National culture and business resilience: An exploratory study of two Chinese construction firms operating in Singapore

Authors

Low Sui Pheng, National University of Singapore
Gao Shang, University of Newcastle, Australia (Singapore Campus)
Teo Wee Kiat Ken, National University of Singapore

Abstract

The study of national culture focuses on differences in values and beliefs among people of different nationalities. With the increasing globalization of economies around the world, the construction industry is inherently exposed to risk at an unprecedented level. This is particularly true for Chinese construction firms, which are aggressively setting up subsidiaries and branches all around the world as they partake in large-scale complex projects overseas. With the liberal foreign trade policies adopted by China after its reforms, domestic construction firms in China also face immense pressure from the international players that are now able to enter the Chinese construction market as a result of the lowered barriers to entry. Business resilience is the ability or capacity of an organization to adapt to crises and major disruptions that arise during business operation. It might explain why certain organizations can emerge from a crisis relatively unscathed, or even stronger. This exploratory study aims to fulfil two objectives. First, to discover if cultural dimensions have impact on the process of business resilience. Second, to understand the business resilience of Chinese construction firms from the perspective of national culture. With empirical data and data from the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook and Hofstede's cultural dimensions, national culture appears to significantly impact business resilience. Multiple regression models reveal that the avoidance of uncertainty and the power distance of a culture seem to be the main predictors of business resilience, with limited effects also traceable from masculinity affecting the adaptability of government policy. The case studies support the exploratory findings on the negative relationship between PDI and UAI and business resilience, and that they are likely to bejustified as being the largest predictor of adaptability, particularly at the organizational level of Chinese construction firms in Singapore.

Keywords

National Culture, Business resilience, Construction industry, International Construction business, China

DOI

https://doi.org/10.54784/1990-6587.1353

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Pheng, L. S., Shang, G., & Ken, T. W. (2015). National culture and business resilience: An exploratory study of two Chinese construction firms operating in Singapore. Business Review, 10(2), 47-65. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.54784/1990-6587.1353