Innovation in construction: a sociology of technology approach

Harty, Chris

doi:10.1080/09613210500288605

Cited by 209 publications

(165 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…11 This seems to be an international phenomenon. Several studies complain about innovation being slow and lacking in engagement (see, e.g., van Bueren and Priemus 2002, Harty 2005, van Bueren and de Jong 2007. Innovation is to a large extent driven by external suppliers of equipment and tools (Hubak 1998, Harty 2005.…”

Section: Translation Challenges Of a Conservative Industrymentioning

confidence: 99%

How energy efficiency fails in the building industry

2009

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This paper examines how energy efficiency fails in the building industry based on many years of research into the integration of energy efficiency in the construction of buildings and sustainable architecture in Norway. It argues that energy-efficient construction has been seriously restrained by three interrelated problems: (1) deficiencies in public policy to stimulate energy efficiency, (2) limited governmental efforts to regulate the building industry, and (3) a conservative building industry. The paper concludes that innovation and implementation of new, energy-efficient technologies in the building industry requires new policies, better regulations and reformed practices in the industry itself.

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Section: Translation Challenges Of a Conservative Industrymentioning

confidence: 99%

How energy efficiency fails in the building industry

2009

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“…On the introduction of ICT in construction projects to support interorganizational communication, cooperation, and coordination an interorganizational IT innovation perspective becomes important (Harty, 2005). The IT innovation perspective considers the introduction and use of ICT in its social and interorganizational context (e.g., Cooper and Zmud, 1990;Swanson and Ramiller, 2004).…”

Section: Changing Construction Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, existing models are criticized for their limited explanatory power and for their contradictory results across studies in the major relationships between constructs (e.g., Sun and Zhang, 2006). Studies in which the actual use of ICT is analysed (e.g., Harty, 2005) do not provide a detailed in-depth understanding of the mechanisms influencing the way ICT is used in its social and interorganizational context, and how this use is influenced over time.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Engaged scholarship in construction management research: the adoption of information and communications technology in construction projects

Voordijk

Adriaanse

2016

Construction Management and Economics

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The objective is to explore what engaged scholarship (ES) could mean for construction management research in facilitating interactions between practice and theory. ES aims to develop knowledge that advances both science and practice through engagement of scholars with practice. Three types of ES are discussed: practice research, design research and action research. These three kinds of ES are explained through their different knowledgeaction relations: action theories or 'knowledge about action', design research or 'knowledge for action', and action research or 'knowledge through action'. The relevance of these three types of ES in facilitating interactions between practice and theory is clarified through elaborating on a research programme on the adoption of information and communications technology (ICT) in construction projects. First, based on grounded theory, a model is developed to understand and explain why individuals and organizations are (not) using ICT in the intended way. Second, based on this model and expert interviews, solutions are designed to potential barriers to the successful use of ICT in construction projects. Third, interventions in construction projects based on these solutions are presented. It is argued that the different kinds of ES presuppose each other and are all needed to facilitate interactions between practice and theory in construction management research. Keywords: Action research; information and communications technology IntroductionIn construction management research, theories from different scientific disciplines seek to explain phenomena which are related to the design, production and operation of the built environment. The results of this research are also used to develop knowledge that professionals can use to design solutions for their field problems (Van Aken, 2004;Voordijk, 2009). These different kinds of research have created a continuing debate in construction management research on how to address the important relation between scientific rigour and practical relevance (Seymour and Rooke, 1995;Raftery et al., 1997;Runeson, 1997;Kwong Wing et al., 1998;Voordijk, 2009Voordijk, , 2011. In this field of research, scholars are involved in different ways to improve the relevance of their research for practice without abandoning the scientific rigour by which research is conducted.As mentioned by Mathiassen and Nielsen (2008, p. 5) the gap between science and practice can to some extent be addressed by more effectively translating and communicating scientific knowledge to practicing professionals. There are, however, major differences between scientific and practical knowledge as expressed in Aristotle's distinction between episteme (basic knowledge in the pursuit of theoretical or analytical questions) and techne (applied technical knowledge of instrumental or means-end rationality); in Schö n's (1983) distinction between knowing-about-practice and knowing-in-practice; and, in Polanyi's (1967) distinction between explicit and tacit knowledge.As also mentioned by Mathiass...

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“…For collocated teams, shared visualizations support knowledge exchange through interaction, collaboration and communication (Henderson 1999;Harty 2005;Liston et. al.…”

Section: Collaborative Interactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Messy Talk in Virtual Teams: Achieving Knowledge Synthesis through Shared Visualizations

et al. 2015

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Engineering teams collaborating in virtual environments face many technical, social and cultural challenges. In this paper we focus on distributed teams making joint unanticipated discoveries in virtual environments. We operationalize Dossick and Neff's definition of "Messy Talk" as a process in which teams mutually discover issues, critically engage in clarifying and finding solutions to the discovered issues, exchange their knowledge, and resolve the issue. Can globally distributed teams use "Messy Talk" via virtual communication technology? We analyzed the interactions of four distributed student teams collaborating on a complex design and planning project using building information models (BIM) and the CyberGRID, a virtual world specifically developed for collaborative work. Their interactions exhibited all four elements of Messy Talk, even though resolution was the least common. Virtual worlds support real time joint problem solving by 1) providing affordances for talk mediated by shared visualizations, 2) supporting team perceptions of building information models that are mutable and 3) allowing transformations of those models while people were together in real time. Our findings suggest that distributed team collaboration requires technologies that support Messy Talk--and iterative trial-and-error--for complex multidimensional problems.

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Innovation in construction: a sociology of technology approach

Cited by 209 publications

References 26 publications

How energy efficiency fails in the building industry

How energy efficiency fails in the building industry

Engaged scholarship in construction management research: the adoption of information and communications technology in construction projects

Messy Talk in Virtual Teams: Achieving Knowledge Synthesis through Shared Visualizations

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