RECOMMENDATION FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

It is important to note that the model developed through this research is not valid and useful to all applications and will need to be tailored when applied to projects outside of a consulting context. Considering some of the challenges and observations made by the Delphi experts I came across while conducting this research, some recommendations for future research are as follows:

 This study focusses on consulting engineering. The aspiration to develop a focussed model that has only a consulting engineering focus may have excluded the opportunity to capture aspects of other knowledge-based firms. It might be advantageous for future researchers to extend and contextualise the model to other type of knowledge-based firms such as law and accounting firms, management consulting, I.T consultancies, advertising agencies, research & development units and high tech companies.

 There is also lack of support of innovation in contracting especially larger contractors have not adopted it, as much as there is need in that sector due to the complexity of projects most of the managing contractors deliver. This was also noted by the Delphi experts. Miozzo and Dewick (2002, p-1)

note that that the construction industry has a record of very low identifiable innovation and has thus been viewed as a technological laggard. This industry has a very slow and lower adoption of innovations as compared to other industries. Future researchers could consider extending the research model to larger contracting firms using larger infrastructure or building projects as case studies.

 Consulting engineering firms might benefit from further research that focusses on narrowing the list of innovation activities so that instead of 23 activities an organisation only has to implement 5 or 6. This will have lesser pressure on the organisational resources and more buy-in from senior management to use the model.

 Researchers’ who are interested in working in the organisational culture area may be able to extend the research to local consulting firms in other countries. This will help in enriching this model with attributes which are ‘culture’ dependent. The lessons learnt from this research can be brought back to share with consulting engineering firms in Australia. This can very useful in the current time and environment where there has been a significant influx of skilled migrants to Australia mainly from Asia and the Middle East who are being inducted into the Australian work force for consulting engineering firms. The lessons learnt from this research maybe useful to develop organisational and HR strategies to successfully and quickly assimilate them into the work force.

 The outcomes of this research can feed into future research on identifying obstacles to innovation activity in large contractors. This research and work previously done by European Federation of Engineering Consultancy Associations (EFCA) (2008) will be a good start to cover themes such as: o Identifying strategies to convince top management of the importance

of innovation and its long term benefits.

o Strengthening the relations between the Federal and State Government and large contractors to introduce legislation that support innovation. The Construction Q initiative recently organised by Queensland Government was a positive step towards overcoming it.

o Develop technical training programmes which are tailored to trades and managerial staff within contractors. Focus on improving the links to research organisations, and valorise training through research within companies.

The above can also be extended to State, Territory and Federal Governments.

 It might be valuable in extending the model to include the impact of ‘contingency factors’ on consulting engineering firms. Contingency theory was introduced in 1961 by Burns and Stalker who pioneered the traditional distinction between incremental and radical innovation, and between organic and mechanistic organisations. There are three main bodies of literature within contingency theory literature including organisational, leadership and decision making theories. The three bodies of literature are founded on the notion that there is no best method to manage an organisation, its leadership or decision-making. Previous theories had neglected the influence of external environment also called the contingency factors, on the management style and organisational structure. Contingency Leadership Theory attempts to explain how a leader behaviour typically varies from one situation to another. The contingency model of leadership behaviour is important to managers because it was introduced as a model of how leaders should make decisions if they are to be effective (Field, 1979).

External environment is one of the main factors influencing project success and may also determine the type of innovation activity required to improve it. Chun (1996) identifies the physical location of the project, socio-political influence and economic environment as the main contingency factors affecting project success. Some of the contingency factor which impact project performance are discussed next.

Project location

It is evident from the above discussion that project success is also contingent on a number of factors including the particular stakeholders and their interests. Many researchers (Sidwell 1983, Ireland 1983, Walker

1995) believe that project characteristics affect project success. The physical location of the project will pose unique planning and organisational problems (Chan, 1991). Geographical location and proximity from transport facilities will also affect project performance. A useful area of research for future academics will be to contemplate innovation activities that are best suited for a specific location.

Economic Environment

The economic environment directly affects individual projects due to lack of sufficient and quality resources (Chan, 1996). In Australia similar to the rest of the world, public projects are financed from capital investment or loans. Signs of recession see reduced investment due to expected reduction in revenue. Construction projects may be halted by company insolvency affecting builders getting involved with projects or about to take a new project. (Walker, 1995). With the impact of GFC at its peak in Australia there is a growing emphasis on using performance models that considers external environmental factors while assessing project success. Investment in innovation is crucial in the existing financial environment but might not be seen as important by some of the senior leadership who are more focussed on the immediate bottom-line rather than the long term benefits realised from it. The market economics might have a direct impact on the make-up of the innovation management model and should be explored as part of further research.

Socio-political Environment

Political instability or community dissatisfaction can have catastrophic impact on project success and as a result on innovation activity. Sidwell (1982) suggests that decisions on the priorities of government investment will affect projects directly and the community needs will also increase and decrease project demand. Some researchers argue that we need to consider aspects other than economic factors. Sanders (2004) suggests that the popular model of sustainable development proposed by Brundland is flawed as it emphasises on achieving sustainable development through economic growth and reliance on market forces- the very forces that are

driving unsustainability. He thinks that there is even problem with seeing the ecological, social and economic states as being of equal importance. Sanders (2004) identifies that none of these models reflects the current reality that humanity finds itself in. ‘Society is a totally dependent subsystem of the planet’s ecosystems and the human economy is one of the many subsystems of society. Therefore, there is a need to adopt a systems view and see economy within society and society within ecology’. This view is also supported by Lowe (2002a) as shown in the Figure 5.1 below:

Figure 5.1. System Approach for Sustainable Development

The above concept can be conveniently extended to projects for consulting engineering firms where achieving the financial bottom line is important but at the same time it is equally, if not more important, to cater for the social needs of community and stakeholders. It might be useful to consider this area as part of the future development of the innovation model.

The above recommendations are captured in Figure 5.2 and act as a credible starting point for the consideration of researchers aspiring to expand on the work done as part of this research.