Leadership in Construction During Covid-19

In the current scenario, COVID-19 is one of the major pandemics which affects every industry performance and affects the working strategy. As per Ogunnusi et al. (2020), the construction leadership council has been developed SOP (Site operating procedure), which provide support to the organization during the unparalleled situation. It also helps during the up-gradation of traditional construction activities to handle the pandemic situation efficiently. However, the adoption of virtual working, modern planning and unique design consideration is the challenges faced by the construction organization. According to Uchehara et al. (2020), the financial crisis, mortgage payment and recovery pattern are the issues faced by the construction industry during the pandemic. Further, the high operational cost, redesigning workplace and safety management are the challenges faced by the construction industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The risk mitigation model has been adopted by the industries, which helps to maintain the unpredicted activities. Further, the UK government has been developed Coronavirus Act, 2020, which helps the organization and regulatory body to maintain the performance during the pandemic crisis efficiently. In addition, these provide support to improve the real estate supply chain and help to identify the appropriate risk mitigation approach to handle an unpredicted crisis. As per Gamil and Alhagar (2020), during the pandemic situation, labour management, time loss, job loss, cost overrun, financial and implementation of the guideline are the issues faced by the construction organization. These major impacting factors affect the performance of the construction industry. Moreover, the industry is faced with legal challenges that occur during the nonconformity of contractual. This is also an increased rate of sudden fluctuation in material demand and price. The project developers/leaders are focused on workforce management and inspire workers for reducing the spread rate of the virus. They maintain the project stream progress, material shortage and supply chain activities efficiently. As per Pamidimukkala and Pamidimukkala (2021), the E2E supply chain, risk analysis activities, effective communication, building information modelling approaches are adopted by the organization to reduce the impact of the pandemic situation. These also help the construction industry during the adoption of new technology, visualization, designing and decision-making activities. The leaders/project manager adopts the virtual connection approach that provides support to the organization during the pandemic guideline implementation. It also improves the decision-making ability, risk analysis and supply chain mapping process in an efficient manner. Moreover, as per Jones et al. (2021), productivity and OSH (occupational safety and health) are the challenges faced by the construction organization during COVID-19. The site management and safety activities are adopted by the industry, which helps to accept the changes in the working environment and helps to improve the operation performance rate. Detailed forward planning and labour management are the major approaches adopted by the organization to improve performance. Also, used to handle the pandemic crisis in an efficient manner. Therefore, it reflects that these are the major parameters that affect the performance of the construction organization. Also, providing information about the project manager/leadership approaches helps the industry to handle the pandemic situation in an efficient manner.

Approaches adopted by the construction organization after the pandemic

The project manager/team leaders are one of the major regularity bodies of the organization, which helps to improve the performance during the pandemic situation. In a pandemic situation, material/resources handling, workforce management, and planning issues are the challenges faced by the construction industry. These also affect the overall performance and operational ability of the industry. As per Inoue et al. (2022) the transdisciplinary approach is one of the appropriate approaches adopted by the construction organization to handle the pandemic situation. It provides assistance during the project planning and helps to manage the crisis activities efficiently. In addition, worked on the contact base registration activities, which helped to improve the monitoring and controlling process during the pandemic in an efficient manner. Furthermore, according to Orze? and Wolniak (2022), the construction industry worked on digitalization of design, sustainability analysis and electricity consumption analysis approaches which helped to improve the performance of the organization during the pandemic situation. In addition, time, safety, work comfort and saving are the factors adopted by the construction industry to achieve goals/objectives during the pandemic situation. Furthermore, as per Al Maamzi and Tawfik (2022), agile management is one of the approaches used in the construction industry to manage the traditional process and helps to mitigate pandemic issues in an efficient manner. However, the instability and implementation of the traditional approach in a pandemic are the challenges faced by the construction industry during the pandemic. As per Raoufi and Fayek (2022), regularly monitoring, worker management, equipment handling, and material handling are the major action taken by the construction industry to manage the pandemic situation. In addition, focused on the safe work procedure to manage the workplace during COVID-19. Also, adopt virtual monitoring, inspection and communication process with high cyber security. These help to reduce the effect the of COVID-19 pandemic impact on construction organizations in an efficient manner. Thus, it reflects that these are the major approaches used by the construction industry in the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, helps to mitigate the project management issues that occur in a pandemic situation with high stability and performance rate.

Key issues in managing people during the pandemic

Construction projects have a significant role in the economy and in generating job opportunities for the people, but the Covid-19 pandemic caused a huge loss to the industry. As per Rhodes (2019), in the year 2019, the contribution of the construction industry to the UK economy was £117 billion, and construction alone produced 36% of jobs. At the same time, this reflects the significance of the construction for society and an individual receiving a job opportunity. According to ONS (2020), the construction industry got a high hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and felt a huge loss as the operations were highly disturbed by the Covid-19 protocols. As per Koh (2020), the biggest risk with the Covid-19 pandemic is the risk occupational risk, and especially in the case of the construction project, the involvement of a huge workforce creates a risky situation. The risk of physical touch and intervention between the workers has the potential of spread of the covid-19. From this occupation, risk, along with the potential of physical touch and continuous interaction, is a key issue in managing people during the pandemic. However, the pandemic has created a situation where the connection between the leadership and awareness among the leadership becomes the most important factor in making the working environment safe for the workers. As per Pamidimukkala and Kermanshachi (2021), lack of awareness among the leadership has become a negative factor that is restricting the effective management of the people working in the construction project. Leadership has a role in decision-making and implementing the decisions. During the pandemic introducing new policies and implementing the new policy that safeguards the workforce from the covid-19. During the pandemic, the lack of leadership came up as an issue that affected the management of the workforce working at the construction site. Effective leadership makes it easy for the organization to implement a new policy as there is a chance that some of the workforce may not agree with the new policy. In this case, the leadership work on gaining the trust of these groups of the workforce and monitoring the implementation. In addition, Majumder and Biswas (2021) have demonstrated the large size of the labour is an issue that makes managing the workforce during the pandemic. Construction projects have the involvement of a huge number of labourers, and the operations are the reason for the interaction between the workforces. A large workforce also creates a problem of trust, as the implementation of the policies needs trust. Lack of trust disrupts the effective implementation of the policies that help in making the workplace safe for the workforce. In pandemic like covid-19, participation of each of the members is important as community spread of the covid-19 is found to be high. During the covid-19 pandemic, project managers were facing challenges in maintaining the wellbeing of the employees working on the site or at the workplace because the spread rate of the infection was very high during the initial stage of the pandemic. Managers were also facing a challenge in managing the people who were working from remote locations, so there was an issue of network connectivity and other family issues of the employees (Zhong et al., 2021). Lack of human capital was also a challenge for the companies because a lot of workers wanted to return to the homeland and stay with families. Pandemic was new to everyone, so managers and leaders were also not aware of the workforce managing strategy in the covid-19 situation and performance of the employees was also a big issue in front of the project managers because the new working style was not favourable for various workers.

Influence of leadership on the team performance during the pandemic

The construction project is termed a complex project due to the involvement of a huge workforce, equipment, and other services. As per Opoku et al. (2021), leadership has a vital role in the construction industry, and leadership also drives the key factors which lead to project success along with the promotion of sustainability. However, leadership helps in meeting the goals of the industry by the application of effective policies in the operations. According to Kim et al. (2020), discursive leadership is the communication-based style that promotes the effectiveness of the team with the help of communication techniques. Communication with the project team motivates the teams for working and helps the team in solving complex situations. The respective communication constructs itself by the application of the communication techniques and helps teams in growing, and the leadership promotes the concept of negotiation between the leadership and teams. During the pandemic, communication between the leadership and team is important. As per Hafner and Sun (2021), discursive leadership has its role in making the workforce aware of the new policy easily as the leadership believes in making communication with the teams. Whereas discursive leadership positively influences team performance and helps in improving team performance more effectively. At the time of the pandemic, teams are under pressure and go through different problems, which put a negative impact on the performance of the teams. However, discursive leadership helps teams to resolve the problem and in decreasing the pressure, which leads to the improvement of the team performance. Covid-19 pandemic has created a situation where innovation and individual creativity have become important. Therefore, the leadership needed to promote innovation and creativity among the workforce to improve the performance of the team. According to Zhang (2018), transformational leadership is effective in motivating teams for innovation as well as in enhancing individual creativity. However, when an individual in the team brings up some creativity or innovation, then the team performance shows positive signs. As per Zaman et al. (2020), transformational leadership does not have a direct influence on team performance, but the respective leadership creates an environment that increases the readiness to change. Readiness to change is important at the time of pandemics as the teams have to adopt new processes or policies for safe work practice.

Different leadership styles and roles in shaping team performance.

Various leadership styles have the capability in improving team performance. In general, transformational leadership, supportive leadership, and discursive leadership are some common leadership styles that are used. As per Basuki et al. (2020), transformational leadership is the leadership style that follows the principle of transformation and motivates the team members of a team to acquire change and seek greater goals. Whereas this motivation or inspiration is somehow helpful in bringing the sense of readiness to change in the team member, and this sense helps in enhancing the performance. Transformational leadership is also known for setting a futuristic goal for the organization, and transformational leaders have the capability of handling the change. However, the leadership style has the leaders that succeed in changing the awareness of the followers or the team and can motivate the team to achieve the goals. According to Permana et al. (2021), once covid-19 was announced to be a pandemic, the change started to occur in every sector, and construction is one of them. Transformational leaders have the capability for bringing out throughout change in the organization as well as in teams and bring create new perspectives. On the other hand, the transformational leadership style is known for shaping change and motivating readiness to change to the team. Due to the adaptation of change team become capable, and hence team performance is indirectly improved. Other than transformational leadership supportive leadership style is also there, which helps the team to perform. According to Bahkia et al. (2020), supportive leadership design helps in filling the gap and managing the imbalance. Whereas the team under the supportive leadership style receives a high level of support from their leaders, and due to this, the team is under the high influence of their leader. Supportive leadership increases the employee work commitment by providing support to the team in taking a decision and in resolving the problems. Hence, it can be said that the supportive leadership style has a positive impact on team performance.

According to Al Khajeh (2018), leadership style is referred to as the combination of various traits, characteristics, and behavioural attitudes used by leaders to interact with subordinates. According to the author, charismatic leadership is the most successful leadership style in which the project leader creates a vision, and all the followers are asked to follow the vision and execute it. Charismatic leadership also invites various innovations and creativity in the team. The leaders who provide something in return for the work, for example, promotion, raise in the salary, new responsibilities, and performance review adopt the transactional leadership style. This leadership style can maximize the output of the employees working in the project organization. In addition, it was demonstrated in the study of Fiaz et al. (2017) that a democratic leadership style can be used in increasing the productivity of the organization and boosting the morale of employees. Democratic leadership style can also increase the participation of various employees in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the business organization, and this type of leadership style can also generate positive outcomes from the employees

Post pandemic challenges with the construction industry.

The covid-19 pandemic has created a huge loss to the construction industry by raising disruption to the different operations, so the industry will take some time to get recovered from the losses, and there is a chance of occurrence of post-pandemic challenges. According to PWC (2022) construction industry has to go through various post-pandemic challenges like managing the immediate crisis, stabilizing the supply chain, and regaining the financial position. However, under immediate crisis also has the contribution of the financial decisions and uncertainty with the capital requirements. Sometimes managing an immediate crisis needs a lot of resources or capital, and after a pandemic arranging resources or capital is a challenging task for the construction industry. As per Palladino (2021), bringing back the supply chain on track is a major post-pandemic challenge for the construction industry. During the pandemic, the supply chain has got a lot of damage, and the pandemic highly disrupted the supply chain whether the supply chain is associated with the raw material, labour, etc. Due to the shutdown of the industries and industries which support or manage the supply chain for the construction industry. However, the increase in the increase in the price of the material is also challenging for the construction industry, and managing the cost increment is the real post-pandemic challenge. According to For Construction Pros (2022), the issues which are needed to be addressed as per the post-pandemic recovery plan. Pricing, increased materials cost, skilled labour shortage, and adoption of new technology are four major post-pandemic challenges that are faced by the construction industry. Price of construction has is dependent on several variables or factors in which the supply chain is the most sensitive factor and demand. Whereas, the covid-19 pandemic has affected both supply chain and demand due to which price fluctuation become a major challenge that is needed to be managed. On the other hand, the pandemic has created a situation where the migrant workers have moved to their native places, and this leads to the shortage of skilled workers. Even after the post-pandemic, there is a threat of the covid-19 due to which the skilled workers are not returning from their natives; therefore, shortage of the skilled worker has become a post-pandemic challenge. The supply chain has got disruption due to the pandemic and breakout; this became the reason for the increase in the material cost post-pandemic. Whereas supply chain needs extra cost for stabilizing the chain system due to which the material coming from the supply chain has become costly and a challenge for the construction company. In addition, Husien et al. (2021) demonstrated that covid-19 has caused destruction in the material Logistics and also impacted the companies who provide equipment on rent for using it on the construction sites. Due to the disruption in the supply chain, various contractors had to purchase material from the local market, which was very costly in comparison to the earlier purchase, which was done before the covid 19 pandemic. Various countries were also facing shortages of materials like steel, aluminium, and iron because of the cross-border lockdown. The productivity of the employees was also reduced due to the disruption in the supply chain, so it is very important to maintain the supply chain and prevent it from disturbing. Project managers can use a decentralization scheme to establish a network of various supply centres so that all the materials can easily be accessed during pandemic situations.

New standards and regulation adoption by the project manager

The covid-19 pandemic caused a shutdown in many countries, and once they spread of covid-19 came into control, many of the industries started their operation but applied many new standards and regulations. However, the introduction of new standards and regulations happened due to the new strain of covid-19 so that the people working in the industry could be safe from the covid-19 and the industry could provide a safe working environment. All the arrangements are made to manage the impact of the covid-19 in the industry, and the industry can run smoothly without getting any regulatory restrictions. In addition, Porter (2020) has demonstrated the three standards or regulations that can save the construction industry from the impact of covid-19. The very first step is to communicate under which the communication with stakeholders, clients, and the project team is made frequently so that all the respective can have regular updates. Whereas regular communication helps in building trust and through this construction company maintains its image among the clients, stakeholders, and working staff. Implementation of social distancing norms at the workplace is one of the effective regulations that is implemented by the construction industry. On the other hand, the project manager is made responsible for the implementation of the social distancing norms and maintains the norms throughout the working hours. According to Assaad and El-adaway (2021), for regulating the standards related to social distancing, several regulations are applied. Regulations like if construction work is going as per the standards of social distancing, then work will be stopped with a penalty, or only some penalty will be placed. When any organization or industry is under the pressure of any regulation, then the standards are effectively applied and maintained. The same is with the construction industry, and social distancing has become the most prominent step because construction projects involve a huge number of workers and are performed at open locations. Whereas project managers also have the duty of planning for the reopening of the sites, and this project manager can bound the number of workers along with other measures. According to Amoah and Simpeh (2020), for meeting the objective of the workers’ health and safety, key areas like a plan for re-opening workplaces, administrative measures, and other health-related measures are required. Plan for reopening of the work area includes compulsion over the workers to carry risk assessment and other measures. On the other hand, administrative measures refer to putting limitations over the number of workers at a location and generating awareness among the workforce by the delivery of important information. In contrast, health and safety measures include the include regular screening and other health tests for the workers, proper arrangements for sanitization, and making use of the PPE kit by the workers. As the project manager is the closest looking person to the project, so it becomes the duty of the project manager to carry out monitoring or assessment for proper implementation of the required measures. This helps in assuring the health and safety of the workers at the workplace.

According to Raoufi and Fayek (2021), covid-19 was a very big challenge for the construction project managers, and various types of rules were being adopted by the managers, and various changes in the working style were made during the covid-19. Project managers have started to monitor public health announcements regularly and identify the standard safety conditions at the site. Various project managers have also provided support to the workforce to maintain physical health and also minimize the workflow interaction by establishing effective communication plans and reporting protocols for every stakeholder. Project managers have also reviewed the previously signed contracts and checked existing insurance policies. Along with the project manager complete workforce has also taken part in securing and protecting completed work ok and created a relaunch plan for the closed projects. However, Zamani et al. (2021) stated that the construction industry was facing lots of problems during covid-19, and the project manager was also facing issues due to the timeline of the project reduced workforce along with interruption in the logistics due to cross border lockdown and internal lockdown in the countries. Project managers were also facing problems due to the late payments of the clients and increment in the cost of project along with requirement in the number of projects. Authors have also suggested various solutions which can reduce the problem of a manager, like the government can provide grants and create a standard operating procedure. Managers can raise funds to complete the project and take loans from the bank to resolve the issue of finance.

Recommendation for a project manager to fit in the new normal

After the covid-19 pandemic for bringing normalcy in the life, there is some recommendation that is required to be implemented. New normal not only helps in bringing people into their daily routine, but the new normal also helps in stopping the transmission of the covid-19. According to Jamaludin et al. (2020), new normal is referred to the procedures or measures which can create a safe space for people, and people can return to their normal life. Under the procedure of new normal, some various steps or measures are made compulsory for people, and these procedures are also applied in public places as well as workplaces too. As per Lee et al. (2020), the regular temperature is a new normal, and initializing temperature checks in the daily routine is also a new normal. The temperature of each person visiting the workplace should be checked. There should be a limit on the temperature and if the temperature of anyone crosses the limit. The entry of the person with a higher temperature is denied so that the spread can be stopped as covid-19 have the capacity of community spread. The temperature check procedure can be applied by the project managers at their respective workplaces for the implementation of the new normal. For the temperature check, the project manager can install screening equipment at the entrance of the workplace or deploy a person for checking the temperature and recording the temperature of each of the workers or visitors at the workplace. However, the person or worker with a higher temperature than the acceptable temperature limit can be restricted to be quarantined for 11 days as it is stated that recovery from the covid-19 is possible in 11 days. In addition, the National Centre for Infectious Diseases and Academy of Medicine Singapore (2020) have stated covid-19 recovery is possible in 11 days. Thus, the project manager can also implement this at the workplace and ask workers with high temperatures to be in quarantine for 11 days from the day of screening so that workers can be safe and transmission can also be stopped. Other than this project manager can also ask workers to visit the workplace for work on an alternate schedule like 3 days or 4 days a week. This alternate work schedule limits the number of workers at a place and at the same time helps in maintaining productivity. However, denying the entry of the infected person is also effective in reducing the existence of the virus from the different surfaces which have been physically touched by the infected person or worker. According to Bali and Chaudhry (2020), viruses only tend to sustain on the surfaces like handles, lift control buttons, different switches, and other places of physical touch for 9 days only. So, the project manager can implement the measures for bringing new normal to the workplace and stop the transmission of the virus.

According to Adhikari and Poudyal (2021), covid-19 is a dangerous disease that can create more impact on the health of people working in the construction industry, so project managers should develop a response plan in which managers have identify how workers can get the covid-19 infection and control all the factors to reduce the risk of infection. A project manager should also be prepared for the possibilities of the changes in the market and work pattern of labourers, along with instruction in delivery and supply of materials. A project manager should also promote various policies at the workplace which create or enhance social distancing between the workers. The project manager should also discourage workers from sharing different tools and equipment and encourage them to use separate equipment. However, Rehman et al. (2021), the construction industry is a fast industry that has the potential to use innovative technologies and engage with the digital transformation of various processes. However, this industry is slow in adopting new technology because of the old traditional business models and traditional workforces. Different types of information technology tools are available in the market, which can increase the effectiveness of various processes and reliability to assist in the successful execution of various construction projects. Various tools like business information modelling, virtual designs, 3-D printing, radio frequency identification, and the internet of things. So, it is recommended that the project manager should use innovative technologies at the construction site and increase various workers to use modern technologies to reduce the complexity of different tasks and prevent the spread of covid-19 infection.

Methodology

Research methodology refers to the systemic study of the methods and procedures taken into use during the research. Research methodology is also used as a procedure for the identification of methods for the research and justifying the selection of the methods. Research methodology is a tool that inspires the researcher to follow a structure for the research (Willmott, 2020). Structured research helps the readers to get information about the research, the research design, philosophy, approaches, data collection, and data analysis. Research is based on qualitative or quantitative research depending on the type of data available for the research or type of research mentioned. The same is with the selection of the method for the data collection as its has also dependent on the data type required for the research.

Research design

Research design presents the overall process that leads the research from the start to the end. Research either starts with the hypothesis or research question preparation and ends with testing of hypothesis or answering the research questions. Research design is applied as a guide that helps in the research question preparation, finding answers pf the research questions, and analyzing the answers to obtain findings (Abutabenjeh and Jaradat, 2018). Research design is also applicable in the selection of the method of data collection and data analysis. The research presented here is based on the investigation of the impact of leadership in the construction industry during the covid-19 and the measure taken into consideration for the new normal. Qualitative research and quantitative research are two types of research designs that can be used for the research. The respective research designs are selected on the basis of the data available for the research and how the research needs to be completed. Qualitative research is used for the research as the research is based on qualitative data.

Qualitative research design is focused on revealing the perception of the targeted participants or on the social processes and involves the use of the qualitative data type. Qualitative research needs the collection of non-numeric data for the research by the secondary source of data collection. As per Aspers and Corte (2019), qualitative research involves naturalistic and interpretative type approaches for the examination of the subject. The research design is focused on the study of things on the basis of their natural setting and later tries to make perceptions. Qualitative research involves the study and collection of a variety of data and specially non-numeric data, with the help of case studies, historic literature, personal experience, interview, etc.

Quantitative research is focused on the study of numeric data by the use of statistics or mathematical models. According to Goertzen (2017), quantitative search is associated with the collection of numeric data and analyzing the numeric data. Quantitative research is directed toward building a reliable and accurate measurement that can be used during statistical analysis. The findings of the quantitative research are concentrated on the proportion, and findings do not cover behavior or trends. Quantitative research makes use of graphical representation, mathematical models, statistical models, and other analysis tools for the analysis of the quantitative data, which are gathered from the primary data sources. Primary data sources for obtaining quantitative data are surveys and measurements.

Research philosophy

Research philosophy is the belief that the researcher follows during the selection of the method of data collection and data analysis. The same belief can be used for the implementation of data. According to Fulford and Hodgson (2016), research philosophy refers to the belief related to the method of data collection and making use of data in the research. Epistemology and ontology are two aspects of the research philosophy, nature of reality, whereas epistemology is referred to the content that can be accepted as knowledge. Research philosophy also has paradigms like positivism, critical realism theory, interpretivism, and pragmatism. For the research, interpretivism research philosophy is used as the respective research philosophy is suitable for qualitative data.

Research approach

The research approach is the structured framework that is taken into consideration for creating assumptions that help in the selection of methods for collecting data, data analysis, and taking out outcomes. The research approach is termed the plan for the study of the research on a topic. Under the research approach, there is two approaches inductive and deductive research (Azungah, 2018). Hypothesis or research questions are two aspects, and research can be based on these two aspects. A deductive research approach is preferred in the case of hypothesis and used for research in which the hypothesis is prepared at the start of the research. At the same time, the inductive research approach is preferred when the research is based on the research questions. The inductive research approach takes the help of the formulation of the research questions and objectives related to the research topic. As the presented research has the involvement of the research questions, so the research approach taken in use is the inductive approach. Research questions are designed as per the research topic related to the impact of leadership in a construction company and the new normal measures.

Question designing

The questionnaire is the process that can be used for the interview purpose, and the questionnaire provides a structure to the interview (Krosnick, 2018). The questionnaire to be used for an interview needed to be in simple language so that the interviewer can get the question easily and the interviewee can reply effectively. The questionnaire can start from the basic question to check whether the interviewer is aware of the topic or not, then choose based question with the option of different categories. These two questions help in framing other questions, and the questions should be arranged in a systematic manner so that the interviewer can answer the questions in an easy way. For the interview purpose, questions on the impact of covid-19 on the construction industry, the role of leadership, the influence of leadership, and the new normal after the pandemic are framed. In the research work, 10 research questions are framed to collect the primary data. The questions are thus framed so as to obtain adequate data, and the transcript is prepared for the interview. The interview can be of various types in which; structured, semi-structured, and fully structured are the common type of interviews. The interview is categorized as per the questions asked during the interview; a question asked may be independent of other questions, but in another type of interview, the questions can be interrelated, and in a semi-structured interview, the questions have their dependency on the reply of the interviewer or participant. As per Roulston and Choi (2018), semi-structured interviews have questions formulated on the basis of the answer given by the participants. With the help of a semi-structured interview, a free-ranging conversation can be created. For the research purpose, a semi-structured interview is conducted.

Data collection

Research cannot be completed without data as research is focused on the analysis of data collected during the research. Data collection refers to the method used for collecting data, and data can be taken from two different sources. The two sources of data are the primary data source and secondary data source that helps in obtaining qualitative and quantitative data as per the requirement of the research. Secondary sources include document analysis and informal discussion, in which document analysis is referred to the data collection with the help of the existing texts and involves the use of pre-existing literature as a data source. On the other hand, informal discussion refers to the process in which the participants are permitted to make informal discussion, and discussion is closely observed for collecting data. Primary data sources are surveys, measurements, and interviews, each of the techniques involves the use of a set of procedures. The survey is called a web-based data collection method as the survey has a set of questions, and the survey can be online as well as offline. Whereas measurements refer to the data collection method, which involves the use of strategic procedures for collecting data, and the method of data collection is performed in a controlled environment so that precise data can be obtained from the method. The interview consists of a questionnaire with a set of structured questions. A set of questions relevant to the topic is prepared, which are asked during the interview. For the proposed research interview is conducted and for the research, a questionnaire is prepared, and the questionnaires are used as a mode of data collection. The research questions are made relevant to the topic impact of leadership in the construction industry during a covid-19 pandemic, and some of the questions are also on the measures that are applied as a part of the new normal. Participants for the interview are selected on a random basis. In this research work, qualitative and quantitative data will be collected. For collecting the primary data, a questionnaire will be created related to the topic of the research topic, and all the questions will be framed according to the objectives of the research work. All the questions of the questionnaire are closed-ended, which will assist in collecting the data about the research topic. Along with the primary source, the secondary resource is also used for collecting data document analysis is used during the research. Pre-existing research articles from various journals and peer-reviewed papers are used for collecting data, and the literature review is conducted in a way that the answers to the research can be obtained with the help of a literature review. Research articles taken in use are taken from open and authentic sources so that adequate data can be gathered.

Data analysis

Data analysis helps in obtaining findings and outcomes by the analysis of the gathered data. The process of data analysis is selected on the basis of the data availability for the research or the type of research. Data analysis is a systematic process used for the analysis of data to bring out findings or outcomes in order to meet the objective of the research. At the current time, qualitative and quantitative research is being used for data analysis. Qualitative analysis is favoured for qualitative type data, and the analysis behavior of the participants or theories can be obtained after the collection of the data. Quantitative analysis (statistical analysis) will be performed, which will assist in the effective interpretation of the results. At the same time, quantitative analysis is focused on the analysis of the quantitative type data by the use of the statistics tools or model or by the use of the analysis tools which are capable of the analysis of the numeric data. Descriptive and inferential statics are two types of quantitative analysis. Thematic analysis, narrative analysis, grounded theory, and content analysis are some of the analysis types that fall under qualitative analysis. According to Castleberry and Nolen (2018), thematic analysis promotes data analysis on the basis of the theme generated from the available data. Based on the theme generated with the help of the available data, data is analyzed. Here is the research thematic analysis is used for analyzing data. A literature review is done based on the objectives of the research work. Data gathered from the primary data source, and secondary data sources are analyzed to obtain findings or outcomes.

Ethical consideration

Ethical consideration helps in improving the quality of the research, and ethical considerations become more important when there is human involvement. According to Arifin (2018) application of ethical principles for the protection of human subjects is important for any research work. The importance of ethical consideration increases when there is human involvement as there are various details that are required to be protected. The data collected during the interview needed to be encrypted and stored safely so that privacy can be maintained, the device used for storing data should be password protected to restrict undesired access. The question should have relevance to the topic, and the question should be thus framed so that the sentiments of the participants should not get harmed. Also, answers to the questions should help in getting adequate data. During the interview, the questions should be asked in simple language so that the participants can get the right meaning of the questions and participants can give effective answers. The other ethical considerations are related to the research articles taken in use, and proper in-text citation should be there so that proper credit can be given to the owner of the research article. Putting proper in-text citation helps in increasing the quality of the research and creditability.

Limitation

In the research, only qualitative data is used, so the use of quantitative should be preferred for increasing the quality of the research and for increasing the validation of the research too. Qualitative research makes use of the analysis tools or methods that has the capability to produce more precise findings and outcomes. So if, in place of qualitative analysis, if the quantitative analysis is performed, then it would have given more precise outcomes.

References

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Adhikari, K. and Poudyal, L., 2021. Future of construction industry: COVID-19 and its implications on construction projects and risk management–A review. doi: 10.20944/preprints202104.0383.v1

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Appendix

Questionnaires

Q1. What was the impact of the covid-19 on the construction industry?

Low
Moderate
High

Q2. What was the impact of covid-19 on the leadership in construction?

Low
Moderate
High

Q3. Which stakeholder got a major impact on the construction industry?

Workers
Investors
Company
Leaders

Q4. Which is the most effective approach adopted by the construction industry for post-pandemic recovery?

Agile management
Digitalization
Transdisciplinary approach
Traditional approach

Q5. What are the key issues in managing people during the pandemic?

Physical touch
Continuous interaction
Lack of awareness among the leadership

Q6. What influence did leadership put on the team performance during the pandemic?

Positive
Negative
Mixed

Q7. Which leadership style is most effective in improving team performance?

Transformational leadership
Discursive leadership
Supportive leadership

Q8. What are the major post-pandemic challenges in the construction industry?

Immediate crisis
Regaining the financial position
Stabilizing the supply chain

Q9. What was the most threatening factor during the covid-19 pandemic?

Getting infected by the coronavirus
Job loss
Both

Q10. What recommendation fits in the new normal for the project manager?

Regular screening
Quarantine facility for the employees with covid-19
Free medical checkup facilities

Impact of Leadership in Construction During Covid-19

Table of Contents

Literature Review

Impact of COVID-19 on the construction industry and leadership