Shibeika, A and Harty, C (2015) Diffusion of digital innovation in construction: A case study of a UK engineering firm. Construction Management and Economics, 33(5-6), pp. 453-466. ISSN 01446193
Abstract
The UK government is mandating the use of building information modelling (BIM) in large public projects by 2016. As a result, engineering firms are faced with challenges related to embedding new technologies and associated working practices for the digital delivery of major infrastructure projects. Diffusion of innovations theory is used to investigate how digital innovations diffuse across complex firms. A contextualist approach is employed through an in-depth case study of a large, international engineering project-based firm. The analysis of the empirical data, which was collected over a four-year period of close interaction with the firm, reveals parallel paths of diffusion occurring across the firm, where both the innovation and the firm context were continually changing. The diffusion process is traced over three phases: centralization of technology management, standardization of digital working practices, and globalization of digital resources. The findings describe the diffusion of a digital innovation as multiple and partial within a complex social system during times of change and organizational uncertainty, thereby contributing to diffusion of innovations studies in construction by showing a range of activities and dynamics of a non-linear diffusion process.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | building information modelling; case study; diffusion of innovations; digital technologies; project-based firm |
| Index terms: | standardization, infrastructure project, new technology, case study, technology management, social system, digital technology, building information modelling, interaction, public project, project-based firm, globalization, dynamics, engineering firm, working practice, diffusion of innovation |
| Subjects: | computing systems, infrastructure engineering, innovation and technology management, information systems, data collection methods, organization, management, economic factors, innovation studies, professional development, firms, performance measurement, social theory, behavioral psychology, systems engineering, infrastructure and transport systems |
| Topics: | Information Management, Research Practice, International Construction, Engineering Principles, Quality Management, Roles and Professions, Digital Applications, Organizational Design, Business Strategy |
| 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