The roles of captains in megaproject innovation ecosystems: the case of the Hong Kong‐Zhuhai‐Macau Bridge
Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management
ISSN: 0969-9988
Article publication date: 5 May 2020
Issue publication date: 2 April 2021
Abstract
Purpose
The megaproject is a vital innovation ecosystem for participants engaging in technological adoption and integration to achieve project goals. The purpose of this paper is to examine how ecosystem captains build and operate a megaproject innovation ecosystem (MIE). To be more specific, we conducted an in-depth case study to identify the roles played by ecosystem captains in establishing and managing a megaproject innovation ecosystem.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge project, the data we collected range from 2010 to 2019 and include semi-structured interviews, informal conversations, and archival documents. We employed an inductive theory building approach to address our research question and analyzed our data using the coding process and Atlas.ti software.
Findings
We find that the ecosystem captains themselves are client organizations that have evolved with the ecosystem during four distinct yet inter-related phases. In addition, we find that the captains’ roles of the client organizations include two typical activities: ecosystem establishment and ecosystem collaboration. The ecosystem captains first frame problems, plan innovative activities, set rules, and select participants for the establishment of the ecosystem, and then orchestrate resources, buffer conflicts, incorporate innovative networks, and cultivate an innovation culture to create a collaborative ecosystem.
Originality/value
This study proposes a theoretical framework showing how ecosystem captains engage in MIE to manage innovative activities during different stages. It highlights the importance of captainship roles in client organizations in a megaproject.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the editors and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and insightful suggestions on this paper. This study is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos 71620107004, 71942006), and Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China (No 2019M661535).
Citation
Chen, H., Jin, Z., Su, Q. and Yue, G. (2021), "The roles of captains in megaproject innovation ecosystems: the case of the Hong Kong‐Zhuhai‐Macau Bridge", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. 28 No. 3, pp. 662-680. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-01-2020-0076
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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