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The construction industry has shown an inherent inability to adopt advanced technological innovations. The construction innovation literature is highly fragmented and outlines an overwhelming number of factors that arguably influence the transfer of technological innovations in construction. Factor-based research in the construction innovation literature tends to set out technological innovations and their adoption as socially neutral events, overlooking the role of context in the adoption process. Hence, the authors’ understanding of how technological innovations are transferred and implemented in the construction industry remains limited by the constraints of reductionist approaches adopted by factor-based research. This paper aims to advance the authors’ understanding of the actual experiences of technological innovations transfer in construction. Instead of introducing another set of factors, the research, through empirical investigation, develops a comprehensive and holistic framework to re-interpret the existing factor-based literature taking into consideration the role of the construction context and the socially constructed nature of technological innovations.

This research uses a participatory exploratory multiple case study design strategy, which has much in common with action research. The factors that could influence the transfer of technological innovations were investigated in three selected case studies over an extended period of time. During the research, a prototype system application of construction integration was used as a basis to discuss the adoption of technological innovations.

The findings suggest moving from the commonly held beliefs in the rational school of technological innovation and the functionalist paradigm towards constructivist approaches to capture the role of context and the stoically constructed nature of technological innovations. It is suggested that construction companies need to develop management capabilities to manage the changing political environments of the adoption process. The research supports the emerging view of technological innovations in construction as a collaborative-based innovation, which is a function of relationships and context.

The research is limited by the settings of the action research design and the use of an interpretive approach. Because the focus was on investigating the “why” question, little attention was given to the “how” question. Accordingly, the findings provide little insights into the way organizations can manage the changing political and social environment of the adoption process. The authors also acknowledge that in spite of their best efforts to build a theoretically grounded framework of factors, they may have overlooked some relevant studies. However, the objective of this research was not to conduct a systematic literature review or to come up with a framework that quantitatively captures all previous research studies; instead, the objective was to build a holistic framework that can be used as a base to analyze the role of construction context and the socially constructed nature of technological innovations in the adoption process.

The research offers several practical insights. First, it suggests that construction companies need to develop management capabilities to be able to lead the changing political environment of the adoption process successfully. Second, the research supports the emerging view of technological innovations in construction as a collaborative-based innovation that is a function of relationship. From a policy perspective, the research provides the basis to reconsider the effectiveness of federal and provincial policies that promote advanced technological Initiatives. The majority of these policies focus on the technical aspects in assessing the adoption of technological innovation, providing little incentives to companies to manage the changing political and social environment of the adoption process.

This research offers several theoretical and methodological contributions. First, it advances the authors’ understanding of the actual experiences of the transfer of technological innovations in construction organizations. Second, instead of introducing another set of factors, the research develops a framework to re-interpret the existing factor-based literature, considering the role of construction context and the socially constructed nature of technological innovations. The research uses the theoretical lens of the social construction of technology framework to analyze the adoption process. The existing literature suggests that such research is scarce and highly needed. Third, unlike the mainstream reductionist approaches, this research adopts an exploratory action research inquiry design that uses both inductive and deductive inquiry approaches to understand the socially constructed nature of innovation transfer in construction. The adopted research design offers a valuable methodological contribution to the existing body of knowledge.

This study aims to explore the interaction of “contractual governance – relational governance – governmental governance” mechanisms and proposes hypotheses about the effects of megaproject governance on governance performance from both theoretical and practical perspectives.

In this paper, a megaproject governance model is developed to explain the relationship between governance mechanisms and governance performance. The model is based on related literature and explores the interactions between governance mechanisms and how they work to improve governance performance. The structural equation model (SEM) is adopted to explore the influence path on governance performance for megaprojects.

The results indicate that: (a) The findings highlight the positive role of project governance mechanisms on governance performance. (b) Contractual governance, relational governance, and governmental governance directly affect governance performance. In addition, contractual governance mediates governance performance through relational governance and governmental governance; governmental governance mediates governance performance through contractual governance and relational governance. (c) Contractual governance, relational governance, and governmental governance play a positive role in governance performance.

Governmental governance is added to project governance theory and the empirical research method is used to explore the interaction between contractual governance, relational governance, and governmental governance of megaprojects. The SEM is used to systematically explore the paths of megaproject governance mechanisms on governance performance, considering the interactive role of the “contractual governance - relational governance - governmental governance” and the mediating role.

The study reveals the impact path of multidimensional megaproject governance mechanisms on governance performance. In this paper, the empirical findings can help the project participants by providing a decision-making basis for good governance and references for the governments to promote the construction of a micro-institutional environment for megaprojects.

The contributions of this study are (1) to add an exploration of governmental governance to the existing project governance theory, and (2) to consider the interactions of the “contractual governance – relational governance – governmental governance” mechanisms, and (3) to explore their effects on governance performance, including direct and mediating effects. This study contributes to a comprehensive understanding of megaproject governance by considering governmental governance and the interactions of the three governance mechanisms. Understanding the impact of megaproject governance on governance performance could assist project stakeholders and provide decision guidance for good governance.

This paper aims to identify how a public client’s use of control systems (process, output and social control) affect innovation possibilities in construction projects.

Semi-structured interviews about six infrastructure projects were conducted to identify respondents’ views on innovation possibilities. These possibilities were then analyzed from an organizational control perspective within principal–agent relationships between the Swedish Transport Administration (STA) and their contractors.

How the client uses control systems affects innovation possibilities. Relying on process control could negatively affect innovation opportunities, whereas output control could have a positive influence. In addition, social control seems to have a weak effect, as the STA appears not to use social control to facilitate joint innovation. Public clients must comply with the Public Procurement Act and, therefore, retain the requirements specified in the tendering documents. Much of the steering of the execution is connected to the ex ante phase (before signing the contract), which affects innovation possibilities in the design and execution phases for the contractor.

This study was conducted with only one client, thus limiting its generalizability. However, the findings provide an important stepping stone to further investigation into balancing control systems and creating innovation possibilities in a principal–agent relationship.

Although public procurement has increasingly been emphasized as a major potential source of innovation, studying how a public client’s use of organizational control systems affects innovation possibilities in the construction sector has received scant attention.

By adopting the “hard” and “soft” project management (PM) approaches from the PM-literature, this paper aims to problematize the expected role of client organizations in driving innovation in the transport infrastructure sector.

Addressing a large public client in Sweden, a case study design was initially applied to provide in-depth insights and perspectives of client project managers’ views and experiences of managing projects expected to drive innovation. In this paper, the concepts of “hard” and “soft” are used to discuss empirical findings on challenges associated with adopting a PM-approach for driving innovation in projects. The empirical material consists of interview data, complemented with observations and archival data.

Findings reveal challenges associated with combining hard and soft approaches, frequently demonstrating difficulties in balancing short-term project expectations with the promotion of innovation. In line with the literature, project managers note that there is a need for soft approaches to promote development and drive innovation. Yet, findings reflect a situation in which operational success criteria predominate, whereas soft approaches are not sufficiently used to create the grounds required for fostering innovation.

Insights are provided into how PM-approaches may impact construction innovation in the infrastructure sector, demonstrating a need for further research on the challenges and implications of applying and combining hard and soft PM-approaches.

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.

The built environment is taking enormous leaps towards its digitalization. Computer-aided tools such as building information modeling (BIM) are found in the forefront of this evolution, playing a critical role in creating the foundations for the upcoming development of smart low-carbon cities. However, the potential of BIM is still untapped – links will need to be created among the available and forthcoming methodologies under one integral operational system. The purpose of this paper is to present an integrated BIM-based life cycle-oriented framework for achieving sustainable constructions at the pre-construction phase. The developed framework represents an example of the approaches that the construction industry will need to adopt to integrate the different tools under an integrated smart city context.

The methodological approach follows the development of four same-volume different-configuration three-dimensional BIM designs, which are coupled with life cycle assessment (LCA) tools for establishing sustainable building design.

The results of this paper indicated that the choice of building design and shape can play a significant role in reducing the embodied energy and embodied carbon of buildings, achieving a reduction of up to 15% compared to a reference building of same volume and gross floor area.

The originality of this paper is found in its approach application by coupling three-dimensional BIM models with LCA data, the use of reinforcement detailing in an nD BIM study and the employment of country-specific LCA databases.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how gamification may be used for project stakeholder engagement.

The paper presents the results of a systematic literature review of extant research concerning the gamification of projects. Based on this, an agenda for future studies is outlined.

Extant research on the gamification of projects is scarce and scattered among various disciplines, but the engineering fields dominate. The research performed does indicate that gamification may be used for involving stakeholders in projects, primarily by promoting learning, but also by engaging them, motivating action and solving problems.

In several cases, extant research display poor quality in research design and a lack in cross-disciplinary perspectives, which means that more research is needed. The users’ perspective is often lacking. Furthermore, the ideas gamification might be “hidden” within other technologies.

The findings of this research may assist project management practitioners in the endeavor of adopting gamification principles to better involve stakeholders.

The study fills a gap in summarizing the research on how gamification may be used to promote project stakeholder engagement. Based on this, it proposes a research agenda for future research on the use of gamification to promote project stakeholder engagement.

Modular construction is an innovative method that enhances the performance of building construction projects. However, the performance of steel modular construction has not been systematically understood, and the existing measurement methods exhibit limitations in effectively addressing the features of steel modular building construction. Therefore, this study aims to develop a new performance measurement framework for systematically examining the performance of steel modular construction in building projects.

This study was conducted through a mixed-method research design that combines a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art practices of construction performance measurement and a case study with a 17-story steel modular apartment building project in Hong Kong. The case project was measured with data collected from the project teams and other reliable channels, and the measurement practices and findings were referenced to establish a systematic performance measurement framework for steel modular construction.

Considering steel modular construction as a complex socio-technical system, a systematic performance measurement framework was developed, which considers the features of steel modular construction, focuses on the construction stage, incorporates the views of various stakeholders, integrates generic and specific key performance indicators and provides a benchmarking process. Multifaceted benefits of adopting steel modular construction were demonstrated with case study, including improved economic efficiency (e.g. nearly 10% cost savings), improved environmental friendliness (e.g. approximately 90% waste reduction) and enhanced social welfare (e.g. over 60% delivery trips reduction).

This paper extends the existing performance measurement methods with a new framework proposed and offers experience for future steel modular construction. The measured performance of the case project also contributes in-depth understanding on steel modular construction with benefits demonstrated. The study is expected to accelerate an effective uptake of steel modular construction in building projects.

This paper critically analysed 195 articles with the objectives of providing a clear understanding of the current City Information Modelling (CIM) implementations, identifying the main challenges hampering the uptake of CIM and providing recommendations for the future development of CIM.

This paper adopts the PRISMA method in order to perform the systematic literature review.

The results identified nine domains of CIM implementation including (1) natural disaster management, (2) urban building energy modelling, (3) urban facility management, (4) urban infrastructure management, (5) land administration systems, (6) improvement of urban microclimates, (7) development of digital twin and smart cities, (8) improvement of social engagement and (9) urban landscaping design. Further, eight challenges were identified that hinder the widespread employment of CIM including (1) reluctance towards CIM application, (2) data quality, (3) computing resources and storage inefficiency, (4) data integration between BIM and GIS and interoperability, (5) establishing a standardised workflow for CIM implementation, (6) synergy between all parties involved, (7) cybersecurity and intellectual property and (8) data management.

This is the first paper of its kind that provides a holistic understanding of the current implementation of CIM. The outcomes will benefit multiple target groups. First, urban planners and designers will be supplied with a status-quo understanding of CIM implementations. Second, this research introduces possibilities of CIM deployment for the governance of cities; hence the outcomes can be useful for policymakers. Lastly, the scientific community can use the findings of this study as a reference point to gain a comprehensive understanding of the field and contribute to the future development of CIM.

In recent years, climate for innovation has attracted wide attention from industry and academia. It is perceived as a critical component of innovation performance in the built environment sector, especially in architectural design firms (ADFs). This study attempts to assess the degree of climate for innovation in the Vietnamese ADFs under the organizational climate theory.

A list of 13 innovation climate variables was found by reviewing previous studies and discussions with industry practitioners. These variables were then categorized into three principal factors (personal commitment, tolerance of difference, and support for creativity), forming the inputs of the fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE) analysis.

The results showed that the overall level of innovation in the climate is moderate, implying that it is still necessary for more improvements to the Vietnamese ADFs. The fuzzy analysis revealed that support for creativity was the most critical factor, followed by tolerance of difference and personal commitment.

The proposed climate for innovation model is practical and reliable for architectural professionals and can be applied to assess other research areas. Few studies have emphasized the innovation climate in the construction sector, so this research may broaden the knowledge and literature on the industry, especially for the ADFs.