Examining the Influence of UK Public Clients’ Characteristics on Their Own Innovation-Decision towards the Modern Methods of Construction (MMC)

Abstract

Construction has long been identified as an industry resistant to change and innovation, a reality that has prevailed to shape its overall reputation. The public sector includes an influential client type that dominates the major percentage of construction demand and is subject to public law. The Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) have been championed recently by the UK government and early adopters upon the emergence of data indicating their effectiveness in addressing key construction challenges. However, the uptake of MMC has been low among UK construction clients, particularly among public client organisations. Theories emerge across decades to inform researchers of variable clusters that can aid a broader understanding of decision-making and innovation adoption. One of the popular innovation theories suggests a relation between the characteristics of decision-makers and their own innovation decisions. This paper, therefore, aims to investigate the characteristics that are responsible for public clients’ low MMC uptake despite the associated relative advantages. Overall, 91 public client organisations have responded to this research’s survey, reflecting their organisation’s characteristics in line with the constructs adapted from the Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory. Results suggest that among the ten influences that are captured from a detailed review of the literature, confidence in MMC firms supersedes all other factors in critically influencing the organisation’s favourable decision towards using MMC. Evidence provided in this paper suggests that a communication issue is presenting itself in the public construction sector, which is evident by the lack of confidence that public clients have in MMC businesses. This is the first study to utilise quantitative means to examine construction clients’ characteristics and relate the same to the adoption of construction innovation. Future research is encouraged to acknowledge the most influencing characteristics and detail how such knowledge can be embraced by supply to develop business models that can orchestrate better confidence in the public sector.

Modern methods of construction (MMC) and innovation negativism in the UK public sector

“…Because negativism is embedded in individuals’ consciousness, their interaction with MMC is influenced by their own beliefs (Saad et al. , 2023a, b; Zulu et al ., 2023). Such interactions are believed to be created through past and present exchange of information with the social environments as they observed and learned about an opportunity (Berglund, 2015).…”

“…A resurfacing construction innovation has captured the interest and advocation of the UK government in its ability to address the construction industry's challenges. The modern methods of construction (MMC) primarily focus on changing the uncontrolled nature of construction processes by introducing the element of control (Saad et al ., 2023a, b). The implicit includes both onsite and offsite techniques that leads to a significant reduction in onsite activities (Sutrisna et al ., 2018), dependency on skills (Ginigaddara et al ., 2021), carbon reduction (Koronaki et al ., 2021) and delays (Saad, 2023).…”

“…The use of the methods has increased particularly after the world war, largely driven by the need for mass housing and demands of growing cities (Sánchez-Garrido et al ., 2023). However, recent research shows that the uptake of these methods, particularly among the UK public sector clients, remains low and insufficient to drive an economy of scale (Saad et al ., 2023a, b). One of the attempts to reason this is that the sector's memory recalls the failure of these methods in meeting post-war construction demands, raising a key question on whether an “innovation negativism” has manifested in the UK public sector when considering MMC.…”

Broader use of the Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) in the UK public sector: A Business Model Canvas (BMC) perspective

“…A review of the literature reveals multiple calls for the unsuitability of present MMC organisations' business models, delimiting wider uptake of MMC. For instance, Ho et al (2017) emphasise the need for effective MMC business models that can better communicate the benefits, Goulding et al (2013) argue the essential ability of business models to adapt to modern and changing processes, and Saad et al (2023) state the need for MMC businesses to reinvent their business models to drive public clients' confidence. Similarly, Darlow et al (2022) discuss the ability of business models to steer and influence the overall market to use MMC as a construction alternative, aligning with Goulding et al (2015), who report that MMC adoption rates are directly linked to how MMC businesses are justifying value.…”

A Systematic Review of the Business Contingencies Influencing Broader Adoption: Modern Methods of Construction (MMC)

“…The literature herewith emphasises the importance of improving currently utilised models, yet the needed improvements remain uncaptured. Knowing that MMC uptake is low in the public sector [15,16], public clients attain characteristics that can be argued to drive innovation adoption in the whole construction industry due to their unique nature and demand [16,17]. In the construction context, these clients have been described as the 'gatekeepers' in promoting innovation across the industry [18].…”