Organisational culture of construction project managers in the GCC countries

Abstract

Purpose – One of the consequences of globalisation is the proliferation of interactions between professionals of organisations from different cultural backgrounds. This is certainly true for construction project managers working in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, and the aim here is to provide foundation evidence regarding first, the existence of a distinct organisational culture and, second, the perceived culture type. Design/methodology/approach – Data collected through questionnaire-based interviews with 96 construction project managers in the GCC countries was analysed by applying the Organisational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI, Cameron and Quinn, 2006) and empirical statistics. Findings – The OCAI was found to be a useful tool to determine a profession's culture, and, confirming what has so far been anecdotal evidence, the findings indicate that both the group and hierarchy cultures are dominant culture types among construction project managers in the GCC countries. Practical implications – The confirmation of the dominant culture types gives increased confidence to practitioners to develop effective cultural diversity management regarding professional interactions with construction project managers in the GCC countries. Originality/value – The findings contribute to the body of knowledge by proving that construction project managers in the GCC countries perceive a dominant blend of group and hierarchy cultures.

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