A Predicting Model for Competency Level of Construction Managers based on “Big Five” Traits in Iran as a Developing Country

One of the most significant obstacles in a developing country is related to non-productive investments or delay on productivity of construction projects. Following the development in the business world, the challenges for handling the businesses toward productivity raised rapidly. Construction industry plays an important role in the foundation of economy everywhere. Therefore, to lead the projects through the challenges, a proper leadership and a competent construction manager are essential. The evaluation of competency might be more accurate by different variables. The psychological factors are one of the most effective variables within evaluation suggested by many scholars. The purpose of this study is to develop a predictor variable to recognize the competent construction manager based on their “Big Five” traits as one of the variables predicting a successful Construction Manager (CM). In other words, the objective of this article is to determine the relation between the “Big Five” traits of CMs and the competency level. Two different Questionnaires were employed to collect data and support the objective of this paper. The first group was to evaluate and measure the competency level and the second one to evaluate “Big Five” traits of the respondents. According to correlation and regression analysis in SPSS software on the data collected, a meaningful relationship was acquired between CMs’ competency level and their “Big Five” traits test. By the result of the survey, the projects’ authorities can consider CMs’ “Big Five” traits as a predictor variable of CMs competency level to recognize the competent construction managers before employment.