Abbott, C; Jeong, K and Allen, S (2006) The economic motivation for innovation in small construction companies. Construction Innovation, 6(3), pp. 187-196. ISSN 1471-4175
Abstract
There is an increasing emphasis on the importance of innovation for the longterm economic success of businesses. At the same time the construction industry is characterized as being a poor innovator in comparison to other industries. If the university sector is to play a role in increasing innovation within construction companies it is necessary to for it to understand what the benefits and risks of innovation might be and what the motivation is for a business to adopt innovation. This paper attempts to develop answers to these questions through the analysis of a case study involving a small heating and plumbing company that embarked upon a performance improvement initiative and as a result implemented a number of innovative practices in its operations. Building upon on the results of this case study, suggestions for more effective collaboration between the university sector and industry are made.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | innovation; knowledge; motivation; SMEs; transfer; university collaboration |
| Index terms: | construction industry, plumbing, performance improvement, case study, university sector, collaboration, motivation, construction company |
| Subjects: | psychology, data collection methods, mechanical systems, organization, industry analysis, management, performance measurement |
| Topics: | Research Practice, Business Strategy, Organizational Design, Human Resources, Quality Management, Design 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