Innovation performance of construction enterprises: An empirical assessment of the German and Singapore construction enterprises

Lim, J N and Peltner, F (2011) Innovation performance of construction enterprises: An empirical assessment of the German and Singapore construction enterprises. Construction Innovation, 11(3), pp. 282-304. ISSN 1471-4175

Abstract

Purpose - The complex interactions between firm- and industry-specific factors within a national context and their impacts on innovation often hinder construction enterprises' efforts in optimising their innovation performance. The purpose of this paper is to employ the Cobb-Douglas empirical production model to develop an innovation production function that illustrates the input and output factors relating to the innovation performance of construction firms. Design/methodology/approach - Applying these factors to a dataset comprising economic and innovation statistics over 20 years for Germany and Singapore, regression analyses were conducted to investigate the critical resources that contribute to the innovation performance of German and Singaporean construction firms. Findings - The findings indicated that the maturity of the innovation landscape in Germany cultivates the strength of German construction firms in developing unique firm-specific resources that pushes their competitiveness edge. In Singapore, construction firms' dependence on the nation's basic science and technology research leads to weak firm dynamics and innovation capabilities. Originality/value - It is recommended that in Singapore, the government should focus on the strength of their relationships with construction enterprises to aid the development of construction firms' Ramp;D capabilities. The primary recommendation for both German and Singapore construction firms is to develop a system of knowledge documentation and distribution that facilitates systematically reapplications of know-how, enabling construction firms to develop sustainable competitiveness through unique knowledge assets.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: construction management; Germany; innovation; Singapore
Index terms: Singapore, innovation performance, interaction, statistics, regression analysis, dynamics, competitiveness, science, construction firm, documentation, dataset, methodology, Germany
Subjects: behavioral psychology, systems engineering, statistical analysis, market analysis, data management, Geography, professional development, performance measurement, research methods, specialized education, mathematical modelling, organization
Topics: Business Strategy, Geographical Context, Research Practice, Information Management, Engineering Principles, Digital Applications, Quality Management, Education
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