Tzortzopoulos, P (2004) The design and implementation of product development process models in construction companies. PhD thesis, University of Salford, UK.
Abstract
The need for improving the product development process within the construction industry is widely acknowledged. In response to this challenge, different process models have been developed by academia and industry to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the design and construction activity. However, the effective and widespread adoption and use of product development process models in practice has been limited, and the benefits resulting from these endeavours have been ambiguous at best and non-existent at worst. This led to the research need for better understanding of the dynamics of implementing product development process models in construction firms. Such understanding includes identifying strategies to allow the process model adaptation and adoption into specific project environments, as well as examining factors that affect implementation. To develop such understanding the process management, organisational change and technology transfer literature have been revised and synthesised. The research methodology employed a case study approach to test research hypotheses and, in doing so, create new theoretical insights. Different research techniques were applied, including literature review and synthesis, interviews, observation, content analysis and cognitive mapping. As a result, a better understanding of implementation in real life settings was achieved through a detailed discussion of implementation cases. This research has produced a theoretical framework to evaluate the content of product development process models with a view to its implementation and a typology for factors affecting implementation. The key research findings are: the need to consider the design and implementation of process models in an integrated fashion within the organisational context in which it takes place; and, a shift in the role of product development process models within firms from a rational 'planning and control perspective' to a softer 'learning' approach.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | case study; construction firms; content analysis; interview; organisational change; technology transfer |
| Index terms: | case study, efficiency, adaptation, effectiveness, academia, design and construction, research methodology, cognitive mapping, dynamics, implementation, construction industry, product development process, interview, organizational change, construction company, construction firm, content analysis, strategy, literature review, process management, technology transfer |
| Subjects: | performance management, management, systems engineering, industry analysis, educational institutions, cognitive psychology, innovation studies, user focus, research design and methodology, organization, business, data collection methods, contractual arrangements, data analysis and analytics, knowledge management |
| Topics: | Engineering Principles, Procurement, Quality Management, Education, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Design Practice, Organizational Design |
| 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