Peter Barrett

A literature synthesis of innovation in small construction firms: insights, ambiguities and questions

Construction firms are being challenged to be more adept at successful innovation to better meet client needs and to enhance business competitiveness. The substantial contribution that small construction firms make to the output of the industry signifies the importance for this body of firms to improve their innovation performance if the performance of the industry as a whole is to move forward. The literature on innovation in small construction firms is synthesized and structured around a generic model to provide a holistic picture of our current knowledge. Significant gaps in the understanding and practice of innovation in small construction literature are identified, which severely hamper understanding of the myriad complex and systemically interactive issues embodied within the theory and practice of innovation. The gaps identified by this literature synthesis are the basis for a number of important questions that, the authors propose, form an integrating agenda for future research.

Appropriate innovation in small construction firms

Innovation‐led performance improvement in the construction industry is significantly influenced by the innovation performance of small firms. There is a dearth of research investigating innovation from the perspective of the small construction firm. This paper contributes to this underdeveloped area by offering relevant empirically based results. The findings stress the important role that owners of firms play in successful innovation. The type of innovation undertaken, and the different organizational factors which are brought into play, is shown to depend on the characteristics of the interaction environment in which the firm is operating. Small construction firms need to incrementally nurture, or identify and move into, supportive enabling interaction environments. This is achieved through an integrated development of a firms business strategy and market positioning, organization of work, technology and people. The process of innovation is demonstrated to be subject to cyclical peaks and troughs as the progress of the innovation competes with day‐to‐day pressures. Small construction firms have their own distinctive characteristics, which are profoundly different from those of large construction firms. The implication for policy is that any initiatives geared toward improving appropriate innovation need to appreciate these differences.

The role of technology transfer in innovation within small construction firms

Findings were drawn from an 18 month research project involving in‐depth case study and action research fieldwork with seven small construction companies to understand the role and significance of innovation for them. A key finding of the work has been the importance of the role of effective technology transfer in the innovation process. The “organizational factors of innovation” model is presented as an analytical and prescriptive tool to assist small construction firms to understand better and manage the technology transfer process. The utility and application of the model is illustrated with a case study.

Achieving strategic facilities management through strong relationships

Facilities management tends to be technically orientated and reactive. However, the information revolution is having massive impacts in terms of where, when and how people work. As a consequence “facilities” are being propelled to centre stage as a strategic issue, even if they were not perceived as such before. To grasp this opportunity facilities managers need to engage in a balanced, coherent set of operational and strategic interactions and this paper sets out a generic model that identifies these. In addition, to address the strategic issues strong relationships with key players need to be progressively established so that tacit knowledge can flow creatively. This has profound implications for the required mindset, knowledge and skills of facilities managers.

Systems and relationships for construction quality

Argues, with evidence from a number of related studies, that in order to effectively manage quality in the construction project environment, firms need two things. First, externally orientated, flexible, quality improvement systems are required. Second, firms need a targeted approach to investing in key stable relationships in the supply network of which they are a part.

Performance-based building and innovation: balancing client and industry needs

One reason for the interest in performance-based building is that it is commonly advocated as a powerful way of enhancing innovation performance by articulating building performance outcomes, and by offering relevant procurement actors the discretion to innovate to meet these performance requirements more effectively and/or efficiently. The paper argues that the current approach to performance-based building assumes that relevant actors have the capacity, ability and motivation to innovate from a business perspective. It is proposed that the prevailing conceptualization of PBB is too restrictive and should be broadened explicitly to accommodate the required business logic that must be in place before actors will innovate. The relevant performance-based building and innovation literature is synthesized to support the assertion. The paper concludes with an innovation-focused definition of performance-based building.

Research as a kaleidoscope on practice

Insufficient attention is paid to the relationship between research and practice in construction. Those in industry want straightforward guidance, but inhabit a complex socially constructed world. As a result, they are often disappointed with the contribution of research, either because it is too theoretical or because the simple solutions suggested do not work. However, researchers have a valuable contribution to make owing to their opportunity for reflection, and it is proposed that this can be viewed in three different ways: as ‘microscopes’, ‘telescopes’ or ‘periscopes’ on practice. Each of these views involves different epistemologies and methodologies, but combining the three approaches in a Kaleidoscopic Research Model will allow differences to thrive and synergies to be sought. Only then will an effective dialogue develop where research impacts solidly and continuously on the improvement of practice, while at the same time practice constantly challenges and refreshes research.

Methodological strategies to gain insights into informality and emergence in construction project case studies

In investigating complex situations, such as construction projects, the case study approach has been considered reliable to capture rich information for the purpose of the investigation by allowing the investigators to retain the holistic and meaningful characteristics of real‐life events. Subsequent to data capture, data analysis will take place according to the intended research methodology. However, there is a potential for certain information to be hidden within the data and diluted during this data analysis phase. In order to minimize this and to reveal informal aspects and freshly emerging themes from the case study data, it is proposed that there is great value in analysing case studies on various levels, through different phases using multiple methods. Examples of the outcomes of applying multiple analyses involving different approaches, such as grounded theory methodology, rich picture diagrams and cognitive mapping, to the same set of data from multiple case studies are presented and discussed. This application of multiple analyses to case study research of construction projects provides valuable insights by revealing informal aspects and stimulating the emergence of a fresh understanding of the processes and interactions among different stakeholders. From the findings, the limits of the formal management systems were revealed. Further, the limits of tacit understanding around an evolving shared vision for a project were found to be substantial dimensions in understanding construction projects in a more holistic way.

Improving the business process of reactive maintenance projects

This paper examines the business process of reactive maintenance projects and proposes an improvement through information technology. Among the major problems that have been revealed from the process analysis are getting the right problem for the right contractor, double handling of data entry and transferring information. These are due to lack of knowledge sharing and poor communication between different parties. Based on these problems, several requirements are laid out and they are used as a basis to develop a prototype system named MoPMIT (More Productive Minor Construction through IT). The main aim of the system is to explore the use of Web‐based technology to improve the managing of reactive maintenance projects. The system architecture and functional requirement of the MoPMIT system are well explained in this paper.

Findings from a post‐occupancy evaluation in the UK primary schools sector

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of an evidence base for what constitutes an optimal learning space, including a useful toolkit of good practice examples for use by local authority clients.Design/methodology/approach – The research method centred on a structured case study of each school, informed by: site observation, questionnaire distribution, headteachers interview and workshop discussions. A total of five primary schools were involved.Findings – It was found that there is a gap between design expectations and the performance achieved, primarily because the occupants are usually simply coping with the given environment rather than actively managing it. Also, from the headteachers perspective there are not enough driving forces to carry out post‐occupancy evaluations that would reveal this gap.Practical implications – Different attitudes and behaviours are needed, and, for this, education programmes for users should be implemented on occupation to ensure that the pot...