Vosman, L; Coenen, T B J; Volker, L and Visscher, K (2021) Exploring the innovation ecosystem concept for a construction industry in transition. In: Scott, L and Neilson, C J (eds.) Proceedings of 37th Annual ARCOM Conference, 6-7 September 2021, Online Event, UK.
Abstract
The construction industry is increasingly facing societal challenges, such as climate change, resource scarcity, and digitalization. Traditional ways of organizing construction appear to be unsuitable for coping with these challenges. This calls for more systemic solutions in construction that reach beyond single projects or sectors to transform to a more resilient society. In this research, the innovation ecosystem perspective is explored to open up new horizons for dealing with the challenges. The innovation ecosystem can be understood as a multi-stakeholder network around certain innovative value propositions. Several theoretical innovation ecosystems characteristics are applied to the construction context by means of two illustrative cases from the Dutch construction sector. Results indicate that the innovation ecosystem perspective has the potential to both deal with the challenges involved and foster the innovativeness required for transitioning the sector. Benefits include the consideration of actors that are outside the construction domain, such as organizations for data management in the context of the circular economy, as well the long-term relation building among interdependent actors. However, additional case study research is needed to explore the full potential of its application in construction.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | ecosystem; collaboration; innovation; project management; societal challenges |
| Index terms: | digitalization, society, case study, circular economy, data management, stakeholder network, collaboration, coping, project management, climate change, construction sector, construction industry |
| Subjects: | communities and social development, industry analysis, behavioral psychology, data management, sustainable design, project management theory and practice, management, participation process, digital technology, climate science, data collection methods |
| Topics: | Organizational Design, Digital Applications, Sustainability, Stakeholder Management, Project Management, 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