| 1. |
- Bengtsson, Susanna Hedborg, et al.
(författare)
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Developing a neighbourhood: exploring construction projects from a project ecology perspective
- 2020
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Ingår i: Construction Management and Economics. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0144-6193 .- 1466-433X. ; 38:10, s. 964-976
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- As a consequence of ongoing urbanisation, construction projects are likely to be performed in multi-project contexts. Zooming out from the single project and focusing on the context in which construction projects are performed is suggested as a way to broaden our understanding and develop new theory. The empirical case in focus here, which is studied as a project ecology, is the development of a major urban development district, where several interdependent construction projects have been initiated in sequence and in parallel in a limited geographical area. This case poses several challenges to the developers (construction clients) who are performing their projects simultaneously, and literally, as neighbours. Therefore, we zoom out from the single construction project and put the project in a wider context on a macro level, to increase the understanding of the context in which construction projects are performed. The theoretical lens of social capital helps us zoom in on the interdependencies that develop over time, going beyond traditional, contractual and vertical relationships. Based on empirical material, including interviews and meeting observations, the findings indicate that the developers have to coordinate horizontal interdependencies between projects. The findings also show that the construction client’s role has been extended from initiating and delivering the project mission to also having a collaborator role between projects, where ambidexterity is required.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Bengtsson, Susanna Hedborg, et al.
(författare)
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Public clients' possibilities to initiate sustainable change - Exploring two Swedish clients' procurement strategies
- 2018
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Ingår i: Proceeding of the 34th Annual ARCOM Conference, ARCOM 2018. - : Association of Researchers in Construction Management. ; , s. 424-434
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Governments and municipalities often have lofty ambitions to reduce their environmental impact and enforce sustainability in the construction industry. With this in mind, it is important to study the ability of public clients to implement these ambitions in practice. Current research suggests that public clients have a strong potential to support change processes. One way of executing this potential is through procurement. Procurement can, and shall, according to the Swedish government, be used as a mean to reduce the environmental impact of the public sector. The purpose of the paper is to explore what implications the procurement strategies of two public clients have for their role as change agent for sustainability initiatives, within construction projects. The study was carried out by qualitative analysis of two cases, one from a Swedish municipality and one from the Swedish Transport Administration. The findings show that public clients do act as change agents at a policy level but struggles with implementing its ambitions in the project phase. Despite sustainability goals and the clients' pledged potential to act as change agents; they do not actually wish to take on all dimensions of a role as change agent. Practical implications from the findings include increased understanding for public clients of their need to engage in the change process on a management level in order to fully act as a change agent.
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| 4. |
- Bengtsson, Susanna Hedborg
(författare)
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Urban development project ecologies : An organisational routines perspective
- 2023
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Ingår i: Construction Project Organising. - : Wiley Blackwell. ; , s. 135-147
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Construction project organising is no longer just about planning, designing, and constructing within the single construction project. This chapter argues for the importance among both academics and practitioners to pull their head out from the single project perspective and understand the whole context as it will influence construction project organising. It looks beyond the individual project to inter-project relationships through empirical examples of organisational routines emerging between projects, managed by different private developers and public agencies (i.e. construction clients), within an urban development project ecology. An urban development district in the outskirts of Stockholm City will serve as an empirical example of an urban development project ecology with a high density of construction project organising. The project ecology focus also illustrates a new side of clients' practices, in that it is not just about procuring suppliers, but more about coordinating and organising processes.
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| 5. |
- Hedborg Bengtsson, Susanna
(författare)
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Construction client collaboration for inter-organizational innovation : do too many cooks really spoil the broth?
- 2018
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Our built environment has the power to influence where we live and work, how we transport ourselves, how and what we consume and many other behaviors in our everyday lives, in other words, it has a significant impact on our global environment and economy. Given the notable need for more sustainable development of both the global environment and economy, sustainability has become a critical factor also in the area of urban development. With this as a backdrop, the construction industry and its many actors, such as clients, contractors and suppliers, that collectively drive urban development, play a significant role in creating sustainable development.Innovation is a cornerstone to achieve development, so also in the construction industry. However, with its many interrelated organizations, projects and actors, innovation inevitably becomes inter-organizational. From an urban development perspective, inter-organizational innovation will happen in a multi-project context where several construction projects, led and executed by different actors from different organizations, become interdependent and are therefore required to collaborate. In any construction project, the client holds a key position and has been identified as a critical supporter for successful innovation and collaboration. On the back of these dynamics, the purpose of this licentiate thesis is to explore clients’ role in a multi-project context where inter-organizational innovation is initiated to drive sustainable urban development.From a contingency perspective, the purpose of this study has been explored through a multiple-case study where coordinated construction logistics, during the study, has been identified as inter-organizational innovation. The study has shown that coordinated construction logistics, developed for a multi-project context, must be developed and implemented differently than in a single project or organization. In other words, coordinated construction logistics can take the form of different types of construction innovation. The construction clients, in this thesis the building developers, are identified as being important to support innovation and collaboration within and between parallel and sequential projects. The study has also shown that different clients behave differently when inter-organizational innovation is present; whilst some are proactive to achieve development, others are hesitant and less supportive for change. The findings suggest that long-term committed clients take a more proactive stand for innovation, for example, by including innovation in their procurement strategies and reflecting on how to best implement it in their projects. Additionally, in a multi-project context, the collaboration between clients is found to be important in order to successfully implement innovation, for example to align procurement strategies with the next-door neighbors and to create opportunities to communicate with each other.A theoretical contribution from this thesis is that coordinated construction logistics, which is often seen from a supply-chain management perspective, could be considered as inter-organizational innovation. This conclusion expands the understanding of the empirical phenomenon and its context. Furthermore, adding to the on-going discussion on clients as innovation supporters, their role as a potential innovation supporter is established in a multi-project perspective, but where differences between different types of clients must be taken into account. The multi-project context also implies an increased need for client collaboration, which is often informal, why the clients themselves need to handle all the aspects of collaboration. Tentative findings indicate that in this context time, spatiality, innovation and requirements will affect this collaboration. From a practical side, the findings show that initiating and implementing inter-organizational innovation requires understanding of the context, such as project objectives and the system. For clients and governments active in urban development, the thesis can guide the understanding of the importance of collaboration and choosing procurement strategy for inter-organizational innovation.
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| 6. |
- Hedborg Bengtsson, Susanna
(författare)
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Coordinated construction logistics : an innovation perspective
- 2019
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Ingår i: Construction Management and Economics. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0144-6193 .- 1466-433X. ; 37:5, s. 294-307
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Coordinated construction logistics is an increasingly discussed topic in the Swedish construction industry. It is suggested as a means to increase efficiency in transportation, decrease material usage, coordinate health and safety on-site, etc. Much research on construction logistics has been done from a supply chain management perspective, often highlighting construction logistics as a necessary rational tool to improve efficiency in construction industry. However, could there be other ways to study this phenomenon? The purpose of this paper is to map empirically found coordinated construction logistics models and explore them as different types of innovation. The findings suggest that coordinated construction logistics models should be regarded as not being a fully embedded innovation as they have not yet changed the processes in the way they set out to do initially. Furthermore, differences are identified between company-based models, project-based models and system-based models, and suggest that differences in, for example, development, impact and objectives should be regarded both when conducting research on and when implementing coordinated construction logistics in practice. Finally, it is concluded that commitment, communication and cooperation are important when implementing coordinated construction logistics, which is in line with findings within the supply chain management literature.
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| 7. |
- Hedborg Bengtsson, Susanna
(författare)
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Coordinated Construction Logistics: an Innovation Perspective
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Coordinated construction logistics is an increasingly discussed topic in the Swedish construction industry. It is suggested as a mean to increase efficiency in transportation, decrease material usage, coordinate health and safety on-site, etc. There is much research on construction logistics seen from a supply chain management perspective, often highlighting construction logistics as a necessary rational tool to improve efficiency in construction industry. However, could there be other ways to studying this phenomenon? The purpose for this paper is to apply an innovation perspective on empirically found coordinated construction logistics models and explore them as different types of innovation and their change process. The findings suggest that the coordinated construction logistics models should so far be regarded as not fully embedded innovation as they have not yet changed the construction industry’s processes in the way they set out to do. The findings highlight differences between company-based models, project-based models, and system-based models, and suggest that differences in for example development and adoptability should be regarded both when conducting research on and when implementing coordinated construction logistics in practice.
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| 8. |
- Hedborg Bengtsson, Susanna
(författare)
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Innovation in the construction industry : Factors, actors and the client's role
- 2017
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Ingår i: Association of Researchers in Construction Management, ARCOM - 33rd Annual Conference 2017, Proceeding. - : Association of Researchers in Construction Management (ARCOM). - 9780995546318 ; , s. 104-113
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Innovation in project-based organisations (PBOs), notably in the construction industry, is challenging. Based on a literature review of innovation in PBOs and three empirical cases from the construction industry, this paper explores factors and actors that affect innovation in the 'loosely-coupled' construction industry. The literature review reveals the following factors as important for innovation: solution, initiators, impact, driving forces, development and future aim. When analysing the empirical cases, findings suggest that also the number of interdependent actors affect innovation and that the client's role becomes increasingly important as the number of interdependent actors increases. On generic level tentative findings suggests that there is a difference in scale between process innovations that are systemic or non-systemic dependent upon the number of actors involved. Furthermore, these findings shape directions for future research: to develop better understanding of systemic process innovation in the construction industry; as well as to increase the understanding of how systemic process innovation can diffuse between the interdependent and fragmented actors in the construction industry.
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| 9. |
- Hedborg Bengtsson, Susanna, et al.
(författare)
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The influence of construction project actors' motivation on externally initiated systemic innovation
- 2017
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Ingår i: PROCEEDINGS OF THE 9TH NORDIC CONFERENCE ON CONSTRUCTION ECONOMICS AND ORGANIZATION. - Lyngby : POLYTEKNISK FORLAG. - 9788750211259 ; , s. 208-219
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Urbanization and climate change are central challenges for urban development today, why a need for substantial innovation, e.g. systemic innovation, can be identified. The large amount of interdependent actors and their fragmented processes are among the key factors that hamper innovation in the construction industry. Two key actors in the industry, property developers and contractors, can be identified as important when developing innovation, due to their central roles in the construction project process. Therefore, it should be important to make them dedicated towards innovation, i.e. create motivation. This is in line with research on successful innovation development highlighting the importance of commitment and collaboration. A need seems to be present to create motivation towards innovation for key actors in the industry. Based on this, the purpose of this paper is to explore how motivation of key actors can influence development for systemic innovation in the construction industry. To explore this, a case study of the urban development project Stockholm Royal Seaport and its developed building logistic center was analyzed, adopting a model for receptive change context. Tentative findings suggest that actors' motivation for innovation is important for the development. Developers' possibility to influence through procurement strategies, to increase awareness and collaboration, can be used to create motivation for contractors.
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| 10. |
- Hedborg Bengtsson, Susanna, et al.
(författare)
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Users’ Influence on Inter-organizational Innovation : Mapping the Receptive Context
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: Innovation is constantly present in the construction industry, however, mainly on a single project level. Initiating and implementing inter-organizational innovation in a multi-project context such as in urban development entails large complexity, for example due to the many interdependent projects and users of innovation. The users’ influence on inter-organizational innovation in a multi-project context has not been fully explored. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to discuss how users influence inter-organizational innovation in multi-project contexts by mapping the receptiveness for change.Design/methodology/approach: A single case study approach was used, where empirical material including semi-structured interviews in combination with meeting observations, document studies and participative workshops. The empirical material, studying inter-organizational innovation in an urban development context, was mapped based on the receptive context for change framework.Findings: A receptive context for change was not present in the studied multi-project context. Communication to develop and implement inter-organizational innovation was not sufficient and the clients’ procurement strategies were to a large extent not developed to facilitate inter-organizational innovation. Findings suggest differences in users’ possibility and aim to implement inter-organizational innovation.Originality/value: The mapping of the receptive context to influence inter-organizational innovation widens the knowledge base on how inter-organizational innovation may be implemented in the loosely coupled construction industry. Furthermore, the paper adds knowledge to the discussion on clients as innovation supporters, by highlighting the importance of distinguishing between different types of clients.
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