Fernando, S; Hansen, E; Kozak, R and Sinha, A (2018) Organizational cultural compatibility of engineered wood products manufacturers and building specifiers in the Pacific Northwest. Architectural Engineering and Design Management, 14(5), pp. 398-410. ISSN 1745-2007
Abstract
Organizations are significantly influenced by the corporate cultures of organizations with which they interact. Both the construction and engineered wood products (EWP) manufacturing industries are generally known for operating in a traditional environment maintaining conservative corporate cultures, which can create friction when they try to interact with a more liberal set of specifiers. This study assesses the cultural disparities and communication barriers between specifiers and EWP manufacturers in the Pacific Northwest of the US. The study follows a semi-structured interview protocol to decipher the cultures of companies and professionals from the two industries. The responses are qualitatively analyzed and consolidated to identify specific patterns of organizational behavior. A number of factors are identified that affect the interaction between specifiers and manufacturers, chief among which is the consistent presence of distributors as key intermediaries in the supply chain. Low profit margins, lack of engineering and design competency, and risk-aversion are challenges faced by the manufacturing sector. Consolidated organizational behavioral knowledge from this study will benefit EWP manufacturers, specifiers and policy makers alike to close the gap in communication and improve the cultural compatibility between these two members of the construction value chain.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | collaboration; culture; engineered wood products; manufacturers; specifiers |
| Index terms: | disparity, interaction, intermediary, collaboration, corporate culture, presence, wood, manufacturing industry, organizational behaviour, profit, interview, value chain, manufacturer |
| Subjects: | management, traditional and composite building materials, value chain strategy, social justice, sociology, industry analysis, behavioral psychology, data collection methods, business, practitioner, environmental science, economic analysis |
| Topics: | Business Strategy, Research Practice, Construction Materials, Roles and Professions, Sustainability, Ethics, Supply Chain Management, Organizational Design |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCE |
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