Abstract
This study is based on the premise that culture plays significant roles in the risk related decision making behaviour of project managers in the construction industry, as decision making and the management of risks contributes largely to the reduction or elimination of trade-offs of time versus cost, or time and cost versus quality. The intention of the study was to apply and explore the potential role of Hofstede’s (2001) dimensions of culture in decision making behaviour during the management of inherent risk in the unexpected events that occur during the implementation of construction projects in MENA (KSA, UAE and Egypt).More specifically, the study attempted to identify the effect of the cultural factors (Uncertainty Avoidance, Power Distance, Individualism / Collectivism, Masculinity /Femininity, Long / Short-term Orientation to Time) on the cognitive mechanisms of risk propensity and risk perception, as well as exploring the relationship between the cultural dimensions and the decision making behaviour of project managers while they implement construction projects in MENA based on their countries of practice and their years of experience.
The Grounded Theory methodology was adopted in analysing the research data, and this led to inferences that generated emergent theories, and a model explaining the relationship between cultural dimensions and the decision making behaviour of project managers during the implementation of construction projects. The t-test analysis was also employed in a triangulation approach to support findings from the grounded theory analysis. Findings revealed that the primary factors influencing risk propensity were
either acquired or exist within the project environment. They included: personal experience and intuition; government or organisational rules and regulations including contract terms; training courses in project and risk management; and timing of occurrence of the unexpected event.
Regarding the influence of cultural dimensions, it was found that managers’ propensity for risk is mainly influenced by power distance (large or small), collectivism, and long and short-term-orientation to time, as highlighted in the emergent model of this study. Moreover, managers’ assessment of how the risks inherent in an unexpected event constitute threats to the resource or situation defines their perception of the risk event; hence, their disposition towards the perception of risk is based on whether they were comfortable or not with the mitigation efforts required for managing the risk, depending on the potential loss envisaged as a result of impact of the inherent risk on the resource within the construction project.
The research data suggests that while the propensity for risk interacts with the perception of risk, the perception of risk simultaneously influences uncertainty avoidance and the manager’s risky decision making behaviour. However, uncertainty avoidance is the only cultural factor that directly influences risky decision making behaviour. The unexpected event also directly and simultaneously influences the perception of risk and uncertainty avoidance. The study showed that, overall, managers in the three countries were mainly similar in their approaches towards the management of the risks regarding their propensity and perception of risk.
The key outcome of the grounded data analysis shows that the introduction of Hofstede’s (2001) cultural dimensions to Sitkin and Weingart’s (1995a) mediated model of the determinants of risky decision-making behaviour as implemented in this study leads to a patently different model (Figure 5.1) from that of Sitkin and Weingart, (1995). The outcome of this study has influential implications for practice regarding the management of inherent risk in unexpected events that occur during the implementation of construction projects in MENA.
| Date of Award | 2017 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Sponsors | Saudi Arabia Ministry of Higher Education |
| Supervisor | Andrew Munns (Supervisor), Robert Mackie (Supervisor) & Motiar Rahman (Supervisor) |
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