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The structure of emergent prefabricated housing industries : a comparative case study of Australia and Sweden

Steinhardt, Dale ; Manley, Karen ; Bildsten, Louise LU and Widen, Kristian LU (2020) In Construction Management and Economics 38(6). p.483-501
Abstract

Prefabricated housing is a disruptive innovation struggling to take hold in a traditional complex product system (CoPS). It is quicker to produce and has improved environmental performance compared to traditional housing. CoPS have more dense and complex network connections than commodity industries, making disruptive innovation more difficult. Effective relational capabilities can achieve the coordination necessary to address this challenge. The prefabricated housing industry needs to develop a structure that drives these capabilities. Using a case study methodology, the structure of the industry is examined in two contrasting countries, namely Australia and Sweden, as they represent an early and late stage of industry emergence,... (More)

Prefabricated housing is a disruptive innovation struggling to take hold in a traditional complex product system (CoPS). It is quicker to produce and has improved environmental performance compared to traditional housing. CoPS have more dense and complex network connections than commodity industries, making disruptive innovation more difficult. Effective relational capabilities can achieve the coordination necessary to address this challenge. The prefabricated housing industry needs to develop a structure that drives these capabilities. Using a case study methodology, the structure of the industry is examined in two contrasting countries, namely Australia and Sweden, as they represent an early and late stage of industry emergence, respectively. A new framework is proposed for this purpose, enabling a repeatable, orderly and comprehensive disaggregation of industry structure to examine the latent drivers of relational capability. The main empirical contribution is to (1) describe an industry that is yet to be formally recognized by national statistical agencies and (2) show how the adoption of prefabricated housing can be accelerated. The study found that younger industries need a focused industry association with diverse membership to act as an effective system integrator.

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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Australia, complex product systems, Housing, industry, innovation, prefabrication, relationships, Sweden
in
Construction Management and Economics
volume
38
issue
6
pages
19 pages
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • scopus:85064753731
ISSN
0144-6193
DOI
10.1080/01446193.2019.1588464
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
bb7a92ff-61fc-45ae-b7d9-bfeb606f16c8
date added to LUP
2019-05-07 12:15:45
date last changed
2023-03-06 17:36:06
@article{bb7a92ff-61fc-45ae-b7d9-bfeb606f16c8,
  abstract     = {{<p>Prefabricated housing is a disruptive innovation struggling to take hold in a traditional complex product system (CoPS). It is quicker to produce and has improved environmental performance compared to traditional housing. CoPS have more dense and complex network connections than commodity industries, making disruptive innovation more difficult. Effective relational capabilities can achieve the coordination necessary to address this challenge. The prefabricated housing industry needs to develop a structure that drives these capabilities. Using a case study methodology, the structure of the industry is examined in two contrasting countries, namely Australia and Sweden, as they represent an early and late stage of industry emergence, respectively. A new framework is proposed for this purpose, enabling a repeatable, orderly and comprehensive disaggregation of industry structure to examine the latent drivers of relational capability. The main empirical contribution is to (1) describe an industry that is yet to be formally recognized by national statistical agencies and (2) show how the adoption of prefabricated housing can be accelerated. The study found that younger industries need a focused industry association with diverse membership to act as an effective system integrator.</p>}},
  author       = {{Steinhardt, Dale and Manley, Karen and Bildsten, Louise and Widen, Kristian}},
  issn         = {{0144-6193}},
  keywords     = {{Australia; complex product systems; Housing; industry; innovation; prefabrication; relationships; Sweden}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{6}},
  pages        = {{483--501}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Construction Management and Economics}},
  title        = {{The structure of emergent prefabricated housing industries : a comparative case study of Australia and Sweden}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01446193.2019.1588464}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/01446193.2019.1588464}},
  volume       = {{38}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}