Innovation in clean-room construction: a case study of co-operation between firms

Rob Shields and Kevin West

Construction Management and Economics, 2003, vol. 21, issue 4, 337-344

Abstract: This study examines partnering between a large client, multinational contractors and specialist suppliers, and local subcontractors involved in a project to construct clean room facilities. An ethnographic approach is used, which demonstrates the changing attitudes, values and the new working arrangements that emerged. The social bond of a 'construction challenge' was the basis of trust and sharing risk in a 'quasi-fixed network'. In place of formal contracts, ongoing bargaining and continuous negotiation took place. However, the client was seen to dominate the construction process. Shared workspaces or 'liminal zones', betwixt and between firms, were created to allow collaboration. These are argued to be a practical organizational approach to sharing information and co-ordinating inter-firm activities. Among trades, agreements were struck to exchange training and apprenticeships for allowing foreign specialists and equipment to be imported by the high-purity gas supplier. Liminal zones appear to function as on-the-job classrooms for rapidly training workers in unfamiliar construction techniques and systems.

Keywords: Clean Rooms; Inter-organizational Innovation; Quasi-fixed Network; Risk; Partnering; Labour Relations; Canada (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2003
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0144619032000111232 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:conmgt:v:21:y:2003:i:4:p:337-344

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/RCME20

DOI: 10.1080/0144619032000111232

Access Statistics for this article

Construction Management and Economics is currently edited by Will Hughes

More articles in Construction Management and Economics from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().