"Being a construction worker": Identity effects as a self-reinforcing mechanism in construction
Paper in proceeding, 2012

The interplay between identity and behaviour has been well documented in the literature, but how identity and organizational life relate warrants future research. This paper draws on data from an ongoing longitudinal case study in a large construction company in order to examine how the “self” interacts with the organizational cultural capital. Our results indicate that there exists a strong collective identity that permeates the members of the organization regardless of role, position, and function. We claim that the effect of this strong collective identity is at the heart of an organizational self-reinforcing mechanism that can explain specific traits of organizational life in construction. We conclude by arguing that the identify effect could result in a problematic contradiction between operational “best practices” and strategic “best practices” in construction.

identity effects

construction

organizational life

self-reinforcing mechanism

Author

Martin Löwstedt

Chalmers, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Construction Management

Christine Räisänen

Chalmers, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Construction Management

CIB 2012 Conference Proceedings, Montréal

Driving Forces

Sustainable development

Areas of Advance

Building Futures (2010-2018)

Subject Categories

Other Social Sciences

More information

Created

10/7/2017