The construction industry as a loosely coupled system - implications for productivity and and innovativity
01 Oct 2002-Construction Management and Economics (Taylor & Francis Group)-Vol. 20, Iss: 7, pp 621-631
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyze the operations and behaviour of firms as a means of dealing with complexity in the construction industry and conclude that the pattern of couplings seems to favour short-term productivity while hampering innovation and learning.
Abstract: Previous research suggests that the construction industry is characterized by (1) particular complexity factors owing to industry specific uncertainties and interdependences, and (2) inefficiency of operations. The aim of this study was to analyse the operations and behaviour of firms as a means of dealing with complexity. The observations made indicate that the industry as a whole is featured as a loosely coupled system. Taking this as a starting point, the couplings among activities, resources and actors were analysed in different dimensions. The pattern of couplings builds on two interdependent layers: tight couplings in individual projects and loose couplings based on collective adaptations in the permanent network. It is concluded that the pattern of couplings seems to favour short term productivity while hampering innovation and learning.
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Abstract: In recent years more and more construction projects used three-dimensional/four-dimensional (3D/4D) models to support management tasks. However, project managers still struggle with evaluating how the 3D/4D model technology can be most efficiently applied on their specific project. One main reason for this struggle is that an account about how 3D/4D models have been used in the past is missing. This paper offers practitioners and researchers such an account of the application areas of 3D/4D model technologies including the purposes for which these technologies have been applied. The paper qualitatively aggregates the results of 26 case studies of 3D/4D model applications on construction projects to show researchers and practitioners how 3D/4D models have been applied to address project challenges. Using a “project challenge—3D/4D model application” matrix the paper explains each application area and describes why the application has been beneficial to the case study projects. The paper then analyzes the challenges that practitioners have faced with 3D/4D models on the test case projects. The main findings of this analysis are that practitioners on most of the test case projects have used the models for only one application area. The paper suggests that further research on the integration of 3D/4D model technologies into work and business processes of project teams is needed to address this opportunity for a more widespread use of 3D/4D models throughout the lifecycle of a project.
281 citations
References
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TL;DR: Weick as discussed by the authors argued that the concept of loose coupling incorporates a surprising number of disparate observations about organizations, suggests novel functions, creates stubborn problems for methodologists, and generates intriguing questions for scholars.
Abstract: Karl E. Weick In contrast to the prevailing image that elements in organizations are coupled through dense, tight linkages, it is proposed that elements are often tied together frequently and loosely. Using educational organizations as a case in point, it is argued that the concept of loose coupling incorporates a surprising number of disparate observations about organizations, suggests novel functions, creates stubborn problems for methodologists, and generates intriguing questions for scholars. Sample studies of loose coupling are suggested and research priorities are posed to foster cumulative work with this concept.1
6,410 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1979
TL;DR: Aldrich's organizational change model as mentioned in this paper focuses on the processes of variation, selection, retention, and struggle of an organization and its environment, rather than a set of focal organizations.
Abstract: When Organizations and Environments was originally issued in 1979, it increased interest in evolutionary explanations of organizational change. Since then, scholars and practitioners have widely cited the book for its innovative answer to this question: Under what conditions do organizations change? Aldrich achieves theoretical integration across 13 chapters by using an evolutionary model that captures the essential features of relations between organizations and their environments. This model explains organizational change by focusing on the processes of variation, selection, retention, and struggle. The "environment," as conceived by Aldrich, does not refer simply to elements "out there"-beyond a set of focal organizations-but rather to concentrations of resources, power, political domination, and most concretely, other organizations. Scholars using Aldrich's model have examined the societal context within which founders create organizations and whether those organizations survive or fail, rise to prominence, or sink into obscurity. A preface to the reprinted edition frames the utility of this classic for tomorrow's researchers and businesspeople.
2,654 citations
TL;DR: The increasing liberalization of markets coupled with the creation of new markets for intermediate products is stripping firm-level competitive advantage back to its fundamental core: difficult to create and difficult to imitate intangible assets as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The increasing liberalization of markets coupled with the creation of new markets for intermediate products is stripping firm-level competitive advantage back to its fundamental core: difficult to create and difficult to imitate intangible assets. This article explores these developments and elucidates implications for the management of intellectual capital inside firms.
2,279 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present five recurring voices that focus separately on causation, typology, effects, compensations, and outcomes of loose coupling, and suggest more precise and more productive uses of the concept.
Abstract: Diverse applications of the concept of loose coupling are embodied in five recurring voices that focus separately on causation, typology, effects, compensations, and outcomes. Each has a tendency to drift away from a dialectical interpretation of loose coupling toward a unidimensional interpretation of loose coupling, thereby weakening the explanatory value of the concept. The authors first use the five voices to review the loose coupling literature and then to suggest more precise and more productive uses of the concept.
2,178 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1998
TL;DR: In this article, the authors look at the policies and procedures that are necessary to effectively manage relationships with third parties, whether they are clients, suppliers, or consultants, and examine the procedures that need to be implemented for contracts with all of these groups and also the types of checks that should be made before carrying out business with them.
Abstract: This chapter looks at the policies and procedures that are necessary to effectively manage relationships with third parties, whether they are Clients, suppliers, or consultants. It addresses issues such as access to the laboratory and its resources, Service Level Agreements, outsourcing, and the use of sub-contractors. It examines the procedures that need to be implemented for contracts with all of these groups and also details the types of checks that should be made before carrying out business with them. This chapter also deals with ways in which conflict resolution, whether with suppliers or Clients can be managed.
1,555 citations