Liu, A M M; Shuibo, Z and Meiyung, L (2006) A framework for assessing organisational culture of Chinese construction enterprises. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 13(4), pp. 327-342. ISSN 0969-9988
Abstract
Purpose – In recent years, China is exerting effort to improve the performance effectiveness of its construction industry. This paper aims to report a preliminary study on organisational culture of five selected construction enterprises from different geographical locations in China and to discuss a framework for developing effectiveness measurement criteria for Chinese construction enterprises. Design/methodology/approach – The research approach focuses on the culture profiles of the selected enterprises which have similar size, number of employees, general reputation (in terms of quality of construction), business type (building works) and tax bracket. The measuring instrument of organisational culture is adopted from previous tested research. Findings – It is found that the hierarchy culture is dominant in four cases; Shantou in the Special Economic Zone is the exception. The Shantou enterprise has a market culture and Shantou was one of the first regions to embark on economic reform. Further analysis is required of the spread of the culture profiles in terms of geopraphcial regions and developmental stages of the construction enterprises in China. Originality/value – The result of the five case studies is indicative of the presence of the dichotomy in hierarchy – market culture dominance. Evaluation of operational effectiveness of such organisations must depend on their developmental stages in line with their stated objectives, and a framework for effectiveness measurement is proposed.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | China; competitive strategy; construction industry; culture; organizational effectiveness |
| Index terms: | China, competitive strategy, organizational culture, methodology, measuring instrument, construction industry, presence, effectiveness, organizational effectiveness, case study |
| Subjects: | Geography, performance management, research methods, industry analysis, sociology, business, data collection methods, economic analysis, analytical methods, environmental science |
| Topics: | Sustainability, Engineering Principles, Geographical Context, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Organizational Design, Quality Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
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