An investigation into the relationship between the corporate culture of South African construction firms and performance

Poor capacity, poor quality, low productivity and low profit margins continue tocharacterize the majority of South African construction firms. These shortcomings areattributable to poor cultural practices that are often associated with construction firms. Inan effort to devise strategies intended to improve the performance of South Africanconstruction firms, this research report investigates the relationship that exists betweenthe corporate culture and performance of South African construction firms.An in depth literature review that identified the key corporate culture dimensions that arecritical for the success of construction firms was undertaken. Literature advocating forthe existence of a positive relationship between corporate culture and businessperformance was also explored.To ascertain the level of importance attached to the various corporate culturedimensions by South African construction firms, a survey was undertaken amongstsenior employees of different sized construction firms in the Gauteng region. The surveyrevealed that the respondents from the different sized firms were largely similar in theirlevel of appreciation of the various corporate culture dimensions.The study found that there is generally a positive relationship that exists between thecorporate culture and performance of South African construction firms. The degree orintensity of the relationship is largely dependent on the size of the organization. Smalland medium sized construction firms demonstrated greater appreciation of the positiverelationship between corporate culture and business performance.To improve the performance of South African construction firms, the study recommendsthat research and development, innovation, benchmarking and customer orientation beprioritized. The study further recommends for the development and adoption of effectivehuman resources retention strategies, this should be coupled with appropriatementoring and career development programmes