Relationship between organisational culture and collective coping strategies in project teams: an exploratory quantitative study in the UAE construction industry

Abstract

construction project teams in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Three collective coping strategies were examined, including problem-focused, relationship-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies. Design/methodology/approach– O’Reilly et al.’s (1991) organisational culture profile (OCP) assessed organisational culture values. Data were collected through an online questionnaire from practitioners in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) construction organisations. Findings– The findings show a high correlation between competitiveness culture values and problem focused teamcopingstrategy. Relationship-focused team coping strategy was found to have ahigh correlation with emphasis on rewards and performance orientation values. Conversely, an emotion-focused team coping strategy correlates highly with competitiveness, supportiveness and emphasis on rewards cultural values. Research limitations/implications– The cross-sectional design of the survey and the UAE context may present limits to the generalisability of findings. Practicalimplications–Limitedattemptshavebeenmadetostudycollectivecopinginconstructionproject teams. The study paves the path for exploring emergent socio-psychological concepts in construction organisations, including the impact of organisational culture on team collective coping with adverse events. Originality/value– Understanding the pivotal impact of culture on successful team coping provides managers with valuable insights into managing situational adversity in construction project teams.