Conceptualising construction project culture : culture as a root metaphor as opposed to the culture as a variable

Conceptualisation of culture as a variable is highly popular in construction project cultural context compared to its conceptualisation as a root metaphor. The purpose of variable conceptualisation mainly includes removal of formal irrationality in a cultural context, which is heavily criticised for its practicality. However, the purpose of cultural conceptualisation as a root metaphor stresses on the advantages of using the cultural learnings in the form of underlying basic assumptions during change initiatives, analysing conflicts and in negotiation processes. Therefore, this paper highlights the necessity and possibilities of learning construction project culture as a root metaphor despite the methodological difficulties through a review of key literature and an exploratory case study.