در برابر احتمال: معرفی موفقیت آمیز فن آوری های نوین در پروژه های ساخت و ساز توسط شرکت های کوچک در استرالیا

The methods by which small firms overcome the disadvantages of their size to implement innovation on construction projects are examined here through five Australian case studies. It is found that such methods include working with advanced clients, prioritising relationship-building strategies and using patents to protect intellectual property. Key obstacles to innovation implementation by small firms on construction projects are found to be bias in the allocation of government business assistance and regulatory inefficiencies under federal systems of government. The study’s findings derive from a theoretical framework which emphasises firm capabilities and environment, and innovation typologies. Further research is recommended into the impact of government assistance and regulation on small innovative construction firms.

The innovation performance of the construction industry has been the subject of much criticism by academics, policy makers and practitioners, especially over the past 10 years. Such criticism and the subsequent search for solutions have been most obvious in the UK, with investigations such as the Egan Inquiry (1998) prompting a range of related studies in the UK and in other countries. Nevertheless, progress has been slow globally, such that the industry is still perceived to be underperforming. In recent academic comparisons of innovation activity across different sectors of the economy, construction underperforms significantly compared to manufacturing (Reichstein et al., 2005). Although some authors rightly point out that such comparisons can be misleading (Winch, 2003), the cited study made adjustments to the definition of the construction industry within the Standard Industrial Classifications to ensure a fair comparison. Continued poor performance is also reflected in the fact that construction clients globally remain unsatisfied with typical project outcomes (Boyd and Chinyio, 2006). The answer to the industry’s continuing problems is said to lie in building a stronger innovation culture to improve the rate and quality of innovation across the construction system, particularly given increasing client demands for integrated services (Hartmann, 2006). The industry appears to be moving in this direction; however it faces a number of significant challenges related to the production of assets that are complex, unique, long-lived, fixed, expensive, and risky (Nam and Tatum, 1988). It is against this backdrop that small construction firms operate. Not only do they face the difficulties summarised by Nam and Tatum (1988), they must also contend with higher levels of competition than larger firms, and with the resource disadvantages of their size. This paper focuses on a group of small firms that were able to overcome the above challenges and introduce innovation on construction projects. Five Australian case studies are considered, all involving strategic technological product innovation that was successfully implemented on a project between 2000 and 2004. The research question driving the study is ‘How do small firms overcome the resource disadvantages of their size and successfully implement innovation on construction projects?’ Despite the challenges small firms face, it is shown that they can play an important role in driving project innovation.