Chris Harty

Implementing innovation in construction: contexts, relative boundedness and actor-network theory

Theoretical understanding of the implementation and use of innovations within construction contexts is discussed and developed. It is argued that both the rhetoric of the ‘improvement agenda’ within construction and theories of innovation fail to account for the complex contexts and disparate perspectives which characterize construction work. To address this, the concept of relative boundedness is offered. Relatively unbounded innovation is characterized by a lack of a coherent central driving force or mediator with the ability to reconcile potential conflicts and overcome resistance to implementation. This is a situation not exclusive to, but certainly indicative of, much construction project work. Drawing on empirical material from the implementation of new design and coordination technologies on a large construction project, the concept is developed, concentrating on the negotiations and translations implementation mobilized. An actor‐network theory (ANT) approach is adopted, which emphasizes the roles that both human actors and non‐human agents play in the performance and outcomes of these interactions. Three aspects of how relative boundedness is constituted and affected are described; through the robustness of existing practices and expectations, through the delegation of interests on to technological artefacts and through the mobilization of actors and artefacts to constrain and limit the scope of negotiations over new technology implementation.

The futures of construction: a critical review of construction future studies

Anticipating the future is increasingly being seen as a useful way to align, direct and improve current organizational strategy. Several such ‘future studies’ have been produced which envision various construction industry scenarios which result from technological and socio‐economic trends and influences. Thirteen construction‐related future studies are critically reviewed. Most studies fail to address the complexities and uncertainties of both the present and the future, and fail to explore the connections between global, local, construction‐specific and more widespread factors. The methodological approaches used in these studies do not generate any significantly different advice or recommendations for the industry than those emerging from the much larger canon of non‐future oriented construction research. As such, these reports are less about the future than the present. If future studies are to make a worthwhile contribution to construction, it is critical that they develop our appreciation of the practical ability of stakeholders to influence some aspects of the future and not others, and an awareness of the competing agendas and the relative benefits and disadvantages of specific futures within the construction sector. Only then can future studies provide insights and help in preparing for the opportunities and threats the future may bring.

Measurement and exploration of individual beliefs about the consequences of building information modelling use

Information and communication technology (ICT) is becoming increasingly important in construction although the rate of adoption is considered slow and the industry faces specific implementation challenges. Mainstream information systems research has shown that individuals’ beliefs and expectations of the consequences of ICT use predict subsequent usage. We describe the development of scales to measure beliefs about the consequences of building information modelling (BIM) and their use in a survey of employees of a large construction contracting organization in the United Kingdom. Scales for performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, compatibility, and attitude toward using technology were adapted from existing measures. In an analysis of responses from 762 construction employees the scales showed acceptable measurement properties. Expectations about the consequences of BIM use were broadly favourable although there is a need for more data for comparisons. The structure of the responses showed that expectations that BIM would enhance job performance were strongly related to expectations that BIM use was compatible with preferred and existing ways of working. Results also suggest that social influence is complex and may be multidimensional.

Implementing innovation: designers, users and actor-networks

The role of users is an often-overlooked aspect of studies of innovation and diffusion. Using an actor-network theory (ANT) approach, four case studies examine the processes of implementing a piece of CAD (computer aided design) software, BSLink, in different organisations and describe the tailoring done by users to embed the software into working practices. This not only results in different practices of use at different locations, but also transforms BSLink itself into a proliferation of BSLinks-in-use. A focus group for BSLink users further reveals the gaps between different users’ expectations and ways of using the software, and between different BSLinks-in-use. It also demonstrates the contradictory demands this places on its further development. The ANT-informed approach used treats both innovation and diffusion as processes of translation within networks. It also emphasises the political nature of innovation and implementation, and the efforts of various actors to delegate manoeuvres for increased influence onto technological artefacts.

Editorial: objects, knowledge sharing and knowledge transformation in projects

Taylor and Francis RCME_A_495850.sgm 10.1080/01 46193 2010.495850 Const uction Manage ent and Economics 0144-6193 (pri t)/1466-433x (online) Original Article 2 10 & Francis 8 6 0 002 0 Prof. MikeBresnen mike.bresnen@mbs.ac.uk It is perhaps ironic that an industry so steeped in the production of our material environment and so inclined towards the use of material artefacts to assist in the process of construction should have had so little attention directed towards the role that these material objects play in enabling the knowledge creation, sharing and transformation that goes towards producing our built environment. Yet, it is only comparatively recently that an enthusiasm for the development of new tools and techniques to improve the construction process has been accompanied by fuller consideration of the ways in which these tools and techniques may actively constitute, or otherwise contribute towards, the total ‘activity system’ (cf. Engeström, 2001) of a construction project or programme (e.g. Suchman, 2000). There has, of course, been a considerable amount of interest shown in understanding the construction process as a socio-technical system since early work at the Tavistock Institute in the 1960s (e.g. Higgin and Jessop, 1965; Crichton, 1966). This work was important in questioning the supposed socially neutral effects of technology and the determinism that can be associated with its application. In other words, that technological and social systems need to be understood as being part of a complex and dynamic interdependent system that has important implications for the efficacy of different modes of organization and management practice. Such an approach persists, of course, and can throw important light on how human and material systems interact—in the motivation to engage with knowledge management systems or health and safety practices, for example. However, it takes a view on the interface between the social and the technological that tends to draw a very clear boundary between the two and which therefore persists in treating them as quite distinct, albeit inter-related, domains of knowledge and objects of study. Such ontological certainty about the ability to separate the human and material realm is rather less apparent in more recent developments in some areas of organizational theory (OT). Inspired by work within science and technology studies (STS), such developments have placed much more emphasis on the importance of material objects in the organization and management process (Zeiss and Groenewegen, 2009). Indeed, many researchers in construction management have begun to explore in much more detail how material objects may be implicated in the processes involved in the construction of a building and in the constitution of the project organization and management team set up to build it (e.g. Harty, 2005; Whyte et al ., 2007; Georg and Tryggestad, 2009). These and other important forays into the realm of the material emphasize the value of drawing upon a range of perspectives in organizational and management theory and research which, although sometimes regarded as controversial, have nevertheless something very important to say about materiality in organization and management processes. This special issue therefore responds to other recent calls for construction management theory and research to engage with and draw upon (and also contribute towards) knowledge about organization and management more generally (e.g. Bresnen et al ., 2005; Chan and Räisänen, 2009). It is with examining such alternative perspectives on the role of objects and technologies and exploring the implications they have for understanding the construction management process that this special issue is principally concerned.

Pervasive informatics: theory, practice and future directions

Pervasive informatics as an emerging interdisciplinary study focuses on how information affects human interaction with built environments. Pervasive informatics is different from pervasive computing in that its focus is on ICT-enhanced physical and social spaces, called intelligent pervasive spaces, rather than on the technology itself. An information-rich social interaction taking place within intelligent pervasive spaces offers a complex domain of study. Many theoretical approaches are relevant to the design of effective pervasive spaces. For example, a socio-technical systems (STS) approach is helpful to understand and support the provision and use of intelligent spaces and pervasive technologies. This article reviews some related contributing theories, including STS, computer-supported cooperative work and semiotics. Semiotics, the study of signs, symbols and information, is used to examine the efficacy of a built environment on physical, empirical, syntactical, semantic, pragmatic and social levels. The prototypical expression of ‘agent-in-environment’ allows analysis of the ontological dependency (or affordance) between the space and its capability. With an empirical example, the article illustrates how the semiotic approach is used in the design of pervasive spaces, which would lead to the further conceptual development of a pervasive informatics approach, including new methods and techniques.

Diffusion of digital innovation in construction: a case study of a UK engineering firm

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.

BIM and the small construction firm: a critical perspective

ABSTRACT The need for technological and administrative innovation is a recurrent theme in the UK construction-reform agenda, but generic improvement recipes are beginning to give way to a more focused prescription: building information modelling (BIM). The current strategy is to mandate the use of BIM for government projects as a way of integrating the design, construction and operation of publicly procured buildings. This aspiration represents a partial turn away from a focus on managerialist agendas towards a belief in the power of digital practices to achieve the aspiration of integrated working, collaboration and innovation, a trend that is being reflected globally in relation to both national and firm-level policy interventions. This paper subjects this so-called ‘BIM revolution’ to critical scrutiny. By drawing on theories of the digital divide, a critical discourse is developed around the ways in which political reform agendas centred on BIM might not stimulate innovation on a wider scale, but could act to disenfranchise small firms that are unable (or unwilling) to engage with them. This critical analysis presents important new research questions around the technocratic optimism that pervades the current reform discourse, the trajectory of industry development that it creates and the policy process itself.

The futures of construction management research

Abstract Construction management is an internationally recognized area of research with an established and growing community of academics. It has grown from largely “research consultancy” activities to additionally attracting significant amounts of academic research funding and has, partially, moved away from its applied, engineering dominated origins to increasingly engage with, and contribute to, mainstream academic debates in business and management, economics and the social sciences. It has, as such, become an academic field in its own right. However, recent dynamics within both university institutions and national economies are changing the landscape of construction management research (CMR). A blurring of traditional university boundaries, reprioritization of research funding and increasing emphasis on national and international rankings have led to increased pressure on individual academics and the community they constitute. Drawing on scenario development we ask what, in the face of a turbulent environment, might the futures of CMR be? Four potential futures for CMR are outlined, depicted as four potential scenarios: convergence, retrenchment, disappearance and hybridization. These describe potential outcomes from the institutional dynamics currently at play. The intention is neither to predict the future, nor to prioritize one scenario over another, but to open a debate on the institutional pressures the field is facing, and what the outcomes might be.

Stakeholder interpretations of design: semiotic insights into the briefing process

Briefing phase interactions between clients and designers are recognized as social engagements, characterized by communicative sign use, where conceptual ideas are gradually transformed into potential design solutions. A semiotic analysis of briefing communications between client stakeholders and designers provides evidence of the significance and importance of stakeholder interpretation and understanding of design, empirical data being drawn from a qualitative study of NHS hospital construction projects in the UK. It is contended that stakeholders engage with a project through communicative signs and artefacts of design, referencing personal cognitive knowledge in acts of interpretation that may be different from those of designers and externally appointed client advisers. Such interpretations occur in addition to NHS client and design team efforts to ‘engage’ with and ‘understand’ stakeholders using a variety of methods. Social semiotic theorizations indicate how narrative strategies motivate the formulation of signs and artefacts in briefing work, the role of sign authors and sign readers being elucidated as a result. Findings are contextualized against current understandings of briefing communications and stakeholder management practices, a more socially attuned understanding of breifing countering some of the process-led improvement models that have characterized much of the post-Egan report literature. A stakeholder interpretation model is presented as one potential method to safeguard against unforeseen interpretations occurring, the model aligning with the proposal for a more measured recognition of how designs can trigger interpretations among client stakeholders.