Impact of cross-cultural communication competence on the project success of multinational construction firms in Nigeria

Abstract

Working with people in any organization requires addressing issues such as motivating employees, structuring policies, and developing strategies. In this case, there has to be a kind of understanding of the cultural diversities in order to apply the aforementioned issues in the workplace. The purpose of this study was to find out the effects of cross-cultural communication competence (CCC) on the performance of multicultural teams in construction firms in Nigeria. The study was conducted by means of a questionnaire survey. Sixty-Five (65) questionnaires were distributed to various construction workers (civil engineers, service engineers, architects, quantity surveyors, builders, plant operators, accountants, and electricians) working in multinational construction firms in Gombe State using Simple Random Sampling (SRS). Fifty-Nine (59) Questionnaires were filled out and returned, representing 91% response rate. Data collected through the questionnaire was analysed by Mean score and Multiple regression. The Findings of this studies shows that there is agreement among the respondents that the performance of multicultural teams in the construction firms in Gombe is satisfactory. The multiple regression analysis shows that CCC had a significant effect on multicultural team performance with R^2-Value of 0.854. The study recommended that; Multicultural firms should organize Training on the cultural values to reduce any conflict among workers that may arise due to differences in the cultural value system. This will enhance unity and cohesion at the workplace. The findings of this study will help project managers in multicultural companies to understand the attributes that the project team members should possess for successful project delivery.