Innovation in Small Professional Practices in the Built Environment

by Shu-Ling Lu (Lecturer, University of Salford, United Kingdom); Martin Sexton (Professor of Construction Management and Innovation, School of Construction Management and Engineering, University of Reading, United Kingdom)

• ISBN13: 9781444316100
• ISBN10: 1444316109
• Format: eBook
• Copyright: 2009-09-01
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

From the book's Foreword by Trevor Mole, Managing Director, Property Tectonics; President of the European Association of Building Surveyors and Construction Experts:'Shu-Ling and Martin have built on their research work and that of others to produce an understandable and readable insight into innovation in small professional service firms. They have successfully unravelled the complex behavioural and organisational forces taking place and created a framework to help practitioners understand the issues and to fashion the right environment in which to foster innovation and deliver economic value.'Small professional practices in the built environment are crucial to the success and long-term viability of the design, construction and property industries. This research-based book addresses the urgent need to better understand the nature and process of innovation in these important firms.The authors offer an analysis of both why and how innovation is a key competitive factor for small professional practices in the built environment. As these practices are located in different business environments and behave in different ways to other types of industry firms, the context-specific methodology to design, implement and assess innovation in small professional practices presented in this book will appeal to researchers and practitioners in surveying and design.Innovation in Small Professional Practices in the Built Environment makes a significant contribution to an underdeveloped area of innovation by offering new theoretical and practical insights and models grounded in results from a 22-month case study of a small professional practice.

Table of Contents

About the Authors

Foreword

Introduction

Background

Research Problem

Summary and Link

Key Issues from the Literature

Introduction

Conceptualisation of Small Professional Practices

Definitional Debate on Innovation

Market- and Resource-Based View of Innovation

Knowledge-Based View of Innovation

Key Managerial Challenges for Innovation

Key Research Questions

Summary and Link

Knowledge-Based Innovation Model

Introduction

Description of Knowledge-Based Innovation Model

Continuous Improvement Gap Analysis Framework

Research Hypotheses

Summary and Link

Case Study Methodology

Introduction

Overall Research Process

Case Study Design

Research Techniques: Qualitative Data Collection Techniques

Research Techniques: Qualitative Data Analysis Techniques

Validation - Triangulation Strategy

Summary and Link

Case Study - Exploratory Phase

Introduction

Background of the Case Study Company

Case Study Firm Perception of Knowledge, Innovation, HC, SC and RC

Description of Identified Company Innovations

Mode 1: Explorative Innovation Analysis

Mode 2: Exploitative Innovation Analysis

Summary and Link

Case Study - Action Research Phase

Introduction

Diagnosis

Action Planning

Action Taking

Action Evaluation

Specifying Learning

Summary and Link

Discussion

Introduction

Types of Knowledge-Based Innovation

Hypothesis 1: Knowledge-Based Resources

Hypothesis 2: Capabilities

Meta-Hypothesis: Knowledge Capital

Summary and Link

Conclusions

Introduction

Contribution to Innovation Theory

Comment on Research Problem

Comment on Research Questions

Key Limitations and Future Research

Theoretical and Practical Implications

Policy Implications

References

Appendices

List of Company Documentation

Cooperation Proposal

Interview Cooperation Proposal

Interview Protocol

Company General Finding Report

Index

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