IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/vrs/otamic/v12y2020i1p2109-2116n7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Industrialization of construction: Implications on standards, business models and project orientation

Author

Listed:
  • Andersson Niclas

    (Faculty of Technology and Society, Malmö University, Nordenskiöldsgatan 1, S-211 19Malmö, Sweden)

  • Lessing Jerker

    (Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA)

Abstract

Digitalization has the potential to radically change the way buildings are designed, produced, and operated. In this digital transformation, the establishment of information standards play an important role. However, despite substantial efforts in the development of both technology and standards, these are not yet fully adopted in construction. This study aims to review the adoption of standards and to examine whether suppliers of prefabricated concrete elements have transformed their business models. The purpose is to strengthen the understanding of the interplay between the adoption of standards and business model renewal. Driving forces for the adoption of standards are identified and coupled with suppliers’ arguments for business model protection and renewal, explained in terms of a market and a hierarchy approach. The market approach embraces the adoption of open standards for improved competition and information exchange along with the further adoption of industrialized construction. This study identifies that common standards for precast elements are lacking, which leads to waste in terms of structural re-design and liability uncertainties. On the other hand, a market situation with open standards is challenging for suppliers to utilize and benefit from their existing operational platforms. Suppliers of precast elements strive for a hierarchy approach, that is, the adoption of the whole value chain, to protect their market position and continue offering structural frameworks and services. This concurs with arguments for industrialized construction, which emphasize the benefits of continuous improvements. This study contributes to the understanding of drivers and impediments for the uptake of standards versus business model renewal in construction.

Suggested Citation

  • Andersson Niclas & Lessing Jerker, 2020. "Industrialization of construction: Implications on standards, business models and project orientation," Organization, Technology and Management in Construction, Sciendo, vol. 12(1), pages 2109-2116, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:vrs:otamic:v:12:y:2020:i:1:p:2109-2116:n:7
    DOI: 10.2478/otmcj-2020-0007
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.2478/otmcj-2020-0007
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.2478/otmcj-2020-0007?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Williamson, Oliver E, 1973. "Markets and Hierarchies: Some Elementary Considerations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 63(2), pages 316-325, May.
    2. Leviäkangas, Pekka & Mok Paik, Seong & Moon, Sungkon, 2017. "Keeping up with the pace of digitization: The case of the Australian construction industry," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 33-43.
    3. Gann, David M. & Salter, Ammon J., 2000. "Innovation in project-based, service-enhanced firms: the construction of complex products and systems," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(7-8), pages 955-972, August.
    4. Staffan Brege & Lars Stehn & Tomas Nord, 2014. "Business models in industrialized building of multi-storey houses," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(1-2), pages 208-226, February.
    5. Gosling, Jonathan & Naim, Mohamed M., 2009. "Engineer-to-order supply chain management: A literature review and research agenda," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(2), pages 741-754, December.
    6. Ghaffarianhoseini, Ali & Tookey, John & Ghaffarianhoseini, Amirhosein & Naismith, Nicola & Azhar, Salman & Efimova, Olia & Raahemifar, Kaamran, 2017. "Building Information Modelling (BIM) uptake: Clear benefits, understanding its implementation, risks and challenges," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 1046-1053.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Manning, Stephan, 2017. "The rise of project network organizations: Building core teams and flexible partner pools for interorganizational projects," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(8), pages 1399-1415.
    2. Kafigi Jeje, 2020. "Risk-Taking and Performance of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Lessons from Tanzanian Bakeries," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 12(3), pages 1-22.
    3. Yu Cao & Cong Xu & Syahrul Nizam Kamaruzzaman & Nur Mardhiyah Aziz, 2022. "A Systematic Review of Green Building Development in China: Advantages, Challenges and Future Directions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-29, September.
    4. Lydia Bals & Jon F. Kirchoff & Kai Foerstl, 2016. "Exploring the reshoring and insourcing decision making process: toward an agenda for future research," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 9(3), pages 102-116, December.
    5. Allen, Darcy W.E. & Berg, Chris & Markey-Towler, Brendan & Novak, Mikayla & Potts, Jason, 2020. "Blockchain and the evolution of institutional technologies: Implications for innovation policy," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(1).
    6. Pero, Margherita & Stößlein, Martin & Cigolini, Roberto, 2015. "Linking product modularity to supply chain integration in the construction and shipbuilding industries," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 170(PB), pages 602-615.
    7. Ewelina Nojszewska, 2011. "Economic effectiveness as an analytical tool for health care (Efektywnosc ekonomiczna jako narzedzie analityczne dla ochrony zdrowia)," Problemy Zarzadzania, University of Warsaw, Faculty of Management, vol. 9(33), pages 11-26.
    8. Namrata Malhotra & Timothy Morris, 2009. "Heterogeneity in Professional Service Firms," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(6), pages 895-922, September.
    9. Blindenbach-Driessen, Floortje & van den Ende, Jan, 2006. "Innovation in project-based firms: The context dependency of success factors," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 545-561, May.
    10. José Ángel Aranda & Norena Martin-Dorta & Ferran Naya & Julián Conesa-Pastor & Manuel Contero, 2020. "Sustainability and Interoperability: An Economic Study on BIM Implementation by a Small Civil Engineering Firm," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-16, November.
    11. Coskun-Setirek, Abide & Tanrikulu, Zuhal, 2021. "Digital innovations-driven business model regeneration: A process model," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    12. Bjørn Asheim & Lars Coenen, 2006. "Contextualising Regional Innovation Systems in a Globalising Learning Economy: On Knowledge Bases and Institutional Frameworks," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 31(1), pages 163-173, January.
    13. Fındık, Derya & Tansel, Aysit, 2013. "Intangible investment and technical efficiency: The case of software-intensive manufacturing firms in Turkey," MPRA Paper 66165, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 05 Aug 2014.
    14. Beerepoot, Milou & Beerepoot, Niels, 2007. "Government regulation as an impetus for innovation: Evidence from energy performance regulation in the Dutch residential building sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(10), pages 4812-4825, October.
    15. Dirk Hackbarth & Richmond Mathews & David Robinson, 2014. "Capital Structure, Product Market Dynamics, and the Boundaries of the Firm," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(12), pages 2971-2993, December.
    16. Shunling Ruan & Haiyan Xie & Song Jiang, 2017. "Integrated Proactive Control Model for Energy Efficiency Processes in Facilities Management: Applying Dynamic Exponential Smoothing Optimization," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-22, September.
    17. Max Zongyuan Shang & Ken McEwan, 2021. "The make‐or‐buy decision of feed on livestock farms: Evidence from Ontario swine farms," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 69(3), pages 353-368, September.
    18. Ammon J Salter & David M Gann, 2001. "The Role of Middle Range Publications in the Development of Engineering Knowledge," SPRU Working Paper Series 58, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    19. Heloïse Berkowitz & Marcelo Bucheli & Hervé Dumez, 2017. "Collectively Designing CSR Through Meta-Organizations: A Case Study of the Oil and Gas Industry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 143(4), pages 753-769, July.
    20. Hugh Mandele & Arjen Witteloostuijn, 2015. "The inevitability and irreversibility of organizational uncontrollability," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 380-405, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:vrs:otamic:v:12:y:2020:i:1:p:2109-2116:n:7. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Peter Golla (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.sciendo.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.