The recent debate on innovation within an organizational setting has shifted focus toward discussing whether innovation is being adopted or being created. This shift is due to the failure of many innovation efforts and the fact that for each innovation creation or innovation adoption, different skills, resources, and cultures are needed to encourage each innovation. The objective of this article is to explore the type of innovation implemented by the construction participants. A conceptual model of innovation creation and innovation adoption was developed using four criteria: by justification of new ideas, by purposes, by activities involved, and by nature. Face-to-face questionnaires were conducted with developers, consulting firms, and contractors in Penang, Malaysia. The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis. Factor analysis was used to classify the innovation creation and innovation adoption. The results show that the construction participants in Malaysia are categorized as an innovation adopter. This result provides better understanding about the type of innovation implemented by the construction participants, in particular the contractors and the consulting firms. The results could also be used as a foundation for conducting future research to identify appropriate skills, knowledge, culture, and resources for such innovations.

Purpose Innovation is defined as the creation and adoption of changes that are new to an organisation or industry. The high probability of failure and the lack of innovation in the construction industry have highlighted the importance of innovation (both creation and adoption) as a business orientation. Although they are related to the construction industry, architectural firms receive little attention from an innovation perspective despite being perceived as important drivers of innovation. Thus, this paper aims to examine the distinctive characteristics of various innovation orientations and determine the state of innovation among architectural firms. Design/methodology/approach A postal survey was sent to 1,004 registered architectural firms in Malaysia. The data were processed using descriptive analysis. A factor analysis was conducted to categorise innovation creation and adoption, and a paired samples t-test was performed to examine the innovation orientations of architectural firms. Findings Innovation creation and innovation adoption are two distinct orientations with different characteristics. Architectural firms in Malaysia are oriented towards innovation creation, which intersects with innovation adoption. Research limitations/implications This study used a questionnaire survey that generated only statistical results. Future research should conduct interviews or focus group discussions to obtain comprehensive findings. Practical implications The innovation concept is expanded in terms of its orientations. Originality/value This study illustrates significant differences between innovation creation and innovation adoption in the architectural firms of a developing country, i.e. Malaysia.

This informative study explores the elements of housing price in Malaysia and found the price is affected by many factors. This study of great practical significance has shown that house prices are determined by the demand for attributes, not only of the dwelling units themselves, but also of the region in which the units are located. There are many structural, neighborhood and locational attributes that could have brought impacts on house prices (Chin, Chau, & Ng, 2004). Structural characteristics, location-specific factors, and neighbourhood characteristics may define various sub-markets. Sub-markets may be defined by structure type (e.g. single-family detached, row house, town home, and condominium), by structural characteristics (property age housing consumers may have strong preferences for newly constructed properties or for historic properties), or by neighbourhood characteristics (e.g., public education and public safety). Results show that the housing price in Malaysia evidently depends on population, demand and supply, location, physical characteristic, accessibility, developer, cost of material and income. It is also influenced by neighbourhood factors as people nowadays will likely choose a better neighbourhood. These factors determine whether the housing price will be high or low. In summary, the government must take an active role to monitor and take appropriate measures to control property prices.

Purpose – This study aims to assess the construction firm’s innovation orientation and to investigate its relationship with firm characteristics. Design/methodology/approach – A structured survey was conducted among 105 firms in the Malaysian construction industry. The results of the factor analysis revealed two underlying dimensions of innovation, namely, innovation creation and innovation adoption. For the cluster analysis, the firms were segmented into four subgroups according to four dimensions, namely, non-innovative, innovation-creator, imitator and innovative firms. Findings – Firm’s business scale and age significantly affected the innovation orientation of construction firms. Originality/value – This research contributes to the existing body of knowledge by adding a new firm characteristic, business scale, as a potential predictor of firms’ innovativeness. This study is the first to explore the effect of firm characteristics on the innovation orientation of firms.

Purpose An organisation’s performance tends to be associated with its innovativeness. However, innovation remains challenging in the construction industry, partially due to the complex nature of this industry. Nevertheless, innovation orientations (i.e. creation and adoption) shed new light on innovation in the construction industry. These orientations are similar but not entirely identical. Although most studies do not discuss these orientations in any detail, this study aims to classify the characteristics of the innovation orientations and determines the state of innovation among construction companies in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach A survey questionnaire was mailed to 1,230 construction companies in Malaysia. Descriptive analysis was used to examine the respondents’ profiles, and factor analysis was used to classify the innovation orientation characteristics. A paired samples t-test was used to determine the state of innovation among the construction companies. Findings Innovation creation reflects a pioneer’s efforts and involves being a market explorer that tolerates risk and is research and development (R&D)-oriented, whereas innovation adoption involves being a creative imitator, a market follower and a safe player. Construction companies in Malaysia are innovation adoption–oriented. Research limitations/implications This study uses quantitative methods only; therefore, the findings are statistically oriented. The small sample size makes generalisation challenging, so this study reflects only the built environment of the developing country of Malaysia. Originality/value This study classifies the characteristics of innovation creation and innovation adoption with respect to the innovation orientation of construction companies in Malaysia.

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the external factors that influence the implementation of the new concept of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in Yemen. Design/methodology/approach – This study used a self-administered questionnaire that was distributed to Yemeni organizations. Data were analyzed using factor analysis, with appropriate tests of reliability, consistency, correlation and multiple regression analysis. Findings – The findings indicate that implementation of PPPs are affected through the government policies, market readiness and environmental uncertainty. The empirical evidence also suggests that government policies are the main predictor to PPPs implementation in Yemen. The proposed conceptual framework can be useful in developing PPPs implementation. Originality/value – This study contributes to the existing literature on PPPs by providing empirical evidence to identify the external factors that influence the readiness to implement PPPs. Furthermore, the study adds value through its contextual originality, given that this study is the first to empirically use the readiness theory in PPP implementation. Moreover, this paper describes the first attempt to investigate the implementation of PPPs in the context of Yemen.

Absorptive capacity has been acknowledged as a critical component for organisations to sustain, grow and compete in their markets. Many researchers have used the concept of absorptive capacity in their analysis at different levels: individual, organisation, industry and country. However, most of the studies focus on very large organisations with sophisticated structures and strong R&D orientation. Very few studies address the theory of absorptive capacity in the context of SME organisations. This paper presents part of the findings of research that investigated absorptive capacity in the context of Malaysian rural construction SMEs. The aim of this paper is to prescribe a model of absorptive capacity for rural construction SMEs. The model is based on validation drawn from five case studies of construction SMEs operating in the rural area in Malaysia. The developed model serves two functions: Firstly, to help rural construction SMEs to understand the issues and process related to absorptive capacity and the implementation, and use of, new technology; secondly, to provide a mechanism for policy makers to transfer new technology to rural contractors. This research contributes to the body of knowledge of absorptive capacity by highlighting issues related to absorptive capacity and implementation of new technology in the context of rural SMEs.

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