Description
Book SynopsisElgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary.
This impressive book challenges the orthodoxies that have dominated the construction management research (CMR) field for the past 50 years. Providing a comprehensive framework for understanding the complex and multi-faceted domain of construction, A Research Agenda for Construction Management sets out a range of alternative perspectives which problematise the axioms upon which much CMR knowledge is based and offers new directions for the research community to consider.
Chapters range from exploring approaches to better understand the industry and its various functions, to discussing how alternative theoretical positions might be mobilised to shed new light on complex socio-economic activity. By challenging the ways in which construction is viewed, this Research Agenda subjects dominant research approaches and paradigms to critical scrutiny, ultimately encouraging future researchers to reflect on and adopt more creative and meaningful approaches to their work.
By identifying new and emergent themes and exploring how these can be researched, this incisive Research Agenda will be of considerable interest to researchers and academics in the field of construction management research. Its thought-provoking chapters will also make this a fitting read for research-engaged construction practitioners.
Trade Review‘Einstein asserted that “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking that we used when we created them”. That insight encapsulates the essence of this book. The array of eminent authors address fundamental topics of research – both ‘technical’ and methodological. An essential volume for all who research Construction Management.’ -- Richard Fellows, Loughborough University, UK
‘This is an important collection from some of the leading construction management thinkers working today. As a maturing but still contested field, it is now more important than ever to embrace heterogeneity of approach and plurality of theory and to question orthodoxy and replication. Every construction management researcher should not only read this, but also draw inspiration from it.’ -- Chris Harty, London South Bank University, UK
‘This book critically explores why the narrow research agenda for construction management (CM) must change and offers several positive perspectives for doing so. Its insights move us beyond a focus on project delivery and provide a broader, fertile basis for the creating CM/ built environment knowledge. Essential reading and highly recommended.’ -- Richard Lorch, Buildings & Cities
‘Anyone with an interest in Construction Management Research needs to read this book. The editors and other experts have crafted what will become a seminal work. Whether you are beginning your research journey or are an experienced researcher – academic or practitioner – this book was written for you.’ -- Brian Atkin, Lund University, Sweden
Table of ContentsContents: 1 Construction management research: a community at a crossroads? 1 Roine Leiringer and Andrew Dainty 2 Construction economics – it ain’t what it used to be 21 Stephen Gruneberg 3 What are we trying to achieve? Rigour, relevance and modes of knowledge production in construction management research 45 Mike Bresnen 4 Theory and the contribution of qualitative research to construction management research 67 Libby Schweber and Vivien Chow 5 Understanding construction sector policy through narrative analysis: a critical perspective 93 Stuart D. Green and Dilek Ulutas Duman 6 Beyond the boundary and scale of the construction project 117 Paul W. Chan 7 Cognition and action in construction project organising 141 Eunice Maytorena-Sanchez, Natalya Sergeeva and Graham M. Winch 8 Construction safety management: the case for a new approach to research-informed change 171 Steve Rowlinson 9 A research agenda for construction management in the 4.0 era 193 Evangelos Pantazis, Eyüphan Koç and Lucio Soibelman 10 Fast and frugal research: the pervasive use of questionnaires in construction management research 221 Dominic D. Ahiaga-Dagbui and Igor Martek 11 Making sense of ‘new age data sets’: researching from afar 243 Johan Ninan, Mathangi Krishnamurthy and Ashwin Mahalingam 12 Does construction need management? The case for alternative construction organization 265 Dan Sage Index
