Abstract
A large number of stakeholders in construction projects makes the construction industry prone to disputes. The historical separation between design and construction add to this phenomenon by having a consultant for design and a contractor for construction. Communication breakdown, frequently, is the first sign of problems, notably in the relationship between the Contractor and the Consultant. Therefore, it appears that the split between design and construction has given rise to two separate cultures in the construction industry. This paper attempts to identify whether there is a difference in organisational culture between Consultants and Contractors taken as two groups and determine whether a specific attribute was related to the cultural differences between the two entities. Based on case studies it was found that consultants are biased towards Clan culture while contractors are biased towards Market culture. However, both groups show similar affinity to Adhocracy and Hierarchy cultures.
Highlights
A large number of stakeholders in construction projects makes the construction industry prone to disputes
Within this context this paper aims to investigate whether there is a difference in the organisational culture of Consultants and Contractors taken as two groups, and to determine whether a specific attribute governs the cultural differences between the two entities
All six elements of the contractors are dominated by Market culture
Summary
A large number of stakeholders in construction projects makes the construction industry prone to disputes. During the implementation stage of a project, the Consultant-Contractor relationship is very crucial for successful execution of the project This historical separation of design and construction is well documented and considered as a prime cause for problems encountered in the construction industry (Egan, 1998; Bennett et al , 1996; Seymour and Rooke, 1995; Latham , 1994). Communication gap between the Consultant and Contractor was found to be the main reason for the majority of disputes (Fernando, 2002) It appears that the separation of design and construction has given rise to two different cultures in the construction industry.
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