Examining the Relationship Between Organisational Culture and Cost Performance in Nigerian Construction Firms

Organisational culture shapes the decision-making, risk appetite, and professional behaviours that collectively determine how construction firms manage costs, yet the relationship between culture and cost performance in Nigerian construction has not been theoretically or empirically examined at the firm level. This study examines the relationship between organisational culture and cost performance in Nigerian construction firms, developing and testing an original theoretical model. A post-positivist research paradigm was adopted, using the Competing Values Framework as the theoretical base. A mixed-method sequential design employed an organisational culture survey (238 respondents from 40 firms across Lagos, Abuja, and Kano) and a quantitative cost performance analysis using project-level data from these firms. Structural equation modelling and hierarchical regression were applied. Findings demonstrate that firms with strong clan and hierarchy culture orientations show better cost performance outcomes than those with market or adhocracy dominant cultures in the Nigerian construction context. Quantity surveyor authority within the organisational hierarchy is found to mediate the culture-cost performance relationship, with firms where surveyors have strong decision-making power achieving better cost certainty regardless of cultural orientation. The study contributes an original theoretically grounded model of the culture-cost performance relationship in Nigerian construction, addressing a gap in the construction management and organisational behaviour literatures. Keywords: organisational culture, cost performance, construction firms, Nigeria, competing values framework