Book excerpt: The core of all successful organizations is the effectiveness with which people work together. Individuals have differing characteristics and personalities, and the manner in which they interact is the key to meeting organizational objectives. This is the case for all organizations, but particularly so in construction, which is distinctly different from other industries. Construction is complex and highly differentiated, with a wide range of specialists with disparate professional skills working in a highly integrated way to deliver projects successfully. Understanding how the people involved in construction behave and work together is necessary for projects to have successful outcomes. Organizational behaviour is an established field in mainstream management literature but general treatments cannot reflect the specific issues and idiosyncrasies of the construction industry and the people who inhabit it. Organizational Behaviour in Construction addresses the behaviour of individuals and groups within the different organizations which come together on construction projects and within the organizations created to manage projects. It describes how their behaviour impacts on the performance of construction organizations and their contribution to the project as a whole. Drawing on mainstream organizational literature but putting it into the specific context of construction, and containing many illustrations drawn from the industry, this book will be required reading for all senior undergraduate and postgraduate students of construction, as well as middle and senior management in the industry.