Transforming Sustainable Value in the Construction Industry – The role of Social Movements

Abstract

Projects pursuing the balance of economic, ecological, and social aspects are being increasingly implemented by the construction industry. This shift represents a paradigm change and evidences new values being acknowledged within the sector. Concurrently, construction scholars tend to emphasize the creation, retention and addition of value, focusing mostly on costs and client deliverables. However, less attention is paid to the process of value change, specifically one that focuses on alternative stakeholders, such as Social Movements. We employ Social Movement theory to comprehend how these organizations affect the notion of value and value change in this industry. Their role is accentuated as a source for a value paradigm change in the form of institutional pressures that shape the values of other stakeholders of the construction industry. These pressures elicit a response in the form of a broader incorporation of sustainable practices amongst construction projects, which effectively alters the industry’s notion of value. Additionally, we showcase a theoretical model that describes the pressure channels originated by Social Movements and their process mechanism affecting the construction industry

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