Relationship between Construction Firm Strategies and Innovation Outcomes
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 135, Issue 8
Abstract
Survey results provide a preliminary assessment of the relative contribution of a range of tactical business strategies to innovation performance by firms in the Australian construction industry. Over 1,300 firms were surveyed in 2004, resulting in a response rate of 29%. Respondents were classified as high, medium or low innovators according to an innovation index based on the novelty and impact of their innovations and their adoption of listed technological and organizational advances. The relative significance of 23 business strategies concerning (1) employees; (2) marketing; (3) technology; (4) knowledge; and (5) relationships was examined by determining the extent to which they distinguished high innovators from low innovators. The individual business strategies that most strongly distinguished high innovators were (1) investing in R&D; (2) participating in partnering and alliances on projects; (3) ensuring project learnings are transferred into continuous business processes; (4) monitoring international best practice; and (5) recruiting new graduates. Of the five types of strategies assessed, marketing strategies were the least significant in supporting innovation. The results provide practical guidance to managers in project-based industries wishing to improve their innovation performance.
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Acknowledgments
This paper arose from the Building Research Innovation Technology and Environment (BRITE) Project funded by the Australian Cooperative Research Centre for Construction Innovation.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 135 • Issue 8 • August 2009
Pages: 764 - 771
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: May 19, 2008
Accepted: Jan 12, 2009
Published online: Apr 30, 2009
Published in print: Aug 2009
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