Lars Stehn and Alexander Jimenez
The purpose of this paper is to understand if and how industrialized house building (IHB) could support productivity developments for housebuilding on project and industry levels…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand if and how industrialized house building (IHB) could support productivity developments for housebuilding on project and industry levels. The take is that fragmentation of construction is one explanation for the lack of productivity growth, and that IHB could be an integrating method of overcoming horizontal and vertical fragmentation.
Design/methodology/approach
Singe-factor productivity measures are calculated based on data reported by IHB companies and compared to official produced and published research data. The survey covers the years 2013–2020 for IHB companies building multi-storey houses in timber. Generalization is sought through descriptive statistics by contrasting the data samples to the used means to control vertical and horizontal fragmentation formulated as three theoretical propositions.
Findings
According to the results, IHB in timber is on average more productive than conventional housebuilding at the company level, project level, in absolute and in growth terms over the eight-year period. On the company level, the labour productivity was on average 10% higher for IHB compared to general construction and positioned between general construction and general manufacturing. On the project level, IHB displayed an average cost productivity growth of 19% for an employed prefabrication degree of about 45%.
Originality/value
Empirical evidence is presented quantifying so far perceived advantages of IHB. By providing analysis of actual cost and project data derived from IHB companies, the article quantifies previous research that IHB is not only about prefabrication. The observed positive productivity growth in relation to the employed prefabrication degree indicates that off-site production is not a sufficient mean for reaching high productivity and productivity growth. Instead, the capabilities to integrate the operative logic of conventional housebuilding together with logic of IHB platform development and use is a probable explanation of the observed positive productivity growth.
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Lars Stehn, Susanne Engström, Petri Uusitalo and Rita Lavikka
To further the understanding of industrialised house building (IHB) from a temporal, emergent corporate-ability perspective, this study aims to trace the build-up of corporate…
Abstract
Purpose
To further the understanding of industrialised house building (IHB) from a temporal, emergent corporate-ability perspective, this study aims to trace the build-up of corporate assets in an IHB company over time. The research draws on dynamic capabilities, acknowledging not only what assets the company have developed and currently are exploiting, but also how these assets were develop and managed (i.e. enhanced, combined, protected and potentially reconfigured) to sustain long-term competitiveness.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study design was used to form a narrative that covers the evolution of an IHB company over a 25-year period. Corporate archival material, analysis of original data from a large number of research studies during 1993-2013 and retrospective reflections of owners and managers, including crosschecking interpretations of archival material, developed and triangulated the narrative.
Findings
The study presents rich empirical findings on the build-up of corporate assets. Starting from a successive process of exploration and exploitation formation of dynamic capabilities eventually played out into an exponential dynamic capability build-up. The IHB case company displays the ability to not only continuously exploit and renew resources and competences, but also to sense, seize and reconfigure cumulative assets over time. The exponential development of dynamic capabilities resonates to literature on higher-order dynamic capabilities implying that: the accumulated and higher-order dynamic capabilities are difficult to imitate and a (any) company must possess higher-order dynamic capabilities to be able to exploit and/or take up IHB.
Originality/value
The study is complementing and potentially challenging frequent framings of the IHB concept. Previous research has addressed and characterised IHB mainly by encapsulating a moment in time and, thus, characteristics are momentary and represent static views on IHB. However, IHB has seen a strong development over the past 25 years, and the study reflects on this development from the perspective of one of the IHB-forerunner companies in Sweden. By exploring from a company perspective the developments, reconfiguration and capacity to develop/reconfigure over time in a changing environment, the study introduces an alternative understanding of IHB as dynamic capabilities.
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Jerker Lessing, Lars Stehn and Anders Ekholm
– This article aims to describe the development of industrialised house-building (IHB) to increase the understanding of the field.
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to describe the development of industrialised house-building (IHB) to increase the understanding of the field.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on an extensive literature study and a case study with three companies, studied between 2005 and 2013 which enabled an in-depth knowledge about the companies’ development within IHB. Interviews, observations and document studies are the main sources of information in the case studies.
Findings
IHB is a complex field, consisting of several constructs that need to be integrated and continuously developed. Development of structured technical building systems has been central to the development of IHB along with developed production methods and processes. The interest in organisational fit or adaptation to industrialisation and strategy concerning business, production and products is increasing. This implies that IHB needs to be managed strategically and not on a building project level.
Practical implications
The article gives an orientation on how leading companies have structured and organised their work within industrialisation, giving valuable advice to practitioners with interest in the field.
Originality/value
This article describes the development of IHB based on studies of literature and three Swedish IHB companies’ development. This provides an aggregated view of the field’s emergence and unique information about the studied companies’ development.
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Sakari Kinnunen, Petteri Annunen and Jaakko Kujala
Industrialized construction (IC) is growing globally as an alternative and supplemental construction concept. High expectations have been set for IC to solve existing problems in…
Abstract
Purpose
Industrialized construction (IC) is growing globally as an alternative and supplemental construction concept. High expectations have been set for IC to solve existing problems in the industry and enhance productivity. This study aims to identify the most intriguing challenges hindering industrialized wooden multi-story construction (WMC) in the Finnish context from a contractor’s perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
Methodologically, this study was a qualitative, single-case study with an inductive approach. Data were collected through five semi-structured interviews and analyzed using NVivo software. Observations were coded and classified into 10 categories and finally synthesized into 3 themes.
Findings
The results revealed that industrialized WMC companies are generating many innovations, primarily occurring at the company level. However, shortages in product systems and operation models, such as concept inflexibility and insufficient design fidelity and quality control practices, hinder the progress of industrialization. The findings also indicate that within the pre-fabrication context, production capacity management and cash flow management are key control factors in industrialized WMC. Strong variation in regulatory interpretation by authorities creates a significant challenge for IC concept development and project management.
Originality/value
This study endorses the existing research findings, highlights a new perspective on challenges in IC and highlights the importance of increasing cooperation between companies engaged in industrialization measures, accelerating the development of individual companies and fostering a more appropriate industry structure.
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Yaw A. Debrah and Ian G. Smith
Presents over sixty abstracts summarising the 1999 Employment Research Unit annual conference held at the University of Cardiff. Explores the multiple impacts of globalization on…
Abstract
Presents over sixty abstracts summarising the 1999 Employment Research Unit annual conference held at the University of Cardiff. Explores the multiple impacts of globalization on work and employment in contemporary organizations. Covers the human resource management implications of organizational responses to globalization. Examines the theoretical, methodological, empirical and comparative issues pertaining to competitiveness and the management of human resources, the impact of organisational strategies and international production on the workplace, the organization of labour markets, human resource development, cultural change in organisations, trade union responses, and trans‐national corporations. Cites many case studies showing how globalization has brought a lot of opportunities together with much change both to the employee and the employer. Considers the threats to existing cultures, structures and systems.
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Poses the question: what are the consequences of employing a household help on the domestic division of labour? Researches this question by talking to ten couples who employ…
Abstract
Poses the question: what are the consequences of employing a household help on the domestic division of labour? Researches this question by talking to ten couples who employ cleaners. Reports that employing some sort of domestic help has enabled middle‐class women to enter employment in greater numbers than ever before and that it is simply too costly to a family’s economy to have an educated female potential wage‐earner concentrating on unpaid domestic tasks. Refers to a “stalled revolution“, whereby men (theoretically) are carrying out a greater share of domestic tasks but (in actuality) women do not report any great difference. Notes also, that it is increasingly difficult to rely on assistance from relatives. Puts forward reasons for and against the employment of domestic help, as well as four perspectives – the individual perspective, the gender perspective, the general structure of society, and the labour market, and social policy – relating to the consequences of employing a cleaner. Explores “partner‐typology”, determined on a continuum stretching from traditional role‐held beliefs to symmetrical roles for men and women. Concludes that employing domestic help leads to a more equal relationship between the employing couple, that housework is perceived as an increasingly unattractive option, and that new inequalities creep into the gender relationship as it is usually women who perform low‐paid domestic work.
Samuel Forsman, Niclas Björngrim, Anders Bystedt, Lars Laitila, Peter Bomark and Micael Öhman
The construction industry has been criticized for not keeping up with other production industries in terms of cost efficiency, innovation, and production methods. The purpose of…
Abstract
Purpose
The construction industry has been criticized for not keeping up with other production industries in terms of cost efficiency, innovation, and production methods. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the knowledge about what hampers efficiency in supplying engineer‐to‐order (ETO) joinery‐products to the construction process. The objective is to identify the main contributors to inefficiency and to define areas for innovation in improving this industry.
Design/methodology/approach
Case studies of the supply chain of a Swedish ETO joinery‐products supplier are carried out, and observations, semi‐structured interviews, and documents from these cases are analysed from an efficiency improvement perspective.
Findings
From a lean thinking and information modelling perspective, longer‐term procurement relations and efficient communication of information are the main areas of innovation for enhancing the efficiency of supplying ETO joinery‐products. It seems to be possible to make improvements in planning and coordination, assembly information, and spatial measuring through information modelling and spatial scanning technology. This is likely to result in an increased level of prefabrication, decreased assembly time, and increased predictability of on‐site work.
Originality/value
The role of supplying ETO joinery‐products is a novel research area in construction. There is a need to develop each segment of the manufacturing industry supplying construction and this paper contributes to the collective knowledge in this area. The focus is on the possibilities for innovation in the ETO joinery‐products industry and on its improved integration in the construction industry value chain in general.
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Anders Segerstedt and Thomas Olofsson
The purpose of this paper is to introduce a special issue about the construction industry and the management of its supply chains. It aims to discuss and point to some differences…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce a special issue about the construction industry and the management of its supply chains. It aims to discuss and point to some differences and possible similarities with traditional manufacturing and its supply chains.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is mostly a literature review and contains official statistics.
Findings
The market of the construction company is mostly local and highly volatile. The long durability of the construction “product” contributes to the volatility. The product specification process before the customer order arrives shows different degrees of specifications: engineer to order, modify to order, configure to order, select a variant. (The common make‐to‐stock in traditional manufacturing does not exist.) A construction company only executes a small part of the project by its own personnel and capacity. This is a way of risk spreading and risk mitigation and to compensate for an unstable market. If a construction company wants to establish a new concept, from “engineer to order” to e.g. “configure to order”, it must be engaged earlier in the business process and with other than usual customers, which might complicate the process.
Research limitations/implications
Experiences from Sweden and Swedish developments are the main source of information.
Originality/value
The paper introduces the articles that are a source of scientifically generated knowledge regarding various problems and opportunities associated with supply chain management in the project‐based construction industry.
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Krushna Mahapatra, Leif Gustavsson and Kerstin Hemström
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…
Abstract
Purpose
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).
Design/methodology/approach
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.
Findings
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.
Research limitations/implications
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.
Practical implications
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.
Originality/value
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.