Explorative and exploitative learning in project-based organizations: improving knowledge governance through a project management office?

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Facilitating change in primary education: The role of existing school facilities in ICT initiatives

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to illuminate the impact that the implementation of the Plan Ceibal imposes on the existing school infrastructure and how the use and upkeep of available facilities might need to be altered and changed to accommodate the new technology. Uruguay is, through the Plan Ceibal, the first country to provide every public primary school child with a laptop free of charge. The Plan represents a major investment to promote digital literacy and improve the quality of education. Design/methodology/approach – Empirical data are drawn from a multiple case study of five public primary schools. Particular attention is given to how school facilities and their immediate surroundings mediate the successful introduction and adoption of individual laptops. Findings – Plan Ceibal has the potential to change traditional teaching methods and behavioural patterns, which will in turn have an impact on how facilities and spaces are used. Questions are raised regarding the ultimate effectiveness of the initiative and if the aspired to improvements might be curtailed by a lack of investment in other areas, such as the school infrastructure. We argue for a context-sensitive view on research that not only considers the technology and potential changes in pedagogical approaches but also the physical environment in which these changes are to take place. Originality/value – Research into facilities and asset management has an important role to play in the achievement of effective learning environments and the successful uptake of information communication technology (ICT) initiatives.postprin

The translation of power: a study of boundary objects in public engagement processes

Public consultation and engagement processes have become an integral feature of infrastructure development projects in many parts of the world. Regardless of the drivers behind this trend, legislative or otherwise, a key objective of the process is to facilitate information exchange between affected parties. Somewhat simplified, the process is used by the project team to garner support, collect feedback and address grievances for the project, and by a multitude of stakeholders to voice complaints, lobby for change and secure benefits for themselves. It follows that the process, despite intentions otherwise, is commonly characterised by opposing interests and unequal power relationships that lead to antagonistic standoffs between participants. This paper focuses on what takes place within the engagement process and the format through which information is exchanged. In particular, focus is on the material artefacts that are used to facilitate the information exchange. When used effectively, these artefacts act as boundary objects between participants by allowing them to work together across a diverse range of issues. The paper draws on ongoing research that explores how boundary objects are used in the public engagement process in Hong Kong. The study utilises the Latour-Callon model of ÔinteressementÕ to trace how information is translated through boundary objects across a series of engagement events. An argument is put forward highlighting how boundary objects both affect and are affected by power struggles between social groups, and how this in turn affects decision making and goal alignment. In so doing, the notion of the boundary objects possessing inherent properties making them effective communication tools across events is rejected, and replaced by a view that puts more emphasis on how and why they are used by the participants.postprin

Client project governance capabilities: unpacking the concept and governance mechanisms in practice

Globally public sector clients are increasingly being asked to do more for less i.e. produce more public value with fewer resources; at the same time as cost and time overruns on major projects are increasingly highlighted and subjected to public scrutiny. These developments are not lost on the research community and there is now an emerging body of literature that seeks to explore the relationship between how these organisations are structured and resourced and project outcomes. This paper seeks to build on this literature set. It does so through the theoretical lens of organizational capabilities. The particular focus is on project governance and associated governance capabilities. Drawing on an extensive review of the academic literature on project governance from both a supply-side and client perspective, as well as public policy sources, we propose that client project governance capabilities are underpinned by three sets of sub-capabilities: project assurance, project coordination and asset-integration capabilities. We unpack these capability sets with particular attention given to the multiple ways in which they can be deployed. Conclusions are drawn highlighting the importance of a strong owner for the successful realisation of the project and how project governance capabilities are key to achieving this.postprin

Governance units as interstitial organizations: the role of governance organizations in the development and establishment of Building Environmental Assessment Methods (BEAM)

Green Building has been touted as the future of building construction. However, its emergence, due to the fluidity of the green building concept, is sometimes fraught with power struggles in the debate over which standards and practices to be adopted. With the emergence of Building Environmental Assessment Methods, much hope has been put on their associated third-party certification organizations to help forge a common ground for green building. These organizations are boundary spanning, traversing multiple professional jurisdictions, organizational fields, and involving various state and non-state actors. Despite wielding much influence in the development, establishment and promotion of BEAMs, the authority, and legitimacy of governance organizations are being questioned as to whose interest they serve, and whether they promote realistic green building practices. We argue that while the success of these governance organizations will be their ability to act as neutral ‘brokers” of green building practices, they may end up capitulating the interest of powerful actors. Drawing on the theory fields proposed by Fligstein and McAdam (2012) and the concept of interstitial emergence, we explore the role of governance organizations for BEAMS in the building industry. The case is made that there is a need to examine the activities of governance organizations in the development of BEAMs, and why conceptualizing them as interstitial/boundary-spanning organizations could offer new insights and research directions in the burgeoning researching on BEAMs.postprin

Schools for the twenty-first century: School design and educational transformation

The Building Schools for the Future programme has been established to ensure that English secondary schools are designed or redesigned to allow for educational transformation. The programme represents the biggest single UK government investment in school buildings for over 50 years. For this reason, it poses a major challenge to those involved in the design of educational buildings. Inspiration is in part sought from exemplar schools around the world. The paper draws on a multiple case study of four such exemplar schools in Scandinavia that have been designed to address changes in the educational curriculum. The analysis depicts the degree to which the building design in each case supports the school approach to teaching and learning. The disjuncture between commercial and educational issues inherent in designing 'good' schools is highlighted. The findings show how it is important to find a balance between good design, commercial realities and educational approaches. © 2011 British Educational Research Association.preprin

Owner project capabilities in infrastructure projects: unpacking commercial capabilities

This paper investigates how the public sector organisations charged with the definition and delivery of large infrastructure projects are structured and resourced, and how they undertake the definition and delivery of the projects they promote. The paper locates its contribution in the theoretical literature on dynamic capabilities and its roots in the resource-based view of the firm. We take as our point of departure the emerging literature on client side project capabilities for infrastructure development - termed as owner project capabilities, referring to the dynamic capabilities that are required by public sector clients to develop infrastructure assets and deliver public services. More specifically, based on an extensive literature review, we focus on the owner project capabilities needed to develop and maintain commercial interfaces with the project-based firms which supply the human and material resources - which we dub commercial capabilities. Examples of such capabilities include, but are not restricted to, packaging capabilities, contracting capabilities, and relational capabilities. The conclusions lay bare the importance of rejecting the notion of project management as a best practice toolkit, which is always applicable and useful, to instead direct attention to which sets of capabilities should be deployed.postprin

The Role of Learning in Construction Technology Transfer: A 'SCOT' Perspective

Technology transfer has been given increasing importance since the formulation of the international code of conduct for technology transfer by the UNCTAD in 1985, and has become a preferred medium to bridge development gaps between developed and developing countries. In this development, international joint ventures have been but forward as vehicle for change in the belief that contractors in developing countries can position themselves to receive technology from their developed counterparts. So far, Technology Transfer has been studied through a variety of theoretical lenses. However, predominantly, the perspectives taken have assumed a linear process, viewing technology as an object and effectively disregarding the multiple social interactions that contribute to the process. In this paper, we argue that such perspectives only provide partial explanations of how technology is transferred across organisational boundaries, and that this has consequences for its broader uptake. A counter-argument is put forward to instead view Technology Transfer as a process of socio-technical interactions that is reliant on learning within a context. Adopting the theoretical lens of the Social Construction of Technological Systems (SCOT) as put forward by Bijker et al. (1987; 2012), we explicate the role learning plays in Technology Transfer in construction projects under IJV arrangements in developing countries. Drawing on an extensive literature review and the initial findings from case study research on oil and gas projects in Ghana, we show how the SCOT framework allows for examination of the socio-technical interactions between the human actors and the construction technology at hand. In particular, how the component of learning is an integral element of the construct of ‘closure and stabilisation’ under SCOT. Conclusions are drawn highlighting the importance of studying technology transfer as a product of socio-technical interactions within a context, in order to obtain a better understanding of the process.published_or_final_versio

The role of co-creation in enhancing explorative and exploitative learning in project-based settings

We study how co-creation practices influence explorative and exploitative learning in five collaborative construction projects with partnering arrangements. Drawing on a longitudinal case study, our findings reveal two different types of explorative learning processes (i.e., adaptation and radical development) and three different exploitative learning processes (i.e., incremental development, knowledge sharing, and innovation diffusion). Furthermore, co-creation practices enhance adaptation, radical development, and incremental development, which are typical intra-project learning processes. Co-creation practices do not, however, enhance knowledge sharing and innovation diffusion across projects. These findings concur with previous insights that the temporary and one-off nature of projects makes inter-project learning problematic.published_or_final_versio

Exploring the role of design quality in the Building Schools for the Future programme

The Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme represents the biggest single UK government investment in school buildings for more than 50 years. A key goal for BSF is to ensure that pupils learn in 21st-century facilities that are designed or redesigned to allow for educational transformation. This represents a major challenge to those involved in the design of schools. The paper explores the conceptualizations of design quality within the BSF programme. It draws on content analysis of influential reports on design published between 2000 and 2007 and interviews with key actors in the provision of schools. The means by which design quality has become defined and given importance within the programme through official documents is described and compared with the multiple understandings of design quality among key stakeholders. The findings portray the many challenges that practitioners face when operationalizing design quality in practice. The paper concludes with reflections on the inconsistencies between how design quality has been appropriated in the BSF programme and how it is interpreted and adopted in practice