Maghsoudi, Soroush (2017) Evaluation of innovation in building, construction, and infrastructure projects. PhD thesis, University of Melbourne, Australia.
Abstract
Innovation is at the heart of today's competitive economy. The infrastructure industry of a nation plays a crucial role in its economic development and having understood innovation, and its impact is very important in the current turbulent economic environment. Innovation and infrastructure are both referred to as two main factors to increase productivity and to become more competitive internationally, however, innovation is difficult to quantify, particularly in advance. Development of robust techniques to predict the impact of innovation, whilst elusive, remains a priority for most governments and organizations. Innovation is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon. The aim of this study is to develop a theoretical framework and a tool to assist building and construction industry practitioners in the evaluation of innovation and its outcomes. To achieve this purpose, a systematic literature review was conducted and then a set of twelve case studies was analysed. From the literature review and case studies a framework to evaluate innovation was developed. Grounded theory was used to apply the framework to current building projects undertaken by the author. The literature review revealed fragmented definitions of innovation. There was no consensus on innovation measurement. This thesis develops a comprehensive framework with a holistic attitude in mind in order to consider as many as possible interacting elements of the innovation process. This resulted in the development of a tool to measure the impact of innovation in nine domestic and commercial building projects in Melbourne Australia. This area of research is new and under-researched in the context of infrastructure and building projects.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Duffield, Colin |
| Index terms: | Australia, commercial building, productivity, infrastructure project, case study, literature review, economic development, practitioner, heart, systematic literature review, construction industry, grounded theory |
| Subjects: | industry analysis, construction type, research evaluation and metrics, infrastructure and transport systems, theoretical framing, data collection methods, management, medical science and clinical practice, Geography, data analysis and analytics, practitioner, economic development |
| Topics: | Research Practice, Health and Safety, Roles and Professions, Engineering Principles, Geographical Context, Business Strategy, Construction Technology, Sustainability |
| 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