Moura, Paula Kvitko de (2022) Guidelines for the development of innovative solutions in the construction industry. PhD thesis, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Abstract
The world is changing faster due to significant new advances, although the construction industry has been relatively slow to innovate. Nevertheless, recent innovative solutions related to new technologies, new materials, and management strategies are being developed to enhance construction processes. Although studies are already being conducted to investigate how innovative solutions for other industries are being created using innovative methods, such as Design Thinking, Lean Startup, Agile methodologies, and Business Model Canvas, the literature on the construction industry remains underexplored. Based on insights from the literature and startup practice in this sector, this thesis proposes guidelines for startups to develop products and services for the construction market. First, a systematic literature review was conducted, and the studies related to innovative methods explored in three communities were mapped. Even though all communities focused on finding solutions, only the first community employed multiple innovative methods in order to develop new businesses in a variety of fields, including engineering, health, and education. As a result, models of innovative methods and tools used in this community were identified as a starting point for researching how construction startups develop solutions. Seven startups from the civil construction sector detailed in workshops how they develop their solutions using innovative methods based on the steps and tools identified in the community. The analysis of the solution development process and the combination of steps and tools described by the seven startups served as the foundation for the creation of the first version of the integrative model to aid in the creation of innovative solutions for the construction market. Unlike existing models, the model incorporates specific steps related to the startup's commercial and operational strategies, as well as the incorporation of different stakeholders' points of view for decision-making. The validation of the first version by five construction startups in terms of usefulness and usability revealed that the small group of construction startups struggled to carry out the model's steps and apply the tools. As a result, a survey was created with the goal of better understanding which steps construction startups had the most difficulty applying innovative methods and which tools they used the most. The steps that startups had the most difficulty with (problem identification, ideation, and development of the first version of the solution) were identified and expanded in the integrator model's final version. It was possible to identify the activities that should be connected to the steps, such as hiring the team with a formal contract, taking part in incubation processes, and pricing the solution, due to the validation of this version by five innovation specialists in terms of usefulness and usability. As a result, guidelines and an infographic with activities were created to assist construction startups in developing innovative solutions.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Consoli, Nilo Cesar and Heineck, Karla Salvagni |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | experimentation; entrepreneurship; innovation; startup |
| Index terms: | strategy, usability, construction process, pricing, experiment, business model, construction industry, systematic literature review, startup, survey, decision-making, construction sector, methodology, workshop, entrepreneurship, construction market, validation, new technology, management strategy |
| Subjects: | decision analysis, professional development, business, building construction, research methods, research evaluation and metrics, market analysis, industry analysis, economic analysis, construction type, user-centered design, management, innovation and technology management, data collection methods |
| Topics: | Site Management, Construction Technology, Risk Management, Information Management, Design Practice, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Engineering Principles |
| 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