Ward, A D (2016) Development of a contextualised understanding of the diffusion of innovation among quantity surveyors in the UK construction industry. PhD thesis, Nottingham Trent University, UK.
Abstract
The UK construction industry is often described as slow to innovate which can be attributed to the temporary nature of construction projects and its inherently fragmented structure. The nature of innovation is a common area of research in the industry, but the diffusion of these innovations to the members of this social system is an under represented area that this research addresses. This research addresses this shortfall and focuses on providing a contextualised understanding of the key aspects of diffusion of professional practice among quantity surveyors. This is achieved by utilising a particular type of innovation, the New Rules of Measurement, as a vehicle for the analysis. A qualitative research approach that gathers the rich explanatory data is utilised, using semi structured interviews, which is lacking in the diffusion research field. This approach supports a constructivist philosophy and provides a deeper understanding of different actors' diffusion journeys in contrast to the overwhelmingly positivist approach to previous studies of diffusion. This resulted in several original contributions to knowledge including the identification of current measurement practices within the UK construction industry, development of a contextualised understanding and diffusion of professional practice innovation model for quantity surveyors in addition to the identification of barriers to the diffusion process that are unique to the construction industry. This is important as it demonstrates areas that can be utilised and improved to assist in the diffusion of professional practice to the quantity surveying profession.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | diffusion; innovation; interview; qualitative research; quantity surveying; UK |
| Index terms: | professional practice, construction project, qualitative research, philosophy, interview, surveying, construction industry, diffusion of innovation, profession, social system, quantity surveying |
| Subjects: | professional development, social theory, philosophical studies, industry analysis, research design and methodology, data collection methods, profession, health monitoring assessment and metrics, production management, institututions |
| Topics: | Roles and Professions, Research Practice, Information Management, Project Management, Health and Safety |
| 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