INNOVATION IN CONSTRUCTION : A PROJECT LIFECYCLE APPROACH

Innovation is a multidimensional, dynamic, global, and an open activity that increases competitiveness, generates economic benefits, and improves the quality of living standards through the creation and adoption of new ideas and technologies. The construction industry is widely perceived as being among the less innovative sectors, in part due to its project-based and fragmented nature. However, there is an increasing recognition that to understand and quantify the extent of innovative activity within a sector, metrics appropriate to the particular sector must be developed. The patterns of innovation in construction are different in many ways from those of others, and effective management of innovation is still essential to create value for construction customers and their clients. Therefore, more research is required to analyze the different types of innovative activities as well as the role of project stakeholders in stimulating and implementing construction innovation. The major objective of this study is to set out a methodology to investigate in detail the particular ways in which innovation occurs in a project setting and the dynamics between project and firm level innovation. In this respect, the innovation value chain can be investigated in terms of the parties involved in a construction project. The proposed lifecycle approach will help observe and measure the underlying drivers, enablers and the contextual variables related to the whole process and understand the role of different actors and improve their capability in facilitating innovation.