| 1. |
- Kifokeris, Dimosthenis, 1988, et al.
(author)
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Lost and found in translation: top-down decoupling and bottom-up recoupling of strategies and practices in construction production
- 2021
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In: Proceedings of the 37th Annual ARCOM Conference, ARCOM 2021. ; , s. 532-541
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Researchers have noted an apparent decoupling between construction production strategies formulated at upper management, and their top-down translation into onsite practices. In this paper, we revisit the research question of how and why there is such a decoupling and use that to conceptualise a primarily bottom-up schema of production strategizing, drawing on site managers’ perspectives. As such, we conduct a Sweden-specific literature review focusing on (s) lean construction production practice variants, and (b) site managers’ dispositions towards production strategy improvements imposed by upper organisational levels - which may not align with hands-on best practices. The findings show that production-oriented lean construction variants aiming at strategy or on-site processes may lack an interface altogether; furthermore, there exists a decoupling between the standardisation logic of the strategic top-down view of production, and site managers’ tendency to act in free problem-solving roles. We then use the strategy as process and practice (SAPP) framework to integrate those findings and conceptualise a best practice-informed production strategising schema. This schema favours bottom-up production strategising, but also considers a loop-like collaboration approach - in an effort to integrate the benefits from a top-down production standardisation, with the flexible bottom-up buffer zones allowing for innovations and out-of-box solutions.
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| 2. |
- Löwstedt, Martin, 1982, et al.
(author)
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Digitaliseringsdrivna värden och affärsmodeller i samhällsbyggnadssektorns ekosystem: En detaljerad framtidsspaning
- 2022
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- I denna slutrapport avrapporteras det strategiska projektet Digitaliseringsdrivna värden och affärsmodeller i samhällsbyggnadssektorns ekosystem: En detaljerad framtidsspaning. Studiens utgångspunkt är att det saknats insikter kring hur digitala tekniker kan komma att förändra värdeskapande och affärslogiker i samhällsbyggnadssektorn. Syftet med studien är därmed att via ett ekosystemsperspektiv kartlägga hur värde kopplat till digitalisering skapas idag av aktörerna i samhällsbyggnadssektorns traditionella värdekedja och utifrån det identifiera, diskutera och katalysera framtida omställningar av digitaliseringsdrivna värden och affärsmodeller genom en detaljerad framtidsspaning. Totalt har 46 företag och organisationer bidragit till studien med sina perspektiv, antingen via intervjuer, referensgruppsmöte, och/eller deltagande i scenarioworkshop. Fokus i datainsamlingen är att ta fram detaljerade framtidsspaningar kring digital transformation i samhällsbyggnadssektorn. Olika digitala tekniker förväntas spela en mycket mer central roll och generera ett förändrat värdeskapande. Därmed förändras även ekosystemet i sin sammansättning och interaktionsmönster. Studien identifierar tre aktörskategorier med olika affärsmodellslogiker inom ramen för digital transformation. ’Samhällsbyggarnas’ affärsmodellslogiker bygger på att digitala verktyg främst används för att förbättra befintliga processer med tekniknyttan i fokus. ’Digitaliserarnas’ affärsmodellslogiker är grundade i digitalisering och erbjuder digitala lösningar för att effektivisera och förbättra ‘samhällsbyggarnas’ befintliga processer. Här är tekniknyttan därmed lika med affärsnytta, inte minst genom den handpåläggning och de tjänster som krävs för att anpassa de digitala verktygen efter specifika behov. ’Game Changers’ affärsmodellslogiker är också grundade i digitalisering, men här är det värdet av data som översätts till ny affärsnytta via data-drivna affärsmodeller. Datagenererande interface (framför allt kunddata men potentiellt vilken data som helst) är den största tillgången som i sin tur möjliggör nya kundinteraktioner och erbjudanden i kontaktytorna mellan delprocesserna design, produktion och användning. Studiens samlade resultat pekar på två övergripande (och överlappande) framtidsscenarion för digital transformation: ’IT-baserad processintegration’ och ’Data som affärsvärde’. Gemensamt för dessa scenarios är att en omsättning av samhällsbyggandets enorma mängder data skapar helt nya möjligheter: signifikant effektivare processer, ny integration av processer samt nya erbjudanden. Sammantaget skapas helt nya affärsvärden och intäktsströmmar. Det nya värdeskapandet genereras i de kontaktytor som finns mellan delprocesserna design, produktion och användning samt i nya leverantör- och kundinterfaces. Även fast det fysiska byggobjektet alltid kommer vara den grundläggande produkten för samhällsbyggnadssektorn, så pekar studiens resultat på att ekosystemets totala värde kommer omdistribueras från produktionen av det fysiska byggobjektet till nya typer av värdeströmmar kopplade till samhällsbyggandets data. Detta komma leda till att befintliga roller förändras och nya roller och positioner uppstår, vilket i sin tur skapar en mer omfattande transformation av samhällsbyggnadssektorns ekosystem. Studiens resultat kan sammanfattas i åtta slutsatser formulerade som framtidsspaningar kring digital transformation i samhällsbyggnadssektorns ekosystem: • I framtiden karaktäriseras nya framgångsrika affärsmodellslogiker av förmågan att samla och extrahera värde av data både för att effektivisera processer samt skapa nya erbjudanden och affärer. • I framtiden har digitala verktyg möjliggjort en helt ’sömlös’ processintegration mellan design, produktion och användning så att helt nya logiker för organisering av samhällsbyggandet uppstår. • I framtiden kommer en stor del av värdeskapandet genererat av fysiska produkter och byggnadsobjekt omdistribueras till värdet av data kopplat till dessa. • I framtiden kommer de mest radikala förändringarna uppstå i de dynamiska flödena där ’data’ förädlas till värde, snarare än de sekventiella flödena där ’brädor’ förädlas till byggobjekt. • I framtiden kommer en stor del av leverantör/utförarekundinteraktioner ske via data-drivna plattformar som skapar helt nya kopplingar, relationer och konstellationer, både inom samhällsbyggnadssektorns ekosystem och till andra ekosystem. • I framtiden kommer dagens generalistroller inom design, produktion och användning försvinna och ersättas av: i) vertikal integration med design, produktion och användande in-house samt ii) en extrem nischad specialisering för att kunna applicera specifika kunskaper och erfarenheter för att komplettera de digital verktygens förmågor. • I framtiden kommer ’Samhällsbyggarna’ möta hård konkurrens från aktörer som agerar enligt ’Game Changers’-logiken, som via en ny typ av ledarskap utmanar gamla sanningar om samhällsbyggnadssektorns strukturella och kulturella hinder för förändring generellt och digital transformation specifikt. • I framtiden kommer relationsbyggande att ha en avgörande betydelse om de befintliga ’Samhällsbyggarna’ ska kunna tillskansa sig de förmågor som krävs för att skapa konkurrenskraft med avseende på det enorma värdet som finns i data.
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| 3. |
- Löwstedt, Martin, 1982, et al.
(author)
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Leadership under construction: A qualitative exploration of leadership processes in construction companies in Sweden.
- 2021
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In: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management - ASCE. - 1943-7862 .- 0733-9364. ; 147:12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Leadership has increasingly been advocated as a potent organizing practice, linked positively to several performance dimensionsas well as successful organizational development and change. Despite these alleged promises, the specific characteristics of leadership proc-esses as they unfold in a construction context have not been fully captured by construction researchers. This paper is predicated on anidentified lack of methodological richness underlying leadership studies in construction. While a growing number of contributions havequantitatively tested the ideas and models of leadership scholars, few have qualitatively explored the experiences and interpretations ofthe actual people that practice leadership in their daily work in construction companies. Drawing on a rich qualitative interview study, thispaper analyzes open-ended stories about leadership in the largest construction companies in Sweden. The findings show how leadership styleshave been shaped to align with traditional work and organizing principles, but also how they, by the same token, pose a seemingly unresolvedtension with change initiatives that seek to reorganize to improve organizational performance. Altogether, these findings indicate that there aregrounds to question the transformative potential of leadership in construction companies, as practiced today. The paper concludes by outliningthe practical implications of these findings, together with some analytical generalizations that can serve as pointers for a strengthened lead-ership agenda in construction research, one that is characterized by an increased methodological richness and accentuated focus on thecontext-specific aspects of leadership
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| 4. |
- Löwstedt, Martin, 1982, et al.
(author)
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Standardizing the free and independent professional: The case of construction site managers in Sweden
- 2020
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In: Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management. - 1365-232X .- 0969-9988. ; 27:6, s. 1337-1355
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose Research concerned with standardization of the construction process has generally considered the challenges from only rational and instrumental perspectives. The purpose of this paper is to foreground a social perspective of this challenge. Specifically, the work of construction site managers is explored through a professional work lens in order to emphasize significant misalignments with the principles of standardized production in the construction industry. Design/methodology/approach Data are drawn from a longitudinal (2014-ongoing) case study of site managers' work in a large Swedish construction company. The research design is characterized by an explorative approach, altogether consisting of 44 in-depth interviews at the site manager level (28) and at other managerial levels (16). All the interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed particularly to highlight two contrasting dominant discourses: "standardized construction production" and "site manager work." Findings The findings show that site manager's work is enmeshed with a particular type of professional expertise and identity that is ideologically crafted around a proclivity for free and independent work. It is outlined in detail how these social dimensions of work are enacted to form an ongoing (and successful) resistance to organizational initiatives that are based on principles of standardization. Originality/value This study improves our understanding of an unresolved social challenge that impedes the transformation toward more standardized construction production. It adds new perspectives and value to current research by reminding that (and how) significant changes in production processes also seriously implicate professional work.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Sandberg, Rikard, 1984, et al.
(author)
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Working in a loosely coupled system: exploring practices and implications of coupling work on construction sites
- 2021
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In: Construction Management and Economics. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1466-433X .- 0144-6193. ; 39:3, s. 212-226
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The conceptualization of construction as a loosely coupled system has been widely used to explain behaviour within the industry. In this article, we revisit the concept by exploring what it means to work at the micro-level within this system. Adopting a practice lens, this study focuses on the daily work of site managers, a category of workers who often have been described to have a hub-like role in construction projects. The findings highlight how their work consists of activities that can be seen as mundane, yet simultaneously fill an important coupling function in the projects, which we conceptualize as coupling work. Coupling work denotes a managerial work practice through which site managers use slack from the parent organization to tighten site-activities. However, they do so in a particular way that tightens the projects closer to their own authority which, in turn, sustains organizational loose coupling. The study contributes to debates on change and development in construction by showing how coupling work is produced and reproduced to preserve the autonomy and control of site managers.
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| 7. |
- Styhre, Alexander, et al.
(author)
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Pastoral power in leadership work: the relational leadership idiom in the construction industry
- 2023
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In: Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management. - 1746-5656 .- 1746-5648. ; 18:1, s. 84-101
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose Drawing on the literature on pastoral power, a term introduced by Foucault that denotes a specific form of authority based on the subordinate's open communication regarding aspirations, interests and personal concerns, having the full faith in the leader's care of the subordinate's welfare, this article report empirical material from a study of Swedish construction industry. Design/methodology/approach Leadership practices are contingent on context and situation, and over time, authoritative leadership practices have been complemented by relational leadership that increasingly emphasizes the bilateral communication between manager and subordinate. The more communicative and "soft" leadership idiom may have both benefits and incur unanticipated consequences and conditions that need to be studied on basis of empirical materials. Findings Managers in the construction industry emphasize how subordinates increasingly turn to their closest managers to address a variety of concerns. Even though managers recognizes the value of providing personalized support, there is a risk that such a leadership idiom distract both managers and subordinates, i.e. counseling activities consume too much resources, making agents less prone to fully attend to proper project goals. Originality/value To consider contemporary leadership practices as partially premised on pastoral power provides new analytical possibilities that shed light on how leadership practice needs to correspond with new demands in the corporate setting.
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| 8. |
- Svensson, Ingrid, 1987, et al.
(author)
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Navigating the logics of changing public facilities management
- 2021
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In: Facilities. - 0263-2772. ; 39:11-12, s. 737-758
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Abstract Purpose–The purpose of this paper is to explore how a multitude of demands and challenges faced bypublic facilities management organizations ’(PFMOs) particularly in relation to a large building stock in need of measures ’are acted upon and negotiated in practice. Specifically this study asks: What are the institutional logics (IL) that constitute the organizational context of PFMOs? How does an institutional worker navigate to create change in PFMOs? Design/methodology/approach–Data were collected through a case study of a public facility management organization and include interviews, a questionnaire, observations and organizationaldocuments. The analytical focus is the work of a single actor, a project manager portrayed as “the navigator” and his institutional work (IW) of developing and implementing new organizational practices, to meet current challenges and develop a more “strategic” facility management. Findings–The complex institutional landscape faced by officials in PFMOs enforce officials responsible for implementing and developing new practices to become navigators. Originality/value–The findings offer a rich practice-based account of the day-to-day IW carried out by actorsthat try to navigate complex institutional landscapes, consisting of multiple and, at times, conflicting IL. Current challenges for PFMOs are to be portrayed as multi-dimensional and the actual work to transform organizational practices in this context is highly complex, unordered and messy. The findings point towards a need for new competences and roles to tackle current challenges; geared towards integrating different logics and perspectives.
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| 9. |
- Ulutas Duman, Dilek, 1985, et al.
(author)
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Moving Beyond 'Business as Usual'? Exploring Digital Transformation in the Swedish Construction Sector
- 2022
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In: In: Tutesigensi, A and Neilson, C J (Eds) Proceedings of the 38th Annual ARCOM Conference. ; :38th annual conference, s. 45-51
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Digital transformation (DT) refers to a process of integrating digital technologies that will lead to new forms of relationship among actors; organisational processes; and business models. It is frequently portrayed as something that can improve; but also, potentially disrupt; the construction sector (CS) as we know it today. As DT requires distributed actions; collaboration; and coordination across inter-organisational boundaries in the sector; we apply an ecosystem perspective to explore the current state of DT in 14 Swedish construction incumbent firms. Findings show the need to address the heterogeneity of the actors; their respective roles; positions in the value chain. The sense of urgency to transform is highest for actors with business models based on selling hours. DT is mainly linked to incremental improvements regarding internal efficiency and cost reductions rather than exploitation of new business models. Finally, the role of leadership in the transformation process is rather absent and the actors take a more reactive role waiting for others to demand change.
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