The intercultural adjustment in Hong Kong international construction firms: A study between local Chinese and British expatriate project managers

This study is designed to investigate the existence of intercultural adjustment in the multicultural construction workplaces by examining the leadership orientations, communication styles and power relationships of local Chinese and the British expatriate project managers in the multinational construction companies in Hong Kong. The survey findings revealed that both ethnic groups of project manager equally considered the importance of task performance and interpersonal relationship. In addition, the correlations analysis provides support for the linkages of the length of working abroad with the change in task/people orientation for Chinese and expatriate managers. This paper argues two possibilities which led to similar leadership and power relationship styles: (1) the 'intercultural adjustment' of expatriates, and (2) the adaptation of Western styles of leadership by the local Chinese project managers. The current research can be extended by investigating the impacts of organizational culture on the leadership perceptions and power relationships.