IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i23p6769-d292138.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Theoretical Framework for Informal Groups of Construction Workers: A Grounded Theory Study

Author

Listed:
  • Yuan Fu

    (School of Management Science and Real Estate, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China)

  • Gui Ye

    (School of Management Science and Real Estate, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China
    Center for Construction Economics and Management, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China)

  • Xiaoyu Tang

    (School of Management Science and Real Estate, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China)

  • Qinjun Liu

    (School of Computing, Engineering and Mathematics, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia)

Abstract

The current construction industry, which has a high accident rate and declining labor productivity, urgently requires efficient and practical management policies. Research has shown that social norms within informal groups have considerable influence on construction workers, while studies on informal groups of construction workers (IGCWs) have been scarce. Current theories of informal groups have not been analyzed in combination with construction industry characteristics. The purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical framework of IGCWs, including definitions, types, characteristics, causes, and functions. First, on the basis of existing theoretical research of informal groups, two semistructured interviews were designed to collect data from managers and workers. Then, a qualitative approach using grounded theory with NVivo software was employed to code the interview information, and 25 subcategories were obtained: 5 types, 10 characteristics, 4 causes, and 6 functions of IGCWs. Eventually, a conceptual model was established to explain the definition of IGCWs according to the interview data and subcategories identified. This study not only contributes to improving behavioral science theory, especially group behavior theory and human relations theory, but also contributes to constructing an informal group theory of the construction industry. In practical terms, the targeted identification of IGCWs is useful for managers in taking measures to more effectively manage construction workers.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuan Fu & Gui Ye & Xiaoyu Tang & Qinjun Liu, 2019. "Theoretical Framework for Informal Groups of Construction Workers: A Grounded Theory Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-28, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:23:p:6769-:d:292138
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/23/6769/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/23/6769/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. L.P. Andersen & I.L. Karlsen & P. Kines & T. Joensson & K.J. Nielsen, 2015. "Social identity in the construction industry: implications for safety perception and behaviour," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(8), pages 640-652, August.
    2. Charlotte Baarts, 2009. "Collective individualism: the informal and emergent dynamics of practising safety in a high-risk work environment," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(10), pages 949-957.
    3. Jan Terje Karlsen, 2008. "Forming relationships with stakeholders in engineering projects," European Journal of Industrial Engineering, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 2(1), pages 35-49.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lingyun Mi & Yuhuan Sun & Lijie Qiao & Tianwen Jia & Yang Yang & Tao Lv, 2021. "Analysis of the Cause of Household Carbon Lock-In for Chinese Urban Households," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-16, February.
    2. Zhen Li & Rui Mao & Qing Feng Meng & Xin Hu & Hong Xian Li, 2021. "Exploring Precursors of Construction Accidents in China: A Grounded Theory Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-16, January.
    3. Yongliang Deng & Ying Zhang & Zhenmin Yuan & Rita Yi Man Li & Tiantian Gu, 2023. "Analyzing Subway Operation Accidents Causations: Apriori Algorithm and Network Approaches," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-20, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lars Peter Andersen & Line Nørdam & Thomas Joensson & Pete Kines & Kent J. Nielsen, 2018. "Social identity, safety climate and self-reported accidents among construction workers," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(1), pages 22-31, January.
    2. Albert P. C. Chan & Junfeng Guan & Tracy N. Y. Choi & Yang Yang & Guangdong Wu & Edmond Lam, 2023. "Improving Safety Performance of Construction Workers through Learning from Incidents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-26, March.
    3. Mostafa Namian & Mohammadsoroush Tafazzoli & Ahmed Jalil Al-Bayati & Sharareh Kermanshachi, 2022. "Are Construction Managers from Mars and Workers from Venus? Exploring Differences in Construction Safety Perception of Two Key Field Stakeholders," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-23, May.
    4. Alison Furber & Sarah Duncan & Simon David Smith & Martin Crapper, 2012. "The health and safety implications of socio-cultural context for community construction projects in developing countries," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(10), pages 857-867, October.
    5. Chaohua Xiong & Kongzheng Liang & HanBin Luo & Ivan W. H. Fung, 2018. "Identification of Safety-Related Opinion Leaders among Construction Workers: Evidence from Scaffolders of Metro Construction in Wuhan, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-17, October.
    6. Weiping Jiang & Shanqing Tang, 2023. "The Cooperation Establishment Mechanism of EPC Project Consortium in Context of China: Form the Perspective of Trust," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-19, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:23:p:6769-:d:292138. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.