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Sustainable technologies and the construction industry: An international assessment of regulation, governance and firm networks

Paul Dewick & Marcela Miozzo (Manchester School of Management, UMIST)

Abstract

Innovation and sustainability are two key drivers of change in the construction industry. The rate of technological change determines the future competitiveness of the industry, contributing to the strength of the economy's productive structure and affecting the general level of employment and future skill requirement. However, there remain considerable barriers to the adoption of new technologies in the construction industry, where the production and innovation process of firms is embedded in a tight network of organisations which includes other industries in the supply stream, end-users as well as the government. What's more, these barriers seem to be exacerbated when one considers sustainable technologies.

This paper examines the factors facilitating and hindering the adoption of sustainable technologies in the domestic sector of the construction industry in Europe, particularly emphasising the role of governments and inter-firm relations. The paper provides an international comparative analysis of the role of government as client, regulator, market-broker and promoter of sustainable technologies. The cases of two sustainable technologies are discussed: thermal insulation (what one may consider a low-tech solution) and active solar heating (a relatively high-tech solution). The paper also examines the role of long-term inter-firm relations, which have been advocated as an integral part of encouraging the introduction and diffusion of technologies in the construction industry.

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