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Managing short-term efficiency and long-term development through industrialized construction

Eriksson, Per Erik ; Olander, Stefan LU ; Szentes, Henrik and Widén, Kristian LU (2014) In Construction Management and Economics 32(1-2). p.97-108
Abstract
There is a strong need for a productive and innovative infrastructure sector because of its monetary value and importance for the development of a sustainable society. An increased level of industrialization is often proposed as a way to improve efficiency and productivity in construction projects. In prior literature on

industrialized construction, there are however neither many studies addressing more long-term aspects of innovation and sustainability nor studies within the infrastructure context. Organizational theory suggests that firms need to be ambidextrous and focus on both long-term exploration of new knowledge and Technologies and short-term exploitation of current knowledge and technologies, in order to achieve... (More)
There is a strong need for a productive and innovative infrastructure sector because of its monetary value and importance for the development of a sustainable society. An increased level of industrialization is often proposed as a way to improve efficiency and productivity in construction projects. In prior literature on

industrialized construction, there are however neither many studies addressing more long-term aspects of innovation and sustainability nor studies within the infrastructure context. Organizational theory suggests that firms need to be ambidextrous and focus on both long-term exploration of new knowledge and Technologies and short-term exploitation of current knowledge and technologies, in order to achieve sustainable development. Therefore, an investigation of how both short-term exploitative performance objectives and long-term explorative development can be addressed when implementing industrialized construction in infrastructure projects was conducted. A case study consisting of four infrastructure projects shows that the

main drivers for increased industrialization are of an exploitative nature, focusing on cost savings and increased productivity through more efficient processes. The main barriers to increased industrialization are however related to both explorative and exploitative activities. Hence, by managing the identified barriers

and explicitly addressing both exploitation and exploration, industrialized construction can improve both short-term efficiency and long-term innovation and sustainability. (Less)
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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
efficiency, Ambidexterity, industrialization, infrastructure, sustainability
in
Construction Management and Economics
volume
32
issue
1-2
pages
97 - 108
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • scopus:84896542504
ISSN
1466-433X
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
56c2a4a3-a0e5-4831-b633-1a8c43591e0e (old id 8031924)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 10:58:28
date last changed
2022-01-29 21:09:19
@article{56c2a4a3-a0e5-4831-b633-1a8c43591e0e,
  abstract     = {{There is a strong need for a productive and innovative infrastructure sector because of its monetary value and importance for the development of a sustainable society. An increased level of industrialization is often proposed as a way to improve efficiency and productivity in construction projects. In prior literature on<br/><br>
industrialized construction, there are however neither many studies addressing more long-term aspects of innovation and sustainability nor studies within the infrastructure context. Organizational theory suggests that firms need to be ambidextrous and focus on both long-term exploration of new knowledge and Technologies and short-term exploitation of current knowledge and technologies, in order to achieve sustainable development. Therefore, an investigation of how both short-term exploitative performance objectives and long-term explorative development can be addressed when implementing industrialized construction in infrastructure projects was conducted. A case study consisting of four infrastructure projects shows that the<br/><br>
main drivers for increased industrialization are of an exploitative nature, focusing on cost savings and increased productivity through more efficient processes. The main barriers to increased industrialization are however related to both explorative and exploitative activities. Hence, by managing the identified barriers<br/><br>
and explicitly addressing both exploitation and exploration, industrialized construction can improve both short-term efficiency and long-term innovation and sustainability.}},
  author       = {{Eriksson, Per Erik and Olander, Stefan and Szentes, Henrik and Widén, Kristian}},
  issn         = {{1466-433X}},
  keywords     = {{efficiency; Ambidexterity; industrialization; infrastructure; sustainability}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1-2}},
  pages        = {{97--108}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Construction Management and Economics}},
  title        = {{Managing short-term efficiency and long-term development through industrialized construction}},
  volume       = {{32}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}