Staged competition as a driver of construction innovation

Abstract

Innovation is critical in technological progress and economic development and has a multitude of theories to explain its processes. Globally, the construction industry has been shown to be lagging in innovation compared to other industries, representing a cause for concern in the face of industry wide needs and challenges such as addressing productivity, safety and greenhouse gas emissions. Staged Competition is defined as a ‘competition in which teams or individuals compete for a prize’ and is shown empirically to provide an alternate pathway for innovation outside the parent industry, leading to a demonstrable increase in the rate and radicalness of innovation. However, as yet there is no current theory that explains why this occurs.

Part one of this exploratory research introduces and develops the new Staged Competition Innovation (SCI) theory which builds upon existing theories of the processes of innovation within industry to explain how decision making and technological, organisational, and environmental characteristics of an industry-based competition can drive innovation activity. The theoretical framework for this new theory includes the Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) theory and Technology–Organisation–Environment (TOE) framework, both of which are well understood theories that explain the processes of innovation in an industry context. The SCI theory adds to these two foundational theories to explain how staged competitions provide: 1) a unique pathway, separate from the main industry constraints, 2) a unique environment for innovation to develop, and 3) a new pathway for adoption by industry.

Part two of the research is the development of a new Competition Decision Model (CDM) for the Australian construction industry, developed from the SCI theory and existing construction industry competitions case studies and validated through a Delphi study. The Delphi results supported the concept of staged competition for construction innovation, and the decision models’ high-level actions proposed for an organiser to hold a staged competition to increase innovation in the Australian construction industry. The three CDM actions are to 1) Demonstrate the value of the competition to industry and teams, 2) Determine the competition rules to target innovation within the brief, and 3) Demonstrate industry relevance of the innovation output. The three CDM actions are aligned with the principles of the SCI theory with a focus on assisting in practical competition design.