The necessity for soft skills training for construction executives in
megaprojects

Walker, PA; Walsh, A

Abstract

As the recent FIFA World Cup concludes in the host nation of Qatar, a member of the six-nation
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), football appears to have become intertwined in diversity and
inclusion practices executed during the construction of football stadia. These disputes have been
labelled as ‘cultural issues’. Western consultants were significant contributors to such expert
specialist construction delivery advice, retained to construct these football venues and their
surrounding infrastructure.
Within these Consultancy practices, there was a high staff turnover for senior western consultants
during the execution of GCC megaprojects, perhaps aligned with a failure to understand cultural
norms and values. This paper promotes the development of softer managerial skills to help reduce
the cultural distances between the parties, particularly for the future pipeline of megaprojects
planned. Generic cultural advisors may identify typical cultural practices; however, this is often
insufficient preparation for the realities of practical professional interfaces, particularly concerning
trust and cultural norms between different nationalities. There also appears to be a deficiency in
the training provided to enable sufficient training in softer managerial skill sets, which is needed
to complement the more traditional competency-based knowledge.
This research analyses the experiences of the western consultant’s actively involved in live GCC
megaprojects, describing how cultural differences account for a substantial rate of churn and
finding that cultural awareness has a crucial impact on both the megaprojects' success and the
consultants' continued project engagement. This study uses constructive grounded theory
techniques to investigate the sources and effects of cultural dissonance across GCC
megaprojects to appreciate the potential importance and need for cultural training. Practicing
Western-educated project directors throughout each GCC state provide their perspectives on the
most common cultural differences.
The research finds that despite project directors' acknowledgment of the need for intercultural
training, none is provided, increasing the risks associated with cultural dissonance, which
augments the rate of executive churn. The research identifies very significant impacts for the
displaced consultant, their employer, and the megaproject itself. The practical and social
implications for western consultants’ cultural integration are examined to promote a greater
understanding of specific elements of cultural mistrust during the megaprojects execution.

Citation

megaprojects. Presented at American Real Estate Society Conference 2023, San Antonio, Texas

• Presentation Conference Type: Other
• Conference Name: American Real Estate Society Conference 2023
• Conference Location: San Antonio, Texas
• Start Date: Mar 28, 2001
• End Date: Apr 1, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Apr 1, 2023
• Publication Date: Apr 1, 2023
• Deposit Date: Apr 25, 2023
• Publisher: American Real Estate Society
• Publisher URL: https://www.ares.org/page/AnnConf
• Additional Information: Event Type : Conference