DEVELOPMENT OF A FRAMEWORK FOR PARTNERING THROUGH ALIGNING ...

296 Pages·2013·3.27 MB·English

DEVELOPMENT OF A FRAMEWORK FOR PARTNERING
THROUGH ALIGNING ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURES IN
THE MALAYSIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Faizatul Akmar ABDUL NIFA

Ph.D. Thesis 2013
DEVELOPMENT OF A FRAMEWORK FOR PARTNERING
THROUGH ALIGNING ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURES IN
THE MALAYSIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Faizatul Akmar ABDUL NIFA

College of Science and Technology
School of the Built Environment
The University of Salford
Salford, UK

Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements of the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
May 2013

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LIST OF CONTENTS

LIST OF CONTENTS………...................................................................................................i
LIST OF FIGURES…...........................................................................................................viii
LIST OF TABLES....................................................................................................................x
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS..…...........................................................................................xiii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.......................................................................................................xv
DECLARATION................................................................................................................... xvi
ABSTRACT.......................................................................................................................... xvii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO THE RESEARCH .................................................. 1

1.1 BACKGROUND ......................................................................................................... 1

1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENTS / RESEARCH GAP ...................................................... 3

1.3 RESEARCH AIM AND OBJECTIVES ..................................................................... 4

1.4 RATIONALE/RESEARCH QUESTIONS ............................................................... 5

1.5 RESEARCH PROCESS .............................................................................................. 5

1.6 OUTCOMES OF THIS RESEARCH ….................................................................. 9

1.7 SCOPE OF RESEARCH ........................................................................................... 10

1.8 STRUCTURE OF THESIS ........................................................................................ 10

1.9 SUMMARY.................................................................................................................12

CHAPTER 2: PARTNERING IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY .......................13

2.1 INTRODUCTION ………………..………………………………………………… 13

2.2 THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY ………………………………………….….. 14

2.3 KEY PLAYERS OF THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY ………………………. 15

2.4 CURRENT CHALLENGES IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY …………... 17

2.5 PARTNERING IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY …...…………………… 19

2.5.1 DEFINITION OF PARTNERING ………………………………………. 21

2.6 DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES OF PARTNERING ……………………………… 24

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2.7 IMPLEMENTATION METHODS OF PARTNERING …………………………... 26

2.7.1 PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP (PPP) ………………………………. 27

2.8 ENABLING FACTORS FOR PARTNERING ……………………………………. 30

a. COLLABORATION AND COOPERATION ………………………………….30
b. COMMITMENT ……………………………………………………………….. 31
c. COMMUNICATION …………………………………………………………...33
d. CULTURE ……………...……………………………………………………… 34
e. TRUST ……………...………………………………………………………….. 36
f. TOOLS …………………………………………………………………………. 37
g. POLICIES ………………..……………………………………….……………. 38
h. PROCUREMENT ……………………………………………………………… 39

2.9 OUTCOMES OF SUCCESSFUL PARTNERING ………………………………… 42

2.10 BARRIERS TO PARTNERING …………………………………………………… 43

a. LACK OF TRUST ……………………………………………………………... 43
b. LACK OF COMMON GOALS ……………………………………………...… 44
c. UNDERBIDDING OF CONTRACTS …………...……………………………. 44
d. PERSONNEL ISSUES ………………………………………………………… 44

2.11 STRATEGIC APPROACHES FOR PARTNERING …………………………....… 45

2.12 GAPS IN PARTNERING KNOWLEDGE ………………………………………… 52

2.13 SUMMARY ………………………..………………………………………………. 53

CHAPTER 3: THE MALAYSIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY AND THE
IMPORTANCE OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE IN
PARTNERING….………………………………………………………… 55

3.1 INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………………….……. 55

3.2 THE MALAYSIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY .......................................... 56

3.3 PROJECT PROCUREMENT METHODS IN MALAYSIA ……………………..... 57

3.3.1 TRADITIONAL PROJECT PROCUREMENT …………………………… 57
3.3.2 DESIGN AND BUILD PROCUREMENT METHOD ……………...…….. 59
3.3.3 THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PARTNERING IN MALAYSIA ………… 60

3.4 SUPPORTS FOR PARTNERING IN MALAYSIAN CONSTRUCTION
INDUSTRY................................................................................................................ 62

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3.5 CURRENT CHALLENGES IN MALAYSIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY.... 65

3.6 THE MALAYSIAN CULTURE ............................................................................ 68

3.7 ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE ACROSS DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES IN
MALAYSIA.……………………………………………………….....…………….. 69

3.8 THE CONCEPT OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE.......................................... 70

3.9 ASSESMENT OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE............................................... 73

3.9.1 HOFSTEDE FRAMEWORK OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
(HOFSTEDE ET AL, 1990) ……………………………………………...… 74
3.9.2 SCHEIN’S MODEL (SCHEIN, 1989) ……………………….....………….. 75
3.9.3 DEAL AND KENNEDY’S MODEL OF ORGANIZATIONAL
CULTURE (1982) …………………………………………………………...77
3.9.4 HANDY’S MODEL OF ORGANIZATIONAL
CULTURE (1985) …………………………………………………..……….78
3.9.5 TROMPENAARS & HAMPDEN-TURNER’S
FRAMEWORK (1997) …………………………………………….………..80
3.9.6 ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE PROFILE
(O’REILLY, CHATMAN & CALDWELL, 1991) .........................................82
3.9.7 THE COMPETING VALUES FRAMEWORK
(CAMERON & QUINN, 1999) …………………………………………..83

3.10 COMPARISON OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE ASSESSMENT
METHODS ……….........................……………………………………………..….. 85

3.11 ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE DIMENSIONS IN THE CONSTRUCTION
INDUSTRY ………………………...............................…………………………… 87

3.12 CONCEPTUAL MAPPING FOR THIS RESEARCH ………….………………… 88

3.13 SUMMARY …………………….………………………………………………. 93

CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY ……………...……... 95

4.1 INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………….. 95

4.2 THE RESEARCH PROCESS MODEL ................................................................ 96

4.3 RESEARCH PHILOSOPHIES ………………….…………………………………. 97

4.3.1 ONTOLOGICAL ASSUMPTIONS ……………………………………..… 99
4.3.2 EPISTEMOLOGICAL ASSUMPTIONS...…………………….…………. 100
4.3.3 AXIOLOGICAL ASSUMPTIONS ……………………………………….. 102

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4.4 RESEARCH APPROACH ……………………………………………………..…. 103

4.5 RESEARCH STRATEGY ……………………………………………………...… 105

4.5.1 MIXED METHODS DESIGN …………..................................................... 109

4.6 RESEARCH TECHNIQUES ……………………………………………………... 111

4.6.1 LITERATURE REVIEW …………………………………………………. 111
4.6.2 SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS …………………………………... 112
4.6.3 QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEYS ………………………………………….113

4.7 OBJECTIVES OF THIS RESEARCH AND THE CORRESPONDING
METHODS OF INVESTIGATION ……………………………………………..... 114

4.8 RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY ISSUES ………………………………………. 115

4.9 SUMMARY…...........................................................................................................120

CHAPTER 5: QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS ....................................................... 122

5.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 122

5.2 QUALITATIVE DATA COLLECTION – INTERVIEW ....................................... 122

5.2.1 AIM OF THE INTERVIEW .........................................................................122
5.2.2 DESIGN OF THE INTERVIEW PROCESS................................................123

a. Section I – Profile of participants ..................................................................123
b. Section II – Understanding of the partnering concept (Theme 1)……..........124
c. Section III – Awareness of partnering practices (Theme 2)...........................124
d. Section IV – Organizational culture and structure in Malaysian
construction industry (Theme 3) .............................................125
e. Section V – Role of organizational culture in partnering (Theme 4)............125

5.2.3 SURVEYED SAMPLE ................................................................................126
5.2.4 CONTENT ANALYSIS …………………………………………………...128
5.2.5 APPLICATION OF NVIVO 10 IN DATA ANALYSIS............................ 129

5.3 FINDINGS ............................................................................................................130

5.3.1 UNDERSTANDING OF THE PARTNERING CONCEPT........................ 131
5.3.2 AWARENESS OF PARTNERING PRACTICES (THEME 2) ...................135
5.3.3 ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND ORGANIZATIONAL
STRUCTURE IN DESIGN FIRMS (THEME 3)......................................... 141
5.3.4 ROLE OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE IN
PARTNERING (THEME 4)..........................................................................146
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5.3.5 EMERGENT THEMES ..............................................................................149

a. Communication Issues ..................................................................................150
b. Human Factor …............................................................................................150
c. Industry Norms………………......................................................................151

5.4 SUMMARY………………………...........................................................................154

CHAPTER 6: QUANTITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS .................................................... 156

6.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 156

6.2 QUANTITATIVE DATA COLLECTION – QUESTIONNAIRE........................... 156

6.2.1 QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN ...................................................................157

a. Section I – Respondent profile.......................................................................157
b. Section II – Understanding of the partnering concept (Theme 1)..................157
c. Section III – Awareness of partnering practices (Theme 2).......................... 158
d. Section IV – Organizational culture and structure in Malaysian
construction firm (Theme 3) ……………………………………...158
e. Section V – Role of organizational culture in partnering (Theme 4)........... 158

6.2.2 SAMPLING PROCEDURES ……………………………………………...159

6.3 FINDINGS FROM QUESTIONNAIRE ............................................................. 160

6.3.1 RESPONDENT PROFILE........................................................................... 160

a. Job title...........................................................................................................160
b. Level of qualification ....................................................................................161
c. Country where qualification gained ………………......................................162
d. Age category .................................................................................................163
e. Number of years in current organisation .......................................................164
f. Number of years in industry...........................................................................165
g. Size of organisation........................................................................................166
h. Nature of business ….....................................................................................167

6.4 PARTNERING IN MALAYSIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY ..................... 168

6.4.1 UNDERSTANDING OF THE PARTNERING CONCEPT
(THEME 1) ..............................................................................................168

a. FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONSES ................................... 169
i. Collaboration and cooperation (Items 10 – 11) ...................................... 170
ii. Trust (Items 12 – 14) .............................................................................. 171
iii. Procurement (Items 15 – 17) .................................................................. 172
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iv. Communication (Items 18 – 19).............................................................. 173
v. Tools ....................................................................................................... 174
vi. Commitment (Items 22 and 26) ............................................................. 175
vii. Policies (Items 23 – 24) ...........................................................................176
viii. Culture (Items 25, 27 and 28) ............................................................. 177

b. CHI-SQUARE ANALYSIS …......................................................................179
c. KRUSKAL-WALLIS ANALYSIS...............................................................180
d. CROSS-TABULATION OF RESULTS.......................................................182
e. PEARSON’S CORRELATION COEFFICIENT, r.......................................189
i. Policy vs. Trust........................................................................................ 190
ii. Tools vs. Policy....................................................................................... 190
iii. Culture vs. Commitment......................................................................... 191
iv. Procurement vs. Policy.............................................................................192
v. Communication vs. Trust.........................................................................193
vi. Culture vs. Tools ...................................................................................193

6.4.2 AWARENESS OF PARTNERING PRACTICES
(THEME 2) …………………….……………………………………….. 195

a. FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONSES ................................... 195
b. CHI-SQUARE ANALYSIS ........................................................................ 196
c. KRUSKAL-WALLIS ANALYSIS ............................................................. 197
d. PEARSON’S CORRELATION COEFFICIENT, r .................................... 198

6.5 ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE IN MALAYSIAN
CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY ........................................................................ 199

6.5.1 ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND STRUCTURE IN
MALAYSIAN CONSTRUCTION FIRMS (THEME 3) ............................. 199

a. FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONSES ................................... 200
i. Client orientation .................................................................................... 202
ii. Workforce orientation ............................................................................ 202
iii. Leadership/management ..........................................................................203
iv. Outcome / Performance orientation ....................................................... 203
v. Reward orientation ................................................................................. 204
vi. Innovation orientation ............................................................................ 205
vii. Teamwork orientation .............................................................................205

b. CHI-SQUARE ANALYSIS ............................................................................ 206
c. KRUSKAL-WALLIS ANALYSIS .............................................................. 207
d. PEARSON’S CORRELATION COEFFICIENT, r ................................... 209

6.5.2 ROLE OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE IN
PARTNERING (THEME 4) …………………………………………..... 210

6.6 SUMMARY.............................................................................................................. 211

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CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSIONS, DISCUSSION & RECOMMENDATIONS............. 214

7.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................214

7.2 DISCUSSIONS OF FINDINGS............................................................................. 214

7.2.1 EXISTING PRACTICES OF PARTNERING, ITS OVERALL
CONCEPTS AND EXISTING FRAMEWORKS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY ……………………………………..........215

7.2.2 THE CONCEPT OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH PARTNERING IN THE
CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY……........................................................... 219

7.2.3 PRIVATE SME CONSULTANT FIRMS: INVOLVEMENT IN
PARTNERING, PARTNERING BARRIERS AND ENABLERS
EXPERIENCED ........................................................................................... 221

7.2.4 THE MALAYSIAN CULTURAL BARRIERS AND TYPE OF
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE FOR FIRMS IN THE
MALAYSIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY………………………...... 226

7.3 PROPOSED FRAMEWORK FOR PARTNERING IN MALAYSIAN
CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY .............................................................................. 230

7.4 LIMITATIONS OF THIS STUDY........................................................................... 232

7.5 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE BODY OF KNOWLEDGE....................................... 234

7.6 RECOMMENDATIONS.......................................................................................... 236

7.7 CONCLUSIONS ...................................................................................................... 237

REFERENCES …………………………………………………………………............... 239

APPENDICES……………………………………………………………………………..263
APPENDIX 1 : SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW SCHEDULE ……………………..263
APPENDIX 2: QUESTIONNAIRE ………………………………………………………. 268

APPENDIX 3: NORMALITY TEST FOR DATA ………………………………………...277

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1 Research methodological framework ............................................................... 7
Figure 2.1 The actors of the construction industry (Gann and Salter, 2000) ................... 17
Figure 3.1 The Malaysian PPP Model as shown in 3PU guideline for PPP
(Source: PPP Guideline, 2009).........................................................................64
Figure 3.2 Cultural Web (Johnson, 1988)........................................................................ 72
Figure 3.3 Levels of culture and their interaction (Schein, 1989).................................... 76
Figure 3.4 Model of Organizational Culture (Deal & Kennedy, 1982) ........................... 77
Figure 3.5 Organizational culture profile (OCP) dimensions by O’Reilly, Chatman
and Caldwell (1991) ....................................................................................... 82
Figure 3.6 Organizational culture typology (Cameron and Quinn, 1999) ....................... 84
Figure 3.7 Conceptual mapping for this research ............................................................ 89
Figure 3.8 Soft System Methodology (Checkland, 1981) ............................................... 91
Figure 3.9 The conceptual framework for this research .................................................. 92
Figure 4.1 Nested methodology research model (Kagioglou et al, 2000) ....................... 96
Figure 4.2 Philosophical orientations in research (Sexton, 2003) ................................. 102
Figure 4.3 Inductive theory generation process.............................................................. 104
Figure 4.4 Screen shot of reliability test from SPSS 17 ............................................... 118
Figure 4.5 Research process model (adapted from Kagioglou et al, 2000) ................... 120
Figure 5.1 Screen shot for content analysis in Nvivo10 ................................................ 129
Figure 5.2 Screen shot of Nvivo 10 showing the nodes on understanding of
partnering concept ........................................................................................ 131
Figure 5.3 Screen shot of Nvivo 10 showing the nodes on awareness of
partnering practices ...................................................................................... 136
Figure 5.4 Screen shot of Nvivo 10 showing the nodes on organizational culture
and structure in design firms ........................................................................ 142
Figure 5.5 Screen shot of Nvivo 9 showing the nodes on the role of organizational
culture in partnering ..................................................................................... 146
Figure 5.6 Screen shot of Nvivo 10 showing the nodes on emergent themes ............... 149
Figure 6.1 Job title distribution of research sample ....................................................... 161
Figure 6.2 Distribution for respondents’ highest level of qualification ......................... 162
Figure 6.3 Distribution for countries where respondents gained their .......................... 163
Figure 6.4 Respondents age distribution ....................................................................... 164
Figure 6.5 Respondents distribution –
Number of years working in current organization ....................................... 165
Figure 6.6 Experience of respondents in construction industry ..................................... 166
Figure 6.7 Size of organisations included in the sample................................................ 167
Figure 6.8 Nature of business for organisations included in the sample....................... 167
Figure 6.9 Frequency distribution of responses for questions in Section II of
the questionnaire .......................................................................................... 191
Figure 6.10 Frequency percentage for responses to Items Q33 - Q39 in section
IV of the questionnaire.................................................................................. 201
Figure 7.1 Enabling factors of partnering....................................................................... 215
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