Unethical behaviors of contractors in construction project management: Framework development and causal analysis

Abstract

Unethical behaviors among contractors are prevalent in engineering management activities within the construction industry, significantly affecting project performance, public safety, and the industry’s reputation. Despite the urgent need to enhance the ethical performance of contractor managers, current research lacks a theoretical framework to systematically categorize and characterize these unethical behaviors. This study fills this gap by conducting semi-structured interviews with 20 experienced construction project managers in China, followed by a qualitative content analysis. The findings indicate that contractor mangers’ unethical behaviors can be organized into a framework comprising three levels, five dimensions, and 18 themes. The most common behaviors identified include “construction disturbance,” “qualification rental,” and “deception in settlement.” Additionally, the study explores the causes of these unethical behaviors, revealing power and responsibility imbalances within the supply chain and the lack of moral competencies among contractor managers in the construction industry. This study offers a theoretical taxonomy framework for contractor managers to identify and assess ethical performance in practice and provides a scientific basis for authorities to establish ethical guidelines and enhance ethical management practices in the construction industry.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

unethical behavior / engineering management / contractor manager / construction industry / moral competency

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge Liying Wang and Sihan Cao for their assistance in data analysis. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Competing Interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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