Bengtsson, S H (2017) Innovation in the construction industry: Factors, actors and the client's role. In: Chan, P W and Neilson, C J (eds.) Proceedings of 33rd Annual ARCOM Conference, 4-6 September 2017, Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, UK.
Abstract
Urbanization and the increased demand for sustainable urban development creates greater pressure on the construction industry to innovate in order to carry out projects in a more efficient and resourceful way. A knowledge gap has been identified in existing literature around how different influences impact innovation implementation in the construction industry (Widén & Hanson 2007; Tanskanen et al. 2015). This research will combine a literature review on technological process innovation and systemic innovation, with an empirical study of construction logistics innovations in the empirical context of an urban development project (UDP). Company specific logistics solutions will be compared to integrated solutions such as logistic centres. The aim of the research is to propose a framework that positions and compares integrated logistics solutions as systemic innovation and company specific logistic solutions as process innovations. The aim is also to present a direction for future research in the area.Tentative findings suggest a difference in the scale of innovation between company specific solutions and integrated solutions in UDPs. While company specific innovation should be seen as a technological process innovation, integrated solutions taking both the construction process and the supply chain into account should be seen as systemic innovation. These findings bring about the following questions, in line with the above mentioned knowledge gap, for future research: What actors are important for successful systemic logistics innovation? Who should be responsible for the innovation? What mechanisms are important to include during the development and implementation of such innovation?ReferencesTanskanen, K, Holmström, J and Öhman, M (2015) Generative Mechanisms of the Adoption of Logistics Innovation: The Case of On-site Shops in Construction Supply Chains. "Journal of Business Logistics", 36(2), 139–159.Widén, K and Hansson, B (2007) Diffusion characteristics of private sector financed innovation in Sweden. "Construction Management and Economics", 25(5), 467-475.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | clients; project-based organisations; systemic innovation; urban development projects |
| Index terms: | construction industry, implementation, systemic innovation, urban development, construction supply chain, construction logistics, integrated solution, construction process, empirical study, project-based organization, sustainable urban development, Sweden, journal, literature review, private sector, urbanization |
| Subjects: | research methods, management, urban design, Geography, building construction, industry analysis, organization, research dissemination and communication, innovation studies, construction logistics, sustainability and resilience, urban planning, contractual arrangements, data analysis and analytics |
| Topics: | Site Management, Organizational Design, Urban Studies, Supply Chain Management, Governance, Procurement, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Geographical Context |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
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