Distributed Innovation in Doubly Distributed Socio-Technical Systems: The Role of Digital Information Infrastructure in Architecture, Engineering and Construction Industries

Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland OH

Investigators

Abstract

Industries increasingly address large-scale, complex problems by forming multi-firm project teams. Such teams can combine skills and resources not resident within any single firm. An information infrastructure is the set of hardware, software and people that enables digitized information exchange among project-team members and supports their coordination and collaboration. Complex, large-scale projects require innovations in processes, technologies and practices among different team members (i.e. distributed innovations) in order to be successful, but stimulating innovations across organizational boundaries is difficult. The role of information infrastructures in enabling distributed innovations is not well understood. This project examines the role of information infrastructure and associated organizational practices in enabling successful innovation, collaboration and coordination. A set of complex building projects involving architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) firms will be studied. Because the AEC industry is distributed both in the sense of relying on collaboration among autonomous firms and in the sense of deploying diverse, autonomous technologies, we refer to it as a "doubly distributed" system. The team will assess: 1. What characteristics of digital information infrastructures enable distributed innovation? 2. What are the impacts of a digital information infrastructure on the scope, pace and performance of distributed innovation? 3. How do social and institutional factors moderate the impact of digital information infrastructure on distributed innovation? 4. How does the use of digital information infrastructures transform socio-technical networks? In addition to generalizable insights with regard to these questions, the team anticipates that the research will yield some concrete suggestions for how to successfully manage large-scale, complex projects involving multiple, heterogeneous firms, particularly in the AEC industry.