Organizational Culture as a Determinant of Construction Companies' Competitiveness: Case Study of Croatia

The aim of this chapter is to assess the organizational culture in construction industry in Croatia. The introductory part of the chapter highlights the purpose of the study presented in terms of learning the characteristics of the current and preferred organizational culture of the Croatian construction industry as well as understanding the relationship between the culture and competitiveness. Being a transitional country, Croatia is facing the need for behavior change of companies seeking competitive advantage, especially after becoming a part of the united European market. In a labor-intensive business like construction, adaptation of companies strongly depends on the underlying values and assumptions of their employees. Therefore, change management implies a need to learn about culture profiles. Results of the conducted research reveal culture profiles within construction industry in Croatia in respect of the size, core business, regional orientation and ownership of the analyzed companies. The preferences of existing engineers together with expectations of Generation Y have been also considered in order to anticipate the trends and necessary changes of organizational culture in construction industry in Croatia. Finally, findings of the cross-country analysis of culture's implications on competitiveness will be presented, proving that culture's role should be considered by decision makers trying to improve competitiveness.