Murata, F M (2013) Cross-cultural leadership for global construction projects. Proceedings of Institution of Civil Engineers: Management, Procurement and Law, 166(5), pp. 240-248. ISSN 17514312
Abstract
This study is based on a construction project successfully undertaken by an Italian company in a multi-cultural environment in Swaziland. The main objective was to explore the impact of cultural diversity on construction project management by investigating possible correlations between cultural differences of employees and leadership behaviours exhibited by managers. A total of 66 employees from Swaziland, 23 from Mozambique, and seven managers from Italy participated in the study undertaken in 2008. The survey instruments used were Hofstede's Values Survey Module to measure cultural differences, and Bass and Avolio's multifactor leadership questionnaire to determine leadership styles exhibited by managers. The results show significant cultural differences among employees, and managers exhibited both transformational and transactional leadership behaviours. Correlation coefficients between employees' cultural factors and managers' leadership styles were calculated by linear regression, and the results show that there are both positive and negative relationships. This implies that managers used 'flexible leadership styles' to cope with the cross-cultural environment. Despite the cultural differences found, the project was delivered on time and within budget. The conclusion drawn from the study is that project managers can adopt 'flexible leadership styles' to leverage the sustainable competitive advantages embedded in cultural diversity.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | developing countries; project management; statistical analysis |
| Index terms: | global construction, module, construction project management, project management, competitive advantage, project manager, Mozambique, statistical analysis, construction project, Italy, questionnaire, Swaziland, manager, developing country, cultural difference, survey, leadership style |
| Subjects: | project management theory and practice, data science, data collection methods, profession, market analysis, cross-cultural studies, leadership, architectural elements, production management, Geography, development economics, strategic management, practitioner |
| Topics: | Roles and Professions, Research Practice, Organizational Design, International Construction, Design Practice, Project Management, Geographical Context |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
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