A leadership and strategic decisions framework for construction company survival

Abstract

Like some other counterparts across the globe, the construction industry in South Africa is experiencing challenging times, which has led to the failure of notable large contractors. While some studies have suggested different reasons for this, a stream of scholars has argued that the company leadership can make the difference either directly or otherwise. However, studies on leadership in construction have been mostly at project levels, considering that construction is a project-based organisation. This study, therefore, examined the leadership of construction organisations from a strategic perspective, considering how it influenced the long-term performance and sustainability of large contractors. The study was based on a systematic review of literature, mainly using theoretical perspectives to realise the study's objective. Related keywords were developed and searched in relevant journal articles and conference proceedings. This exercise was performed in order to, establish the leadership attributes and strategic decisions responsible for sustainable construction business organisation performance. The findings suggest that construction company leaders can operate their companies more innovatively, ethically, and sustainably by adopting Honesty-Humility, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness (HEXACO), a transformational leadership style, conceptual and catalytic skills, and strategic leadership functions. However, the findings of the study are based on literature review and need grounding with primary data. Further, research is required to incorporate the South African context to test the proposed leadership framework's generalizability using a convergent mixed-method research approach.