Operationalizing culture in construction management research: a social identity perspective in the Hong Kong context

A prevailing trend of opinion in construction management research revolves around the importance of instilling a positive partnering culture in order to improve overall project performance. Indeed, the culture part of the equation has often been taken as a given and this has led to many normative and, at best, prescriptive claims about culture's consequences in terms of individual behaviours and practices. Despite this trend, no systematic empirical work has so far been undertaken to objectively operationalize or test the real effects of culture. This study aims to fill this research gap. Grounded in the social identity framework, this study proposes an alternative approach for operationalizing and examining culture's effects using data derived from 398 local and foreign senior managers from construction firms in Hong Kong. Results suggest that the relationships between culture and individual behaviours are far more complex than alluded to by simple normative generalizations. The study underscores an urgent need for future research to adopt a more comprehensive framework for defining and measuring culture in construction management research.