Dulaimi, M (2022) The climate of innovation in the UAE and its construction industry. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 29(1), pp. 141-164. ISSN 0969-9988
Abstract
Purpose: The ability to develop new products and services has motivated the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to enter the global race for excellence and surprise the world with its iconic construction innovations. The key challenge for the UAE is how to encourage and enable organizations, public and private, to embrace innovation as the norm and create a positive environment for innovation. In this context, this study was carried out with the aim of examining the factors that can create innovation–conducive climate in construction and the measures that can be used to assess such a climate. Design/methodology/approach: The paper reports research effort to develop and test a conceptual model that hypothesizes relationships amongst different constructs that make up the climate for innovation in UAE organizations, construction and non-construction. In verifying the conceptual model and testing the validity of the hypotheses, a quantitative study was conducted based on data collected via questionnaire survey. A total of 101 respondents participated in the study, majority of whom were employed in private international firms, semi-public firms and private local firms. Findings: The findings showed that, overall, the climate of innovation in the UAE organizations is moderately strong where construction firms performed slightly better than non-construction firms in demonstrating an innovation–conducive atmosphere. In this context, the results found a need for senior management to provide tangible support in terms of providing more resources for the skill base to develop further and seek better ways of developing creative solutions. The main conclusion provided evidence that leadership has positively influenced the climate for innovation and as a result delivered an improved business performance. Originality/value: The research developed a new conceptual model and the constructs that can be used to understand the climate for innovation and assist researchers in examining the complex dynamics of innovation in the local construction industry.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | climate for innovation; construction performance; leadership; organizational culture; UAE |
| Index terms: | organizational culture, construction innovation, United Arab Emirates, questionnaire, business performance, evidence, methodology, international firm, survey, construction firm, construction industry, testing, dynamics, validity, construction performance |
| Subjects: | systems engineering, industry analysis, building construction, sociology, Geography, research methods, performance measurement, performance assessment, professional practice, organization, data collection methods, evaluation and assessment methods, strategic management |
| Topics: | Site Management, Organizational Design, Quality Management, International Construction, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Engineering Principles |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here