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The purpose of this study is to characterize construction management research at the interface of explanatory science and design science.

The dual nature of construction management research is analyzed by relating this field of research to natural science, design science and its interface. Research at the interface of explanatory science and design science is characterized by identifying studies published on this interface in high quality construction management journals.

Research at this interface should focus on technological rules developed through testing in practical contexts as in design science as well as grounding in the explanatory sciences. The nature of testing technological rules is highly similar to the replication logic recommended for comparative case studies.

Developing and testing technological rules combines the design science and the explanatory science mode of knowledge production in construction management research, while it also respects some of the methodological differences between the two modes.

Developing and testing technological rules is the common ground on which research in construction management practice and research can meet and reduce the relevance gap between science and the world of practice.

Examines the tenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.

This study aims to make sense of global warming. Using the concept of design science (as distinct from explanatory science) and by drawing on recent debates in management and organization studies, the study considers whether the principal mission of human resource development (HRD) research should be to design and develop actionable knowledge that practitioners in organizations can use to solve their pressing field problems. By way of illustration, it poses the question of whether HRD research, in terms of design science principles, can offer solutions to one of the most pressing problems confronting humanity, i.e. global warming.

The study does this from the perspective of dual process theories of human cognition in discussing the arguments presented by various researchers that experiential/intuitive modes of sensemaking are more likely to mobilize effective pro-environmental behaviours than are the traditional rational/analytical modes of sensemaking employed in many HRD and educational interventions and programmes.

An inference that may be drawn is that HRD research may be better positioned not as an academic discipline nor as subordinate or superordinate to human resource management, but rather as an emergent solution-oriented “design science”.

The study uses design science perspective for HRD.

This paper aims to present an overview of the design thinking (DT) methodology applied to information science research focusing on the user journey. DT stages are essential to understand, create and implement solutions based on the identified problems.

The paper applies bibliographic, theoretical and exploratory research based on the literature from DT methodology and information science.

The area of information science has not fully incorporated DT methodology on its practices, and DT presents considerable potential to support user experience.

Raise awareness of the information science community regarding the DT methodology as an alternative to apply to various types of research.

DT brings a unique contribution to engage people toward innovation in information centers; the paper is original, as it provides insights on the application of DT to improve the user journey related to information.

The purpose of the current study is to assess Omani teachers’ performance on tasks related to the stages of engineering design. To achieve this, data from an engineering design test was used, and demographic variables that are correlated with this performance were identified.

This descriptive study employed a cross-sectional design and the collection of quantitative data. A sample of preservice science teachers from Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) (n = 70) participated in this study.

Findings showed low and moderate levels of proficiency related to the stages of engineering design. Differences between males and females in terms of performance on engineering design tasks were found, with females scoring higher overall on the assessment. Biology preservice teachers scored higher than teachers from the other two majors (physics and chemistry) in two subscales. There were also differences between teachers studying in the Bachelor of Science (BSc) program and the teacher qualification diploma (TQD) program.

This study provides an overview, in an Arab setting, of preservice science teachers’ proficiency with engineering design process (EDP) tasks. It is hoped that the results may lead to improved instruction in science teacher training programs in similar contexts. Additionally, this research demonstrates how EDP competency relates to preservice teacher gender, major and preparation program. Findings from this study will contribute to the growing body of research investigating the strengths and shortcomings of teacher education programs in relation to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.

This study aims to construct an integrated social entrepreneur system in the rural area of Hengshan, Taiwan, that could benefit four stakeholders, namely, tourists, business, community and government. Two social entrepreneur cases demonstrate a mutually beneficial situation of lowering the structural unemployment rate, returning young human capital to villages and innovating rural tourism through the activism of service science.

Qualitative approach was applied to data obtained from 12 research projects spanning three years. Service experience engineering (SEE) methods were used to conduct a service design for social entrepreneurs in an integrated service system. The service system aimed to innovate rural tourism through the activism of service science.

SEE methods explain a series of service design processes that helped our research team start up two social entrepreneur projects as service prototypes to offer service innovation based on cultural creativity to innovate rural tourism. These two social entrepreneurs in rural tourism offer job opportunities to young people and senior citizens alike. In addition, an integrated service system of interdisciplinary knowledge, multi-stakeholders and local resources fulfills various requirements of stakeholders to promote sustainable rural tourism.

Real action studies are limited in the research on social entrepreneurs. This case study provides research insights into service science and calls for action in practice to change the future of a local village. The results provide the philosophy and knowledge of service science that social entrepreneurs of rural tourism can use in the village. Designing service innovation for rural tourism has shaped its vision toward a sustainable tourism system.

Few studies have shown that social entrepreneurs could innovate rural tourism. The present study presents an action case through the activism of service science.

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the methodological logic of coproductive research approaches like action research, collaborative research, interactive research and participatory research in a way that can clarify its effectiveness and scientific qualities in high quality knowledge production, and show the way that it can be integrated with institutionalized textbook science.

The paper clarifies the character of coproduction as research methodology concept, the logic of coproductive research approaches, and its characteristics compared to quantitative and qualitative methodology. A model for characterizing research approaches from leading textbook social science is developed to specify the character of coproductive research approaches and support integration in mainstream research methodology discussions.

The paper develops a research methodology framework for coproductive logic and approaches to research, to support the integration of this type of approaches in mainstream research methodology.

The developed model of coproductive research approaches is not empirically described. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test and further develop the model in relation to cases and designs of research projects.

The paper is helpful for guiding the design of coproductive research in practice, i.e., in research project development or in research methodology education.

The development of coproductive research approaches supports making science relevant and useful for solving pressing problems and improving social conditions. It also is enabling stakeholders to participate in research and development processes, thus the democratization of research and knowledge production.

The paper contributes to integration of the family of coproductive approaches in mainstream research methodology discussion through the development and elaboration of a framework for organizing the description and development of coproductive research approaches. The aim is that the framework is valuable for both academics, practitioners and students in designing coproductive research projects.

The systems approach is an exemplar of design science research (DSR), whereby specific designs yield generic knowledge. DSR is increasingly being adopted in logistics and operations management research, but many point to neglect of the human aspects of solutions developed. The authors argue that it is possible to look back at the history of the systems movement to seek precedent for ‘dealing’ with the social components, providing a methodologically pluralistic ‘research design’ framework. Thereby, systems approaches are foundational to providing a design-based ‘science’ to progressing the logistics and supply chain management field, dealing with contemporary topics such as resilience.

The authors undertake a discursive assessment of relevant streams of engineering, social science and systems research, with a conceptual development of how the latter influences supply chain design approaches.

Building on a phenomenological framework, the authors create a generic design science research design (DSRD) that enables researchers to choose and integrate the right tools and methods to address simple, complicated and complex problems, dealing with technological, process and social problems.

The DSRD provides a framework by which to exploit a range of methodological stances to problem solving, including quantitative modelling perspectives and ‘soft’ systems social science approaches. Four substantive gaps are identified for future research – establishing the root cause domain of the problem, how to deal with the hierarchy of systems within systems, establishing appropriate criteria for the solution design and how best to deal with chaotic and disordered systems.

The authors argue that the systems approaches offer methodological pluralism by which a generic DSRD may be applied to enhance supply chain design. The authors show the relevance of the DSRD to supply chain design problems including in reducing supply chain dynamics and enhance resilience. In doing so, the study points towards an integrated perspective and future research agenda for designing resilient supply chains.

This study aims to propose a novel maturity model development framework based on design science theory utilizing qualitative and quantitative methods for empirical evidence and develops a descriptive digital transformation maturity model by using the proposed framework.

Design science theory is deeply explored and extended to propose a novel maturity model development approach, including robust and rigorous validation processes. Thus, three consecutive discussion sessions and evaluations with experts are carried out iteratively to evolve and saturate the efficiency and utility of the maturity model, and consensus among experts at each session is validated by the intra-class correlation (ICC) coefficient. Furthermore, the Wilcoxon signed rank test is utilized to test whether there is a difference between consecutive sessions. Finally, prototype testing as a pilot study and two case studies in the manufacturing industry are carried out to validate the applicability of the developed maturity model.

A 3-phase maturity model development framework that includes the activities and outcomes in each phase emerge based on the design science theory. The comparative literature analysis and discussion sessions resulted in six dimensions, ten sub-dimensions, 39-capability items that circumscribe the digital transformation concept and five maturity levels that demonstrate conceptual consistency and a measurement tool for self-assessment. In addition, prototype testing and case studies show that the developed maturity model can measure the company's maturity level. Finally, it is proven that the digital transformation maturity model is developed by following the proposed maturity model development framework.

The maturity model draws a framework for practitioners that facilitate an initial roadmap and enhance the adoption rate, and it motivates the practitioners for frequent and efficient assessments, thus helping the continuous improvement of the digital transformation journey.

The originality of this paper lies in proposing a novel maturity model development framework based on design science and presents the activities and validation methods for this purpose. Furthermore, a comprehensive and rigorously validated digital transformation maturity model is developed based on the proposed framework.

This study aims to analyze and synthesize the design features of existing digital transformation maturity models with a developed classification scheme and propose a generic maturity model development wireframe based on design science research.

A systematic literature review is conducted on digital transformation maturity models in peer-reviewed journals, including the Emerald Insight, Science Direct, Scopus, Taylor & Francis and Web of Science databases, which resulted in 21 studies. A concept-centric tabular approach is used to analyze the studies, and intersectional demonstrations are used to synthesize the findings regarding the design features.

The classification scheme derived from the tabular concept-centric approach and iteratively evolved results in three main and 25 subcategories related to the design features. Analysis and synthesis of the studies reveal the granularity of the existing digital transformation maturity models concerning the design features. Furthermore, considering the design features in the classification scheme, a generic maturity model development wireframe is proposed to guide the researchers.

The generic maturity model development wireframe and the classification scheme that represents the design features of existing maturity models guide the researchers for the maturity model development roadmap.

The existing literature review studies do not focus on the design feature of digital transformation maturity models within a systematic literature review perspective. A unique classification scheme derived from the tabular concept-centric approach aims to analyze the granularity level of the existing models. Furthermore, the generic maturity model development wireframe includes the guidelines and recommendations of design science studies and presents a roadmap for maturity model researchers.