The Construction Industry as a Loosely Coupled System - Implications for productivity and innovativity

Previous research suggests that the construction industry is characterised by (1) particular complexity factors owing to industry specific uncertainties and interdependencies, and (2) inefficiency in operations. The aim of this paper is to analyse the operations and behaviour of firms as a means to deal with complexity. Our observations indicate that the industry as a whole appears to be featured as a loosely coupled system. Taking this as a starting point the couplings among activities, resources and actors are analysed in different dimensions. The pattern of couplings builds on three interdependent layers; tight couplings in individual projects, loose couplings in the permanent network and collective adaptations in 'the community of practice'. The paper concludes that the pattern of couplings seems to favour short-term productivity while hampering innovation and learning. Chalmers University of Technology Department of Industrial Marketing S-412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden Telephone: +46 31 772 11 96/12 11 Fax. no. +46 31 772 37 83 [email protected] [email protected]