impact project success. Synthesizing information indicated transformational, transactional, and authentic styles of leadership practices and an inclination to adopt innovative behaviors promoting positive change for achieving project success. Besides, the study found remarkable differences in the project leadership practices from those extracted from global research studies, suggesting future investigation. The study's results addressed the challenges experienced in the construction industry: delays and inefficiencies, supply chain management, communication barriers with a multicultural workforce, stringent government regulatory and safety compliance, infrastructure demands, skills shortages, sustainability, organization culture, and new technology adoption. It will significantly contribute to the body of knowledge by generating valuable insights and perspectives for a deeper understanding of construction-related practices for the practitioners.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | communication; leadership practices; project success; success factors; questionnaire survey |
| Index terms: | investigation, empirical study, relationship management, construction industry, project success, project manager, new technology, global research, practitioner, questionnaire, shortages, body of knowledge, construction sector, compliance, survey, success factor |
| Subjects: | health monitoring assessment and metrics, data collection methods, profession, industry analysis, professional development, project management theory and practice, management, innovation and technology management, knowledge management, economic analysis, practitioner, health safety and environment, research methods |
| Topics: | Health and Safety, Engineering Principles, Project Management, Human Resources, Information Management, Research Practice, Roles and Professions |
| 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