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Andreas, Brian; Fernie, Scott; Dainty, Andrew
doi: 10.1080/01446193.2021.2015795pmid: N/A
Abstract The gap between the intent and the impact of policy for construction in the UK has been well established both in academic literature and in public discourse, contributing to repeated calls for transformation of the industry. The apparent failure of policy was investigated, taking policy at sector level as the unit of analysis. The objective was to both generate insight into the policy process and to establish a theoretical framework. Anticipating that the use of language, and the conflicting meanings attached to it by individual actors, is critical, an interpretive, abductive, research design was adopted. Twenty semi-structured interviews were carried out with a cross-section of industry actors. Methods of political economy analysis, used in other contexts, were adopted as the starting point for abduction. Analysis revealed flawed assumptions amongst stakeholders regarding the extent of the agency of central government in implementing change across such a heterogeneous and loosely coupled sector. Political economy analysis shows the impact of structural and institutional features on the sector in a systemic and holistic way, providing a template and visual model which supports collaborative and reflexive working, and forming a foundation for further research into policy for construction both in the UK and elsewhere.
Ninan, Johan; Sergeeva, Natalya; Winch, Graham
doi: 10.1080/01446193.2022.2037144pmid: N/A
Abstract The nature of the construction industry is different from other sectors due to the unique and temporary nature of projects which makes incremental improvements difficult necessitating the need to understand the practice of innovation. This research aims to explore the role of narratives in shaping innovation, as these provide a way to manage the tensions prevalent in the industry. We study 133 innovations across different construction projects in the UK and seek to understand the role of narratives in motivating these innovations. For instance, “innovations that enable project completion,” “innovations that improve productivity,” “innovations in health and safety” and “innovations in sustainability” are discussed. Whilst we acknowledge that factors such as incentives and rewards can motivate innovation, we argue that narratives shape or guide innovation in a particular direction. Since construction projects are interorganizational and multileveled, the industry-level narratives need to be adopted by firms to enable innovations at project sites. Innovators actively look for areas where they can intervene, and narratives improve the visibility of some areas thereby guiding innovations to them.
Çıdık, Mustafa Selçuk; Boyd, David
doi: 10.1080/01446193.2022.2033287pmid: N/A
Abstract The transforming construction agenda argues that digitalization enables better value by addressing coordination challenges. However, this claim poorly articulates how value is constituted, and ignores the problems with digitalization in real-life practices. The paper presents a finer-grained analysis of the value implications of digitalization in a critical discourse, organized in two parts, using the two value creation logics in construction as proposed by Bygballe and Jahre and the concept of “commodification” as proposed by Prudham. Through a critical literature review, the first part argues that digitalization mainly supports “production value creation logic” focussing on the integration of business processes at an organizational level, while creating challenges for “project value creation logic” by hampering mutual adjustment in situated practices. The second part conceives of digitalization as “commodification of information” to expose the complex set of processes causing digitalization to impact differently on the two value creation logics. It reveals that digitalization elevates the digital exchange value of information above its situated use value, and so, it systematically shifts the social and business contexts of coordination. Thus, digitalization shifts what, how, by whom and to whose advantage, value is created and captured, making it a politicized change with implications for management and policy.
Jones, Kell; Mosca, Luigi; Whyte, Jennifer; Davies, Andrew; Glass, Jacqueline
doi: 10.1080/01446193.2021.1983187pmid: N/A
Abstract Construction product platforms provide the opportunity to improve productivity in construction projects while maintaining heterogeneity of output. The growing literature on construction product platforms describes how product suppliers develop product platforms either top-down or bottom-up, independently from project delivery. Through a single case study of a consultancy firm, this paper shows how a specialist consultancy firm operating in the construction sector developed their own product platform on projects while iteratively developing and augmenting their delivery capabilities. Distinguishing between activity integration, coordination, and consolidation, the platform development process highlights how vertical and horizontal consolidation of capabilities within the engineering phase of delivery enables early resolution of both product and process specifications. This means that vertical coordination between engineering and manufacturing phases can be managed by a fully specified contract, rather than acquisition. The analysis of the case shows how construction can be more closely aligned with the linear and sequential models found in manufacturing through clarifying and distinguishing the roles of engineering, manufacturing, finishing and sub-assembly.
Salmi, Asta; Jussila, Jaakko; Hämäläinen, Mervi
doi: 10.1080/01446193.2022.2037145pmid: N/A
Abstract Transformation towards more sustainable construction calls for actions from representatives of different sectors and societal levels. Previous studies have investigated companies and national policies as promoters of change, but neglected municipalities as relevant actors. Municipalities influence construction as they are trailblazers when realizing their own building projects, as well as regulators, whose planning decisions affect local and urban development. We investigate the role of municipalities in driving sustainability transformation in construction, in particular, in relation to wood construction. The empirical study relies on data collected in Finland through a comprehensive survey among municipalities and qualitative interviews. Key factors in municipal considerations are energy efficiency and carbon neutrality goals. Regulations and norms related to construction influence municipal activities as well. We find various drivers (e.g. supportive planning) and barriers (e.g. cost concerns) to wood construction. National programmes promoting wood construction have induced gradual changes and led to some municipal pilot projects. Despite these positive examples, it seems to take time before municipalities adopt wood construction more extensively. Simultaneously, their position at the intersection of different actors and activities involved in construction provides a fruitful base for promoting sustainable construction.
doi: 10.1080/01446193.2022.2108093pmid: N/A
Abstract To improve the performance of construction projects, the use of relational contracting (e.g. Project Partnering, Alliancing, Early Contractor Involvement, Integrated Project Delivery) has increased among public clients in the last few decades. Despite widespread use, there are still large variations in contracting arrangements. In addition, the outcome of relational contracting remains unpredictable. The aim of this paper is to investigate how these variations may originate from internal dynamics and practices in the project-based client organisation. Adapting organisational routines as an analytical lens, the study investigates the pre-procurement routine applied to develop project-specific relational contracting models (e.g. contract schemes, reward systems, and award criteria) for large construction projects in the Swedish Transport Administration. The study contributes to research on organisational routines in project-based settings, illustrating how flexible enactment of a pre-procurement routine may balance two conflicting organisational goals: centralisation of procurement and project-level flexibility. However, while mitigating conflicting goals, the routine enactments create a variation in project-specific procurement models that hampers long-term goals of predictability and shared practices of relational contracting. Consequently, findings indicate that public clients seeking to transform contracting practices must increase their ability to develop procurement routines that can balance organisational goals and simultaneously benefit long-term goals.
Brunet, Maude; Cohendet, Patrick
doi: 10.1080/01446193.2021.1983851pmid: N/A
Abstract As the digital transformation impacts many sectors of the economy, actors in the construction industry—and more specifically in megaproject initiatives—have to adapt to new technologies and processes. Megaprojects are commonly undertaken to build essential infrastructures such as roads, dams, buildings, or even smart cities or districts, and usually involve complex and hybrid organizational forms. Moreover, digitalization transforms megaprojects, presenting megaproject teams with opportunities, but also challenges. This conceptual paper explores the characteristics of heterarchical megaproject ecologies in order to identify ways to address the impacts of the current digital transformation. Our aim is to analyze how a heterarchical form of governance contributes to transforming the management of innovation. While heterarchies can lead to severe dysfunctions, we propose strategies to manage them, paying specific attention to the governance of a common-pool-resource scenario, network roles, knowledge articulation and learning. The main contribution of this paper is to provide a renewed conceptualization of megaproject governance and to propose a conceptual framework that can be used to study the management of innovation in empirical megaproject settings.
Lundberg, Oscar; Nylén, Daniel; Sandberg, Johan
doi: 10.1080/01446193.2021.1980896pmid: N/A
Abstract Construction site operations often involve multiple actors with substantial variations in assumptions, expectations, and knowledge about technology. This could impair digitalization, which involves development of socio-cognitive environments that foster use of digital technology in new organizational procedures. Nevertheless, construction industry digitalization research has mainly addressed firm-level transformation of engineering phases and focused on technology, largely ignoring challenges arising from cognitive differences among actors at construction sites. Thus, we report a case study of attempts to spark construction site digitalization through a shared information management system (IMS). Applying technology frame of reference theory, we demonstrate how differences within groups among actors’ frames (inconsistency) shape group-level frame misalignment (incongruence) and thus digitalization outcomes. The IMS was implemented successfully at the focal firm’s headquarter and regional office levels. However, substantial construction site-level frame inconsistency led to misaligned group-level expectations and generated a fragmented socio-cognitive environment that hindered strategic digitalization. In conclusion, socio-cognitive environments at industry, construction site, and group levels recursively shape individual frames, and harmonization of frames is important to realize construction digitalization.
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