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While measuring the performance of collaborative research and development (R&D) projects is critical for both practitioners and academics, it is rarely straightforward in practice. Based on firsthand experience of the performance measurement practice within an extensive, long-term, Swedish innovation programme named Smart Built Environment, this chapter provides a reflective account of the setup and challenges experienced. The programme was launched in 2016 and is a long-term initiative of up to 12 years. Backed by three state research agencies, it is, to date, the single largest investment in innovation, R&D in digitalisation made in the Swedish built environment sector. This chapter is written as a collaborative autoethnography, with three out of the five authors having had firsthand experience of the specific measurement initiative analysed. The chapter describes how the visionary objectives of the programme, related to sustainability, time, cost and business logics, were developed and operationalised in practice. Furthermore, it is explained how several emergent challenges related to ambiguity in goal formulation, adaptation to contingencies of moving targets and temporal scope, and development of a multiplicity of assessment methods, were managed.

The use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in construction companies has been growingsteadily during the last decade. However, few studies inquire into either perceptions of the impact of actualICT use or perceptions among different occupational groups in construction companies. The aim of thepaper is to explore users’ general perceptions of ICT impacts in the post-adoption stage and analyse theimplications for construction management practice. A mixed methods approach was used. Quantitative datawere collected using a web-based survey both in a major construction company and among medium-sizedcompanies in Sweden. Data from 294 returned completed questionnaires were analysed with t-tests andmultiple regression analysis. In addition, participant observations and semi-structured interviews were conductedwithin the major construction company in order to strengthen the analysis. It can be concluded thatrespondents are generally fairly satisfied with the ICT. Differences in perceptions among occupationalgroups can be explained by the nature of work tasks and the original intentions for using ICT as a means ofcontrol and calculation. Even if respondents perceive that a further development of ICT could improve competitiveness,they do not want to increase their use of it in their workplaces. They basically think that ‘it isfine, just as it is’. This indicates that a challenge in construction management is to investigate how prevailingand new ICT applications can be used to develop the industry.

Industry has received little attention in Information systems research as a factor explaining information and communication technology (ICT) related activities in organizations. By drawing on a case study in the building and construction industry in Sweden, the aim of this paper is to contribute to an enhanced knowledge of how industry specific features shape the adoption and use of ICT. It is concluded that the adoption and deployment of ICT is shaped by the interplay among three main dimensions of the industry. These dimensions are the market and production environment (shaped by specific interaction patterns among its features), the socio-cognitive environment, and institutional actors. The outcomes of this interplay will “fit” material features of ICT, implying certain ICT applications are preferred in a specific industry. However, the interaction patterns among which features to be included in the framework will vary among industries. The suggested framework can be used as a point of departure when ICTrelated activities in an industry are analysed.

The aim of this chapter is to draw attention to the use of ICT in the building and construction industry with a special interest in the day-to-day activities of those companies that are working to develop more environmentally friendly and sustainable production processes. The chapter is based on a comprehensive survey of ICT use and attitudes to environmental related issues in middle and large sized construction companies in Sweden and two case studies: One of ICT use in a larger Swedish building and construction company and one of communication, coordination, and decision making processes in a construction project. Based on the empirical data we argue that in order to enhance a more environmentally friendly building and construction industry there is a need for a more genuine cooperation and knowledge sharing between different actors both in crossing project boundaries as well as overriding contractual limitations. Decisions in a construction project must be taken earlier in the process and construction companies need to focus more on those processes over which they actually do have power.

In contemporary research on construction-related ICT (information communication technologies), little distinction is made between the use of ICT in permanent line organizations and its use in temporary organizations (for example, in building and construction projects). This paper makes that distinction. The aim is to understand how the interplay among contextual elements, actors' frames of reference, and the ICT itself, influences the adoption and use of ICT in a building and construction project. This will be done through a description and analysis of a case study of ICT use in a major Swedish construction company. It is concluded that the well-defined duration of the temporary organization (the construction project) stands in sharp contrast to the generally indefinite duration of ICT-mediated change processes. However, by analysing the ICT application to be implemented, it can be revealed whether it can be 'ready packed' for, or delimited to, certain processes in order to achieve immediate benefits. When implementing more encompassing ICT applications, the challenge for the company is to find alternative ways of implementation in the project-based organization and of creating alternative spaces for innovation and renewal where new ICT can be tested and experimented with.

There has been a considerable time lag between the emergence of visionary expectations of BIM's (Building Information Models) transformative potential in the architecture, engineering and construction industry, and the deployment of the technology in the industry's daily practice. By viewing adoption and use of BIM as the inter-linkage of actors forming a building and construction project, the aim of the paper is to uncover mechanisms facilitating and constraining the creation of actor networks in which BIM is adopted and used. The aim is pursued by a case study in a major Swedish construction company. It is concluded that the possibility of incremental implementation of BIM applications is well aligned with the character of the industrial context. But the context can also constrain the use of applications requiring more long term thinking. However, because of the disruptive nature of building and construction projects, the challenge is to maintain and re-establish the network in which BIM is used in consecutive projects. When clients and regulating bodies recognize benefits from BIM usage, the main obstacle created by these characteristics of the industry will diminish. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in building and construction companies has steadily been growing during the last decade. However, just a few studies inquire perceptions of the ICT actually being used and perceptions among different professional groups in companies. The objective of this paper is to contribute to an enhanced understanding of general perceptions of ICT in building and construction companies and among professional groups by taking the point of departure in the concept of perceived usefulness. Data was collected by a web-based survey in two regional units of a major Swedish building and construction company. 257 completed questionnaires were returned which corresponds to a response rate of 49 %. The data was analysed with T-tests and multiple regression analysis. It can be concluded that respondents are generally fairly satisfied with their ICT and that the ICT is perceived as necessity for the fulfilment of work tasks as well as a valuable support in various areas of decision making. Moreover, a further developed use of ICT is perceived as an opportunity to increase the company’s competitiveness, but this opinion is negatively correlated with the opinion that the ICT is well adapted to the industry’s conditions. Finally are there some significant differences in perceptions of the outcomes of ICT-usage among professional groups. These differences can be explained by distance to operations and nature of work tasks.

This paper takes as its point of departure the conflict between the project as an organisational form for time-limited task execution and the project as an organisational form for triggering knowledge development and learning. The aim of the paper is to explore how knowledge developed in ERP projects can be managed, as well as to identify potential influences on the management of knowledge developed in the project process. Qualitative data has been collected through interviews, document studies, and participant observations. The paper presents evidence that problems of keeping to budgets and timelines in ERP projects can depend on the fact that knowledge developed in the project process is also exploited in the project process. In order to bridge the conflict between the project as a time-limited form for task execution and an organisational form for knowledge development and learning, three tentative strategies for exploiting knowledge developed in the project process are suggested.