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The Dilemma of Innovation in the Construction Company: A Decade of Lessons Learned

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Project Management and Engineering Research

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Management and Industrial Engineering ((LNMIE))

Abstract

Innovation can be defined as the integration of non-trivial ideas capable of generating positive changes that increase a company’s competitiveness. For construction companies, innovation is not an easy task, since their production is based on single projects built in different locations. This article summarizes the exploratory research conducted by the authors over the last decade, focused on the implementation, development and monitoring of a standardized innovation management system in a mid-size Spanish construction company. Collected evidence, also contrasted with other companies as well as with the sector as a whole, provide lessons learned, not only for the analyzed company, but also for construction companies in general. Innovation, in this kind of businesses, may not be a spontaneous act that appears on solving a specific problem, becoming a managerial process that can be systematized and homogenized. It allows faster identification of the involved tasks in creating new processes, products and services for companies and, therefore, their market competitiveness is improved.

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Acknowledgements

This research has been partially funded by the following organizations and projects: Universidad Católica del Maule (project MECESUP-UCM0205), Ministerio de Fomento del Gobierno de España (project 2004-36), Universitat Politècnica de València (contracts UPV-2005-0921 and UPV-2008-0629), and Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad del Gobierno de España along with FEDER funding (project BIA2014-56574-R). The authors are indebted to Francisco Vea, Ricardo Lacort and Manuel Civera for all the support provided during the research, as well as to the many participants in the different surveys, interviews, meetings and workshops carried out during these years.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Civil Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022, Valencia, Spain

    Eugenio Pellicer

  2. ICITECH, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n, 46022, Valencia, Spain

    Víctor Yepes

  3. Faculty of Engineering Sciences, Universidad Católica del Maule, San Miguel, 3605, Talca, Chile

    Christian Luis Correa

  4. GEPUC, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Vicuña Mackenna, 4860, Santiago, Chile

    Luis Fernando Alarcón

Authors
  1. Eugenio Pellicer
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  2. Víctor Yepes
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  3. Christian Luis Correa
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  4. Luis Fernando Alarcón
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Eugenio Pellicer , Víctor Yepes , Christian Luis Correa or Luis Fernando Alarcón .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad de Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain

    José Luis Ayuso Muñoz

  2. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    José Luis Yagüe Blanco

  3. Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain

    Salvador F. Capuz-Rizo

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Pellicer, E., Yepes, V., Correa, C.L., Alarcón, L.F. (2017). The Dilemma of Innovation in the Construction Company: A Decade of Lessons Learned. In: Ayuso Muñoz, J.L., Yagüe Blanco, J.L., Capuz-Rizo, S.F. (eds) Project Management and Engineering Research. Lecture Notes in Management and Industrial Engineering. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51859-6_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51859-6_2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-51858-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-51859-6

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