Managing Drivers of Innovation in Construction Networks

Abstract

Various drivers of construction innovation are distinguished and classified in four distinctive categories: environmental pressure, technological capability, knowledge exchange, and boundary spanning. Innovation drivers in these categories are active at the transfirm, intrafirm, and interfirm level in the network of organizations in the construction industry. Empirical research in the Dutch construction industry illustrates that the innovation drivers are used by managers of the authorities, clients, architects, consultants, and contractors to stimulate and facilitate innovation processes. It also exemplifies that driving innovation on the transfirm, intrafirm, and interfirm level in the network of organizations is an opportunity for managers of both public and private organizations to develop, improve, and renew their organizations' positions in the market, the quality of their organizations' projects, and the cooperative structure of the industry as a whole.