Public demand is emphasized as a major driving force for environmental innovation addressing societal transitions. In 2007, the European Commission adopted the ‘lead market initiative’ to tackle grand societal challenges across several industrial sectors, of which construction has the greatest sustainability impact. To study how public clients can create lead markets for environmental innovation in construction, we build on recent advancements emphasizing market-shaping strategies as critical for societal transitions. The paper investigates how public construction clients proactively use and combine market-shaping strategies to create lead markets for environmental innovations. Our empirical findings, from a multiple-case study of three public construction clients in Sweden, illustrate how the clients use and combine a broad range of market-shaping strategies related to seven groups of lead market advantages. We contribute to theory by cross-fertilizing market-shaping and lead market literatures and showing how market-shaping strategies interplay in achieving combinatory effects, which incentivize creation of lead markets for environmental innovation towards sustainability transitions.

Offentlig efterfrågan betonas som en viktig drivkraft för miljöinnovation som möter samhällsförändringar. År 2007 antog Europeiska kommissionen initiativet 'lead market initiative' för att ta itu med stora samhällsutmaningar inom flera industrisektorer, där byggnation har störst hållbarhetseffekt. För att studera hur offentliga beställarekan skapa ledande marknader för miljöinnovation inom byggnation bygger vi vidare på senaste framsteg som betonar marknadsskapande strategier som avgörande för samhällsförändringar. Artikeln undersöker hur offentliga beställare proaktivt använder och kombinerar marknadsskapande strategier för att skapa ledande marknader för miljöinnovationer. Våra empiriska fynd, från en fallstudie med flera olika offentliga beställare i Sverige, illustrerar hur beställarna använder och kombinerar ett brett spektrum av marknadsskapande strategier kopplade till sju grupper av ledande marknadsfördelar. Vi bidrar till teorin genom att korsbefrukta litteratur om market shaping och lead market och visa hur marknadsskapande strategier samverkar för att uppnå kombinatoriska effekter, vilket uppmuntrar skapandet av ledande marknader för miljöinnovation mot hållbarhetsförflyttningar.

This paper examines the gap between macro-level calls for innovation and the micro-level enactment, by exploring the discrepancies between a public client’s pursuit of innovation and the actions taken at the project level. Through empirical analysis of four infrastructure operation and maintenance projects, we identify discrepancies within and between procurement strategies and project-level practices. Taking a strategy-as-practice perspective, our study shows how procurement strategies are adapted and enacted by inter-organizational project actors, shedding light on why macro-level innovation intent may not translate into expected outcomes at the project level. Our findings underscore the importance of aligning macro-level directives with micro-level actions to drive innovation in construction projects effectively. This research contributes to a better understanding of the dynamics shaping innovation in construction projects, highlighting the critical role of procurement strategies in bridging macro and micro contexts to achieve sustainable development goals.

Denna artikel undersöker gapet mellan makronivåkrav på innovation och mikronivå-implementering, genom att undersöka skillnaderna mellan en offentlig beställares innovationsvilja och de åtgärder som vidtas på projektnivå. Genom empirisk analys av fyra drift- och underhållsprojekt (inom basunderhåll väg) identifierar vi skillnader inom och mellan upphandlingsstrategier och projektnivåpraxis. Med ett strategi-som-praktik-perspektiv visar vår studie hur upphandlingsstrategier anpassas och genomförs av projektaktörer mellan organisationer, vilket belyser varför makronivåns innovationsintention kanske inte översätts till förväntade resultat på projektnivå. Våra resultat understryker vikten av att anpassa makronivådirektiv till mikronivååtgärder för att effektivt driva innovation i anläggningsprojekt. Denna forskning bidrar till en bättre förståelse för dynamiken bakom innovation i anläggningsprojekt och belyser den avgörande rollen som upphandlingsstrategier har för att överbrygga makro- och mikrokontexter för att uppnå de globala målen för hållbar utveckling.

Purpose - This paper aims to identify how a public client’s use of control systems (process, output and social control) affect innovation possibilities in construction projects.

Design/methodology/approach - Semi-structured interviews about six infrastructure projects were conducted to identify respondents’ views on innovation possibilities. These possibilities were then analyzed from an organizational control perspective within principal–agent relationships between the Swedish Transport Administration (STA) and their contractors.

Findings - How the client uses control systems affects innovation possibilities. Relying on process control could negatively affect innovation opportunities, whereas output control could have a positive influence. In addition, social control seems to have a weak effect, as the STA appears not to use social control to facilitate joint innovation. Public clients must comply with the Public Procurement Act and, therefore, retain the requirements specified in the tendering documents. Much of the steering of the execution is connected to the ex ante phase (before signing the contract), which affects innovation possibilities in the design and execution phases for the contractor.

Research limitations/implications

This study was conducted with only one client, thus limiting its generalizability. However, the findings provide an important stepping stone to further investigation into balancing control systems and creating innovation possibilities in a principal–agent relationship.

Originality/value - Although public procurement has increasingly been emphasized as a major potential source of innovation, studying how a public client’s use of organizational control systems affects innovation possibilities in the construction sector has received scant attention.

Using a proper control system is vital to ensure that project delivery is satisfactory for the client. Prior research has identified relationship history as a potentially vital contingency factor in organizational control, but there is a lack of research on how relationship history affects how different control systems function in project-based contexts. In the Swedish infrastructure market, increased demand has resulted in a need for increased supply capacity. This has spurred new entrants that have no relationship history with the major client, the Swedish Transport Administration. The purpose is therefore to compare how the client’s control systems function in construction projects with familiar (known to the client) and unfamiliar (new to the client) contractors. The case study involves 32 interviews conducted in six infrastructure projects, three with unfamiliar contractors. Findings show that relationship history heavily influences how the control systems function, especially bureaucratic and clan control. The new contractors are unaccustomed with the client’s extensive use of bureaucratic control and perceive it as less suitable in design-build contracts. Furthermore, the lack of relationship history reduces the opportunity to use clan control from the beginning of a project, due to unfamiliarity with both the client and the control system.

Innovation is often seen as essential for long-term development in the construction industry, but its actual outcomes and processes in construction projects require more attention. Many studies on procurement strategies and delivery systems have focussed on the public transport infrastructure sector, whereas most construction innovation scholars have addressed the innovation phenomenon in construction generally. Thus, the purpose of this study is to compare how two delivery systems, design-build (DB) and design-build-maintenance (DBM), influence project-level innovation. Findings are based on empirical data from a multiple case study of six infrastructure projects, three with DB contracts and three with DBM contracts, in which 12 innovations are identified, described, and compared. The findings show that various kinds of innovations in terms of outcomes and processes are implemented in infrastructure projects, and that the delivery system do effect both dimensions. Long maintenance responsibilities tend to spur contractors to engage in early exploration of sustainable solutions that could be of long-term benefit. The research contributes to procurement literature by exemplifying how delivery systems influence both the outcomes and processes of project-level innovations. It also increases our knowledge about construction innovation as a multi-dimensional phenomenon.

Construction is traditionally a trade that produces unique, one-off products designed specifically according to the project requirements. However, recently developed flexible product and process platforms in industrialized house building based on the theory of mass customisation offer products that can be customized to a large extent with affordable costs. In this paper we present a framework for how a product and process platform can be developed and used in a traditional engineer-to-order design and construction of transport infrastructure products. The framework is exemplified in a case study, where a typical concrete bridge type is modularised and customized using a product configurator.  A database driven simulation model using process patterns and values stored in the platform, is then constructed to test the buildability of the bridge configuration. The results presented provide evidence that product and process platforms can support the design, and planning process of transport infrastructure projects, by integrating product and process information. The results specifically demonstrate how product configuration and database-driven simulation can be used to evaluate the effects of design alternatives and construction methods on performance measures such as productivity and environmental impact.

Construction is traditionally a trade that produces unique, one-off products designed specifically according to the project requirements. However, recently developed flexible product and process platforms in industrialized house building based on the theory of mass customisation offer products that can be customized to a large extent with affordable costs. In this paper we present a framework for how a product and process platform can be developed and used in a traditional engineer-to-order design and construction of transport infrastructure products. The framework is exemplified in a case study, where a typical concrete bridge type is modularised and customized using a product configurator.  A database driven simulation model using process patterns and values stored in the platform, is then constructed to test the buildability of the bridge configuration. The results presented provide evidence that product and process platforms can support the design, and planning process of transport infrastructure projects, by integrating product and process information. The results specifically demonstrate how product configuration and database-driven simulation can be used to evaluate the effects of design alternatives and construction methods on performance measures such as productivity and environmental impact.

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from construction processes are a serious concern globally. Of the several approaches taken to assess emissions, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) based methods do not just take into account the construction phase, but consider all phases of the life cycle of the construction. However, many current LCA approaches make general assumptions regarding location and effects, which do not do justice to the inherent dynamics of normal construction projects. This study presents a model to assess the embodied energy and associated GHG emissions, which is specifically adapted to address the dynamics of infrastructure construction projects. The use of the model is demonstrated on the superstructure of a prefabricated bridge. The findings indicate that Building Information Models/Modeling (BIM) and Discrete Event Simulation (DES) can be used to efficiently generate project-specific data, which is needed for estimating the embodied energy and associated GHG emissions in construction settings. This study has implications for the advancement of LCA-based methods (as well as project management) as a way of assessing embodied energy and associated GHG emissions related to construction.

Improving productivity is a central challenge in most industries and so also in construction. In many countries, such as Great Britain and US (Egan, 1998; Huang et al., 2009; Teichholz, 2001), governmental reports and research publications have highlighted the slow growth of productivity in the construction industry. In Sweden the urgency of improving productivity and client satisfaction in the construction industry have initiated a number of government investigations (SOU, 2002; SOU, 2009; SOU, 2012).

A recent investigation of government clients' actions to improve productivity and innovation in infrastructure projects have recommended better planning regarding the procurements of projects, increased amount of turnkey contracts and that the sector must become more industrialized. As a response, the Swedish Transportation Administration has launched a research and innovation program where an increased industrial mindset and standardization of products is on the agenda. With the exception of the process-based housing sector, increased industrialization has however been difficult to achieve in the project-based construction industry.

The aim of the research is to find the most important parts and processes that can be industrialized to make bridge construction projects more efficient. Empirical data has been collected through questionnaire surveys, workshop and case studies. The data has resulted in four appended papers with focus on mapping the concept of industrialization. Each paper contributes to the aim, but focuses on different aspects of the concept.

An interesting aspect of the empirical results from the research is the multi-facetted view practitioners and industry experts have on industrialization, a concept involving elements like prefabrication, standardization and processes. Many of the identified core elements of industrialization focus on processes (long-term) rather than projects (short-term). Some major barriers for industrialization are identified involving: lack of repetition possibilities, strict norms and rules, Design-bid-build contracts, government regulations, and the existing conservatism in the infrastructure sector. Interesting is that out of the five largest barriers, three could be traced back to the client role. As such, the clients (i.e. STA in Sweden) must address these barriers in order to enhance increased industrialization. Launch of the long-term research and innovation program by STA, where increased industrialization throughout the value chain and standardization of products are on the agenda, is a first step toward breaking down barriers, hence possibilities for increased productivity.

Standardization of parts and products is shown to be a possible way of decreasing complexity related to on-site construction. Case studies have shown that massive saving in terms of time can be achieved utilizing prefabrication instead of traditional on-site construction. But standardization and prefabrication will not be more common as long as identified barriers like aesthetics issues and assumptions that quality is decreasing are available among practitioners. Also the small chances for large-scale production and repetitiveness are hindering standardized parts and products to be more commonly used.

The general conclusion of this research is that massive savings in terms of time can be achieved when utilizing more industrialized methods and techniques during construction of concrete bridges, but barriers have to be dealt with before long-term productivity increases can be achieved.