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The aim of this paper is to enhance the understanding of architects’ perceptions of the propensity to adopt innovations in building construction.

Based on a theoretical underpinning of the multilevel perspective on socio-technical transitions, a web-based questionnaire (n = 412) was used to empirically investigate Swedish architects’ perceptions of innovativeness in the building construction industry. Specifically, the study looks at perceptions of the level of innovativeness (propensity to adopt innovations), relevant barriers to the adoption of innovations, the influence of different actors and ways of facilitating innovativeness.

Architects perceive a low level of innovativeness in the Swedish building construction industry because of a number of barriers of varying relevance. These barriers belong to interwoven regulative, normative and cognitive rules (i.e. institutions) that guide actor behaviour, which contribute to the path dependency of the industry. The site-specific nature of building construction, promotional activities from suppliers and the level of competition in the industry is perceived as being of little relevance. The findings suggest that a number of interventions are necessary to facilitate innovativeness of the Swedish construction industry. To change the lock-in mechanisms of the established cognitive and normative rules, regulative rules need to change as well. According to architects, contractors and construction clients are the most influential and therefore have the most power to change the rules associated with path dependency.

The focus on a single construction professional in Sweden necessitates a discussion on these perceptions from the standpoint of other actors.

Architects perceive a need for change in the construction industry and suggest that changed regulative rules can help overcome path dependency and facilitate innovativeness. Considering the strong interrelatedness of the lock-in mechanisms that guide the actors of the industry, policies may be needed to encourage and support the establishment for more sustainable development.

A multilevel perspective is used to analyse the type of barriers to innovativeness that the architects perceive as relevant and how they contribute to the resistance to change and path dependency in the building construction sector.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the influence of regulations, perceptions, and promotions on the emergence of an innovation system for wood‐framed multi‐storey buildings in Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom (UK).

This descriptive paper made a qualitative analysis of information collected mainly from secondary sources such as reports, newspapers, journal publications, conference proceedings and general internet search.

Results showed that the conditions for market growth of multi‐storey construction seemed to be the most favourable in Sweden followed by the UK and Germany. The regulations are stringent in Germany, followed by the UK and Sweden. In all countries, the construction professionals seemed to have negative perceptions regarding engineering properties of wood. Similar negative perceptions exist among the general public in Germany and the UK, but not in Sweden. The wood construction promotional activities in Germany and the UK are directed to all types of houses, while in Sweden multi‐storey buildings are targeted.

An important implication of this paper was that it highlighted the usefulness of cross‐country surveys at the European level, in order to better understand observed differences in the adoption of innovative systems. However, there might be shortcomings in the comparability of the information across the countries analysed because it was difficult to make an objective assessment of the claims made in some of the information sources. Also, there was varying and limited information about the survey methodologies used in some of the reviewed studies.

The study showed that market intervention is needed to promote radical or really new innovations such as wood construction. The variations in the promotional measures undertaken partly explained the variations in growth of wood construction system in the three countries.

The paper applied a theoretical framework on technology transition to analyse emergence of wood construction system in Germany, Sweden and the UK. The framework can be applied to analyse the development of wood construction system in other countries also.