Hadiwattege, C; Senaratne, S; Sandanayake, Y G and Fernando, N (2022) Merging academic research and industry requirements for innovative construction management practices in Sri Lanka: A study on critical success factors. International Journal of Construction Education and Research, 18(1), pp. 32-48. ISSN 1557-8771
Abstract
The application of a ‘knowledge-based economy’, which is a mainstream theory in many sectors, is rarely visible in the construction industry, especially in developing countries. Accordingly, the negative consequence of weak academic-industry interactions has created many hindrances to the development of the construction sector. Hence, it is essential to lead the construction industry toward innovations through research-informed management practices, which urges for strong academic-industry assimilation. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) for research-driven construction management innovations. A comprehensive literature review was carried out first and empirical data were collected from the Sri Lankan context using the mixed-research approach informed by a pragmatist philosophical stance. The perspectives of academia and industry were deductively obtained through questionnaires and inductively explored through semi-structured interviews. The findings were accumulated to a model and validated externally through expert interviews. The Model of CSFs for Research-driven Innovations (MRI) in construction management practices displays the CSFs stage-wise, concerning the actionable stakeholders. The research confirms the academic research’s potential to foster innovations in construction management practices if righteously initiated inside the innovation space, executed properly, and disseminated strategically.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | academic research; construction management practice; critical success factors; industry requirements; innovation; research knowledge dissemination and utilization |
| Index terms: | Sri Lanka, academia, management innovation, interaction, knowledge dissemination, construction industry, developing country, interview, literature review, questionnaire, management practice, critical success factor, construction sector |
| Subjects: | educational institutions, industry analysis, management, data analysis and analytics, data collection methods, control systems, behavioral psychology, development economics, Geography, research dissemination and communication |
| Topics: | Geographical Context, Project Management, Education, Business Strategy, Information Management, Research Practice, International Construction |
| 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