The Dilemma of Innovation in the Construction Company: A Decade of Lessons Learned

Innovation can be defined as the integration of non-trivial ideas capable of generating positive changes that increase a company’s competitiveness. For construction companies, innovation is not an easy task, since their production is based on single projects built in different locations. This article summarizes the exploratory research conducted by the authors over the last decade, focused on the implementation, development and monitoring of a standardized innovation management system in a mid-size Spanish construction company. Collected evidence, also contrasted with other companies as well as with the sector as a whole, provide lessons learned, not only for the analyzed company, but also for construction companies in general. Innovation, in this kind of businesses, may not be a spontaneous act that appears on solving a specific problem, becoming a managerial process that can be systematized and homogenized. It allows faster identification of the involved tasks in creating new processes, products and services for companies and, therefore, their market competitiveness is improved.

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