مدل مبتنی بر نظریه میدان برای شناسایی اثر ساختار سازمانی بر شکل گیری فرهنگ سازمانی در پروژه های ساختمانی A field theory based model for identifying the effect of organizational structure on the formation of organizational culture in construction projects

1. Introduction A carefully selected organizational structure paves the way for the success of a construction project. As highlighted by Dobbs et al. (2013), a well-designed project organization is conducive to the integration of stakeholders and can lead to an 11-12% capital expense reduction. Organizational structure is the anatomy of project governance that groups essential elements, determines the size of major units, and specifies the means of collaboration, coordination, and decision-making within an organization (Mintzberg 1979). Basically, project organizational structure shapes the relationships between stakeholders, and interweaves people and their works involved (Shirazi et al., 1996). Along with the further research, there has been a recognition of organizational culture which is an intervening variable between organizational structure and the individual attitudes or behaviours of members (Lazar et al., 1974). An effective organizational structure motivates organizational members, who might have different cultural backgrounds, to achieve a common goal. However, project owners are often confronted with a challenge to determine such an organizational structure which is favorable to organizational culture development. This challenge stems from the lack of an effective approach to identify the effect of organizational structure on the formation of organizational culture (Brunetto et al., 2014). Organizational culture was defined by Schein (1984) as “the pattern of basic assumptions that a given group has invented, discovered, or developed in learning to cope with its problems of external adaption and internal integration, and that have worked well enough to be considered valid, and therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems.” A strong and enduring organizational culture provides persistent guidance for project operation, improves communication efficiency, and lays a solid foundation for project management (Maloney and Federle, 1991; Mohamed, 2003; Brunetto et al., 2014). Recent studies have revealed that organizational culture is an important factor in determining organizational structure (Brunetto et al., 2014; Shelton et al., 2011). However, modelling organizational culture and in return considering it as a reference in selecting organizational structures in the construction context still remain ambiguous. This study therefore aims to provide project owners with a novel method for identifying the effect of organizational structure on the formation of organizational culture which could also be a reference for further determining an appropriate organizational structure for construction project. The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. Next section reviews relevant studies with the intention of identifying the limitations in the current practice. The field theory was then employed to investigate culture development in organizations, resulting in the conceptualization of an organizational culture field. Based on this concept, a model was proposed for contrasting the effect of organizational structure on the formation of organizational culture. After that, a questionnaire survey was conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model in China’s construction industry. Finally, the research findings, limitations, and conclusions are presented.