Nilsson Vestola, E; Larsson, J and Hedgren, E (2025) Public clients pursue innovation, but what's going on at the project level? A case study of infrastructure operation and maintenance. Construction Management and Economics, 43(1), pp. 26-39. ISSN 0144-6193
Abstract
This paper examines the gap between macro-level calls for innovation and the micro-level enactment, by exploring the discrepancies between a public client's pursuit of innovation and the actions taken at the project level. Through empirical analysis of four infrastructure operation and maintenance projects, we identify discrepancies within and between procurement strategies and project-level practices. Taking a strategy-as-practice perspective, our study shows how procurement strategies are adapted and enacted by inter-organizational project actors, shedding light on why macro-level innovation intent may not translate into expected outcomes at the project level. Our findings underscore the importance of aligning macro-level directives with micro-level actions to drive innovation in construction projects effectively. This research contributes to a better understanding of the dynamics shaping innovation in construction projects, highlighting the critical role of procurement strategies in bridging macro and micro contexts to achieve sustainable development goals.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | infrastructure; innovation; operation and maintenance; public procurement; strategy-as-practice |
| Index terms: | case study, procurement strategy, dynamics, inter-organizational project, operation and maintenance, public client, strategy-as-practice, sustainable development goal, construction project |
| Subjects: | maintenance engineering, management, production management, organizational theory, sociology, sustainable design, data collection methods, contractual arrangements, systems engineering |
| Topics: | Procurement, Project Management, Engineering Principles, Stakeholder Management, Business Strategy, Sustainability, Research Practice |
| 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