Furthering Culture Studies in Construction

Organizational culture (OC) is seen as the key to solving the construction sector productivity challenges, thus emphasizing the need of further exploration. Most research in OC in construction focuses on the macro level of OC, where OC is seen as something an organization can manage top-down, while a few others argue that a micro, bottom-up perspective is needed to fully understand OC. However, the two approaches are not aligned, making OC a difficult construct to handle. To clarify what OC in construction is, and based on an integrative literature review of 117 research papers on OC in construction from 1991 to 2022, this study shows that while current studies either define OC profiles or research individual behaviour, there is a gap in understanding the correlation between and interaction across the macro and micro level. This not only prohibits a comprehensive OC understanding but makes OC even more complex to grasp and handle. This study argues that a holistic approach to investigating OC in construction is needed and contributes with a framework to design OC studies including both a macro and a micro perspective.