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This paper aims to explore how open innovation communities contribute to the adoption of building information modelling (BIM) in the construction industry.

The paper presents a cross-case analysis of two construction communities, buildingSMART Norway and the BIM Vietnam Community. Data were collected based on 21 semi-structured interviews conducted with industry experts actively engaged in these two communities. The theoretical basis for the study was open innovation and the institutional intervention model, which delineates institutional actions related to the adoption of new information technology.

The findings show both similarities and differences in the way in which the communities contribute to industrial practice. Both communities use similar knowledge channels and repositories but apply different approaches to innovation creation and diffusion. In addition, trust can support BIM innovation in the community context.

The comparison of buildingSMART Norway and the BIM Vietnam Community in accelerating BIM innovation allows for exploring how open innovation communities support BIM adoption in the construction industry. The findings provide insights for construction communities into creating and diffusing BIM innovation. In addition, the examples of gaining benefits from community innovation activities are useful for construction firms and practitioners.

In developing countries, construction organizations are seeking to effectively implement green innovation strategies. Thus, this study aims to assess the importance of green innovation practices and develop a measurement model for quantifying the green innovation degrees of construction firms.

A mixed-methods research approach is adopted. First, an extensive literature review is performed to identify potential green innovation items, which are then used to design a preliminary questionnaire. Next, expert interviews are conducted to pilot-test this questionnaire. Subsequently, by using a convenience non-probability sampling method, 88 valid responses are collected from construction firms in Vietnam. Then, one-sample and independent-samples t tests are employed to assess the importance of green innovation practices. Fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE) is also applied to quantitatively compare such practices. Finally, green innovation level (GIL) is proposed to measure the green innovation indexes and validated by a case study of seven construction firms.

This study identifies 13 green innovation variables, of which several key practices are highlighted for small/medium and large construction firms. The results of FSE analysis indicate that green process innovation is the most vital green category in construction firms, followed by green product and management innovations, respectively. As a quantitative measure, GIL could allow construction firms to frequently evaluate their green innovation indexes, thereby promoting green innovation practices comprehensively. Hence, construction firms would significantly enhance green competitive advantages and increasingly contribute to green and sustainable construction developments.

This research is one of the first attempts to integrate various green innovation practices into a comprehensive formulation. The established indexes offer detailed green innovation evaluations, which could be considered as valuable references for construction practitioners. Furthermore, a reliable and practical tool (i.e. GIL) is proposed to measure the GILs of construction firms in developing countries.

The aim of this research is to increase the understanding of how strategic and long-term innovation efforts can be organised, operated and co-created within a project-based organisational setting.

A case study with a qualitative approach was chosen, showing a critical case with powerful examples rather than representative samples, to draw conclusions from. The analysis builds on the concept of absorptive capacity, which provides a multidimensional perspective on innovation activities in organisations.

The difficulties in orchestrating an interplay between innovation processes and the construction process in itself is presented. The study identifies effects from introducing new “innovation roles” as well as comprehending implications of collaborative contract forms for innovation.

Based on a single case study, and being an in-depth empirical study, a rich description of innovation processes is provided which contributes to generalisation on processes rather than outcomes. The use of the absorptive capacity construct also contributes to a theoretically informed research on innovation in construction.

The study provides valuable insights regarding how to conduct collaborative innovation in within the frame of construction projects.

The study of a novel organisational setup, where multiple innovation processes is integrated in a construction project with a partnering contract, provides an understanding on how a construction client can manage the interplay between innovation processes and the construction process in itself. Furthermore, flows of knowledge and effects from introducing new innovation roles are unfolded.

The purpose of this study is to describe latent classes explaining the innovation logic in the Finnish construction companies. Innovativeness is a driver of competitive performance and vital to the long-term success of any organisation and company.

Using finite mixture structural equation modelling (FMSEM), the authors have classified innovation logic into latent classes. The method analyses and recognises classes for companies that have similar logic in innovation activities based on the collected data.

Through FMSEM analysis, the authors have identified three latent classes that explain the innovation logic in the Finnish construction companies – LC1: the internal innovators; LC2: the non-innovation-oriented introverts; and LC3: the innovation-oriented extroverts. These three latent classes clearly capture the perceptions within the industry as well as the different characteristics and variables.

The presented latent classes explain innovation logic but is limited to analysing Finnish companies. Also, the research is quantitative by nature and does not increase the understanding in the same manner as qualitative research might capture on more specific aspects.

This paper presents starting points for construction industry companies to intensify innovation activities. It may also indicate more fundamental changes for the structure of construction industry organisations, especially by enabling innovation friendly culture.

This study describes innovation logic in Finnish construction companies through three models (LC1–LC3) by using quantitative data analysed with the FMSEM method. The fundamental innovation challenges in the Finnish construction companies are clarified via the identified latent classes.

This study aims to explore the innovation deployment of construction contracting firms through exploratory–exploitative learning and organisational ambidexterity.

Firstly, a literature-based conceptual framework was developed to explain innovation implementation through exploratory–exploitative learning and organisational ambidexterity. A prominent Hong Kong construction contracting firm was then selected as the case study to explore its innovation deployment at different organisational levels (i.e. firm and project levels). Qualitative data were attained by conducting 12 semi-structured interviews with industry experts and document analysis. The thematic analysis using NVivo 12 software was adopted to analyse data.

Findings reveal that the case study firm successfully fosters innovation when ambidexterity is achieved through the balance between exploratory (i.e. radical innovation) and exploitative learnings (i.e. incremental innovation).

Establishing uniform ambidexterity (i.e. 50:50) at the firm or project level is not mandatory to deploy innovation successfully. The ratio can vary based on the characteristics and requirements of construction firms.

This paper shall motivate construction practitioners to adopt radical–incremental innovation ambidexterity in firms and ultimately enhance the productivity and efficiency of the construction industry.

Previous construction innovation research has frequently explored firm or project-level innovation separately. This study identified a multi-level focus on innovation. Through the lens of exploratory–exploitative theory, different forms of innovation ambidexterity for different levels are suggested rather than one specific ambidexterity.

This study aims to determine barriers to innovation and to develop a quantitative model for the barrier to innovation in Vietnamese construction organizations of different sizes.

A literature review and discussions with experienced practitioners were implemented to determine barriers to innovation in construction organizations. The rank-based non-parametric test analyzed collected data from a questionnaire survey to examine if there were significant differences between the three groups of organizations, including small, medium and large construction organizations. The fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE) technique was employed to develop barrier indexes (BIs) for organizations of different sizes in Vietnam.

The findings showed 17 barriers to innovation which were categorized into four groups, including organizational, human resources, economic and market barriers. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences regarding barriers to innovation between small, medium and large construction organizations in Vietnam. The post hoc test highlighted barriers to innovation differently separated into two groups: SMEs and large construction organizations. The FSE analysis integrated the identified barriers into the comprehensive BIs for SMEs and large construction organizations. The FSE analysis illustrated that the organizational barrier is the most critical barrier for SMEs. On the other hand, the market barrier received the most significant attention in large construction organizations.

This research is one of the first integrated barriers to innovation into a comprehensive formulation. The indexes provide the decision-makers with a practical and reliable tool to evaluate barriers to innovation in construction organizations of different sizes.

This research aims to identify the climate for innovation variables and to propose an innovative tool to quantitatively assess the degree of climate for innovation of construction firms.

14 climate-for-innovation variables were identified from a literature review and discussion with experienced practitioners. After that, a questionnaire survey was developed to collect data. Factor analysis was used to analyze data gathered from 157 completed responses. Then, fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE) was employed to assess the degree of climate for innovation in Vietnamese construction firms.

Climate-for-innovation variables were categorized into four factors by factor analysis. The FSE analysis shows leadership is the most critical category of four factors, followed by working culture, organization and employee commitment. The calculation also illustrates that the climate for innovation in Vietnamese construction firms is at a moderate level.

This research is one of the first integrated climate for innovation of construction firms in a comprehensive formulation. The formulation provides the decision-makers with a reliable tool to evaluate the degree of climate for innovation, thus having appropriate strategies to develop sustainable innovation performance within their organizations.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and innovation are the two main approaches firms utilize to promote sustainable development. However, as yet, scholars have reached no consensus regarding their precise impact on construction firm performance (CFP), hindering efforts to implement effective sustainable development strategies that improve CFP. In view that a simple linear relationship may not be sufficient to capture their precise pattern, this study aims to unveil the nonlinear impact of CSR and innovation on CFP, especially when construction firms take up a distinct competitive position.

This study first proposed four hypotheses to establish a new theoretical model by incorporating CSR, innovation, CFP and construction firms' competitive position (CFCP). Then the model was tested by using 292 annual observations collected from 75 construction firms in China. A multiple regression model analysis was carried out to analyze the survey data and validate the hypotheses.

The results reveal that both CSR and innovation have a U-shaped impact on the price-to-book ratio of a construction firm, a specific CFP measure. CFCP negatively moderates the U-shaped relationship between CSR and CFP, but positively moderates the U-shaped relationship between innovation and CFP.

This study goes beyond a simple linear view, instead of unveiling the nonlinear U-shaped effects of CSR and innovation on CFP that deepen the understanding of their complex relationships in the construction industry and makes construction firms aware that CSR and innovation can only improve performance if they reach a certain level. The moderating role of CFCP provides important implications for construction firms seeking to adopt appropriate competitive strategies related to social responsibility and innovation that both promote CFP and achieve sustainable development.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the challenges and potential improvement mechanisms for the development of technology and innovation in the Ethiopian construction industry.

In this study both quantitative and qualitative research approaches were adopted. While a structured questionnaire was used for the quantitative data collection, semi-structured interview was used for qualitative data collection. In analyzing the quantitative data, mean score was used to rank the variables and factor analysis was conducted to identify the underlying dimensions of the research constructs. The qualitative data was analyzed thematically focusing on specific objectives of the study; the challenges and improvement mechanisms of technology and innovation development.

The findings indicate that the major challenges are nature of the industry and lack of awareness, weak capacity of companies and the regulatory instruments, inadequate tender duration and poor monitoring and controlling practice. The suggested improvement mechanisms are effective coordination of the process and awareness creation, promoting technology and innovation in the procurement process and technology and innovation consideration in construction project registration.

Effectiveness of construction industry improvement programmes is affected by inappropriateness of the adopted implementation mechanisms. Understanding the operating environment; the enablers and potential barriers, is important for the success of any envisioned improvement programme. The improvement framework proposed by this study indicates the potential intervention areas and improvement mechanisms to effectively induce and enhance technology and innovation development in the construction industry. Major pillars of the improvement framework are improving regulatory framework, raising awareness and stakeholder engagement and continual monitoring and controlling of the practice.

This paper aims to explore the process of implementing solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in construction to contribute to the understanding of systemic innovation in construction.

The exploratory research presented is based on qualitative data collected in workshops and interviews with 76 construction- and solar-industry actors experienced in solar PV projects. Actor-specific barriers were identified and analysed using an abductive approach.

In light of established definitions of systemic innovation, the process of implementing solar PV systems in construction involves challenges regarding technical and material issues, competencies, and informal and formal institutions. The specificities of this case highlight the necessity of paying attention to details in the process and to develop knowledge of systemic innovation in construction since the industry’s involvement in addressing societal challenges related to the energy transition will require implementing such innovations much more in the future.

New knowledge of solar PV systems as an innovation in professional construction is collected, enabling the adaptation of management strategies for its implementation. This knowledge can also be applied generally to other challenges encountered in highly systemic innovation implementation. Solar industry actors can gain an understanding of solar-specific challenges for the construction industry, challenges for which they must adapt their activities.

The exploration of actor-specific experiences of solar PV projects has resulted in a novel understanding of this specific innovation and its implementation. The findings illustrate a case of a high level of systemic innovation and the need to use a finer-grained scale for classification when studying innovation in construction.