Brewer, G; Gajendran, T and Runeson, G (2013) ICT & innovation: A case of integration in a regional construction firm. Construction Economics and Building, 13(3), pp. 24-36. ISSN 2204-9029
Abstract
Construction firms in regional areas face considerable challenges to their competitiveness. Logistics, availability of suitable personnel, unfamiliarity with trading partners, and the tyranny of distance conspire to obstruct profitable engagement beyond their local area. Electronic information and communication technology (ICT) such as web-based project management applications and other forms of collaborative data sharing have the potential to mitigate many of these obstacles, but have yet to gain widespread acceptance, particularly by smaller regional firms who question their cost effectiveness. The attitudes of decision-makers and the impact of their decisions on intra- and inter-firm culture lie at the heart of ICT-mediated innovation. This paper presents a case study of a specialist subcontractor located in regional New South Wales and its involvement in a New Zealand project, whose competitiveness arose from using ICT to integrate its own supply chain. It also provided additional value by triggering collaboration and integration in the broader project team. The case reveals that these outcomes were symptomatic of the organisational culture of the subcontractor, and were achieved through a combination of leadership, collaboration, flexibility and pragmatism, redolent of dynamic capabilities.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | culture; ICT; innovation; project team; regional |
| Index terms: | integration, case study, competitiveness, subcontractor, dynamic capability, cost-effectivenes, construction firm, New Zealand, New South Wales, pragmatism, face, project management, heart, organizational culture, information and communication technology, project team, personnel, collaboration |
| Subjects: | management, project delivery, psychology, sociology, philosophical concept, medical science and clinical practice, market analysis, project management theory and practice, organization, computing systems, practitioner, data collection methods, economics, Geography, organizational analysis |
| Topics: | Organizational Design, Research Practice, Digital Applications, Roles and Professions, Human Resources, Cost Management, Geographical Context, Business Strategy, Health and Safety, Project Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
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