Cultural Transformation in Construction Partnering Projects

In recent years there has been a growing interest in the use of partnering in construction. Since partnering is seen as changing behaviours and attitudes, cultural transformation cannot be forgotten in the process. Much of the literature tends to presume that cultural alignment is a prerequisite for partnering. Furthermore, the existing research fails to adequately address the complex relationship between individual or group behaviour and organisational culture which, nevertheless, lies at the heart of many prescriptions for improving collaboration within the industry.

This paper initially reviews the major cultural and behavioural challenges and their root causes in construction partnering projects. Many commentators place considerable emphasis upon the importance of changing attitudes and cultural transformation to address various challenges in construction partnering. As the first step, this paper proposes a cultural web to understand organisational culture and to identify a substantial range of the elements which must be managed if a strategic and cultural change is to be successful.