A Framework for Culture Management in Sino-African International Construction Projects

The nature of the product and the parties involved in a construction project depend on time (T), site conditions(Sc), user needs(Un) and economic health(Eh) and delays usually cost more than planned. In international construction projects, one of biggest factors of delays (even stoppage of projects) is the cultural factor(Cf). Construction contractors have until now put very few attentions into culture management and its impact on projects. It´s known that Chinese culture is very special and very different from other countries´. While African countries culture especially working culture is influenced by western countries culture (because of colonization), it remains very different and unique. Hence Sino-African ICPs are facing many problems due to the extreme difference of culture between those two parts. This paper presents the direct impacts of difference of culture in Sino-African international construction projects by presenting a literature review on the differences between the Chinese and African construction cultures from the design phase(design culture) to construction phase (organizational culture). Based on interviews and previous research works we present a Management Framework(MF) for the culture management during Sino-African International Construction Projects.