Viking, A and Lidelöw, S (2015) Exploring industrialized housebuilders' interpretations of local requirements using institutional logics. Construction Management and Economics, 33(5-6), pp. 484-494. ISSN 01446193
Abstract
Industrialized housebuilding contractors use standardized processes and building systems to improve time and cost efficiency. Recent governmental investigations argue that Swedish local planning authorities' requirement setting practices stifle the potential for increased industrialization. Yet, no previous research has accounted for the industrialized housebuilders' perspective. We aim to explore industrialized housebuilders' interpretations of local requirement setting, using institutional logics to increase the understanding of how structure and human agency influence the emergence of local requirements. Interviews were conducted with representatives of five industrialized housebuilders who together span the Swedish multi-family housing market. Findings indicate that industrialized housebuilders do not perceive intentional local requirement setting as problematic, yet struggle to cope with interpretive local requirement setting. Findings also necessitate distinguishing local requirement setting in the exercise of public authority from local requirement setting in public procurement. The agency structure dualism contributes an understanding of interpretive local requirement setting in the exercise of public authority as an expression of agency and of local requirement setting in public procurement as one of structure. Furthermore, using an institutional logics approach is found to provide an accentuation of human agency and the individual level of analysis that is often absent from construction management research.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | agency; industrialized building; institutional theory; local planning; structure |
| Index terms: | public authority, building system, institutional logic, industrialization, interview, local planning, investigation, institutional theory, cost efficiency, agency, emergence, management research, industrialized building, housebuilder, multi-family housing, housebuilding, exercise |
| Subjects: | data collection methods, economics, health behaviours and lifestyles, research design and methodology, practitioner, theoretical framing, building construction, administrative law, engineering systems, sociology, construction integration, urban design, economic development, systems engineering, housing and residential development |
| Topics: | Sustainability, Engineering Principles, Research Practice, Roles and Professions, Cost Management, Legal Issues, Urban Studies, Business Strategy, Construction Technology, Health and Safety |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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