Information processing for end-of-life coordination: a multiple-case study

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore how demolition contractors coordinate project activities for buildings at their end-of-life. The organizations are thereby conceptualized as information processing systems facing uncertainty.

Design/methodology/approach

A multiple-case study methodology was selected to gain in-depth insights from three projects with different end-of-life strategies: a faculty building (material recycling), a nursing home (component reuse) and a psychiatric hospital (element reuse). Using a theory elaboration approach, the authors sought to explain how and why demolition contractors process information for end-of-life coordination.

Findings

End-of-life strategies differ in the degree of building, workflow and environmental uncertainty posed to the demolition contractor. Whether or not a strategy is effective depends on the (mis)match between the specific levels of uncertainty and the adopted coordination mechanisms.

Research limitations/implications

The explanatory account on end-of-life coordination refines information processing theory for the context of (selective) demolition projects.

Practical implications

The detailed case descriptions and information processing perspective enable practitioners to select, implement and reflect on coordination mechanisms for demolition/deconstruction projects at hand.

Originality/value

Reflecting its dual conceptual-empirical and inductive-deductive focus, this study contributes with new opportunities to explain building end-of-life coordination with a refined theory.

Citation

van den Berg, M., Voordijk, H. and Adriaanse, A. (2020), "Information processing for end-of-life coordination: a multiple-case study", Construction Innovation, Vol. 20 No. 4, pp. 647-671. https://doi.org/10.1108/CI-06-2019-0054