The culture of complaint in construction: affirmative reflections on its role and function

Alexander Styhre

Construction Management and Economics, 2010, vol. 28, issue 7, 797-803

Abstract: Anecdotal evidence and literature searches suggest that the construction industry is generally portrayed in negative terms; it is conservative, risk-reluctant, unable to produce innovation, and so forth. This 'culture of complaint' occasionally surfacing in talks and writing is examined as what is in essence ideological, that is, rather than being a marginal gesture of little social and cultural significance, complaining is serving as a functional mechanism enabling, inter alia, a sense of community, the warding off of criticism, and to cope with perceived uncertainties. The commonplace dismissal of the construction industry is thus worthy of more systematic scholarly attention.

Keywords: Complaint; organization culture; ideology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
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DOI: 10.1080/01446191003789457

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