Enablers of Innovation in the Construction Material Industry

Abstract

The construction material industry is often acknowledged as slightly more innovative than the overall construction industry and could hence serve as a valuable learning place for how innovation could flourish in the construction industry. Construction is viewed as network or supply chain based, which creates a strong interdependence between the different supply network partners and can be seen as a hindrance for innovation. Innovation models must embrace such a contemporary business structures, where competition often takes place between supply chains rather than between individual companies. By exploring case-based innovation processes the purpose is to discover enablers of innovation in the construction material industry. The research design is based on explorative case studies. By applying case study as method, the research is drawn towards inductive research, where we investigate patterns suitable for generalization on enablers for innovation. In total, six cases of successful innovation are investigated. The conclusion of this research validates that open innovation in a network approach is a precondition for a successful innovation journey in the construction industry. In addition, it was found that different approaches for facilitating this journey exists, based on company characteristics. This paper adds to the body of knowledge on how to succeed with innovation in the construction industry. The increased awareness of an open and cooperative approach to innovation is of value both theoretical and practical.