Promoting Effective Management of Cultural Diversity in Multinational Construction Project Teams

Abstract

This study investigates the management of cultural diversity and its implications for the success of infrastructure projects. It was conducted qualitatively at a multinational organisation, involving twelve semi-structured interviews with participants from Europe, Asia, America, and Africa. Content analysis identifies relevant units and categories based on theory and empirical data. A positive work environment promotes flexibility in decision-making through effective communication, problem-solving, and distinctive familial characteristics. Key success factors include effective communication, team building, strong relationships, language barriers, diverse perspectives, mutual respect, hygiene, safety, welfare facilities, and technical challenges. Successful construction firms integrate changes in cross-cultural team selection, joint decision-making, communication, teamwork, effective people selection, and project selection, enabling consistent high-performance levels across various organisational levels in project teams. Project managers can enhance team dynamics, productivity, and project success by promoting cultural diversity through training in interpersonal skills, language proficiency, and cultural intelligence, encouraging collaboration, clear goals, and inclusive decision-making processes. The paper explores Ghana’s multicultural diversity through interviews and case studies, highlighting its underexplored and understudied topic in gas-to-power projects. This paper has generalizability limitations based on one case study.