The futures of construction management research

Harty, C. and Leiringer, R. (2017) The futures of construction management research. Construction Management and Economics, 35 (7). pp. 392-403. ISSN 1466-433X doi: 10.1080/01446193.2017.1306089

Abstract/Summary

Construction management is an internationally recognized area of research with an established and growing community of academics. It has grown from largely “research consultancy” activities to additionally attracting significant amounts of academic research funding and has, partially, moved away from its applied, engineering dominated origins to increasingly engage with, and contribute to, mainstream academic debates in business and management, economics and the social sciences. It has, as such, become an academic field in its own right. However, recent dynamics within both university institutions and national economies are changing the landscape of construction management research (CMR). A blurring of traditional university boundaries, reprioritization of research funding and increasing emphasis on national and international rankings have led to increased pressure on individual academics and the community they constitute. Drawing on scenario development we ask what, in the face of a turbulent environment, might the futures of CMR be? Four potential futures for CMR are outlined, depicted as four potential scenarios: convergence, retrenchment, disappearance and hybridization. These describe potential outcomes from the institutional dynamics currently at play. The intention is neither to predict the future, nor to prioritize one scenario over another, but to open a debate on the institutional pressures the field is facing, and what the outcomes might be.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/70671
Identification Number/DOI	10.1080/01446193.2017.1306089
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of the Built Environment > Organisation, People and Technology group
Uncontrolled Keywords	Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Management Information Systems, Building and Construction
Publisher	Taylor & Francis
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