Innovation in Small Professional Practices in the Built Environment

Book excerpt: From the book’s Foreword by Trevor Mole, Managing Director,Property Tectonics; President of the European Association ofBuilding Surveyors and Construction Experts: ‘Shu-Ling and Martin have built on their research workand that of others to produce an understandable and readableinsight into innovation in small professional service firms. Theyhave successfully unravelled the complex behavioural andorganisational forces taking place and created a framework to helppractitioners understand the issues and to fashion the rightenvironment in which to foster innovation and deliver economicvalue.’ Small professional practices in the built environment arecrucial to the success and long-term viability of the design,construction and property industries. This research-based bookaddresses the urgent need to better understand the nature andprocess of innovation in these important firms. The authors offer an analysis of both why and howinnovation is a key competitive factor for small professionalpractices in the built environment. As these practices are locatedin different business environments and behave in different ways toother types of industry firms, the context-specific methodology todesign, implement and assess innovation in small professionalpractices presented in this book will appeal to researchers andpractitioners in surveying and design. Innovation in Small Professional Practices in the BuiltEnvironment makes a significant contribution to anunderdeveloped area of innovation by offering new theoretical andpractical insights and models grounded in results from a 22-monthcase study of a small professional practice.