Changes in the technologies of representation in a heterogeneous, distributed sociotechnical system, such as a large construction project, can instigate a complex pattern of innovations in technologies, practices, structures, and strategies. We studied the adoption of digital three-dimensional (3-D) representations in the building projects of the architect Frank O. Gehry, and observed that multiple, heterogeneous firms in those projects produced diverse innovations, each of which created a wake of innovation. Together, these multiple wakes of innovation produce a complex landscape of innovations with unpredictable peaks and valleys. Gehry’s adoption of digital 3-D representations disturbed the ecology of interactions and stimulated innovations in his project networks by: providing path-creating innovation trajectories in separate communities of practice, creating trading zones where communities could create knowledge about diverse innovations, and offering a means for intercalating innovations across heterogeneous communities. Our study suggests that changes in digital representations that are central to the functioning of a distributed system can engender multiple innovations in technologies, work practices, and knowledge across multiple communities, each of which is following its own distinctive tempo and trajectory.
Key words: innovation; diffusion of innovation; innovation theory; IT-induced innovation; wakes of innovation; digital 3-D representation; intercalated innovations; trading zones; Frank Gehry; path creation; path dependency; distributed systems; architecture; engineering and construction
Introduction
We studied the adoption of digital 3-D representations in the design and construction projects of the architect, Frank O. Gehry, and observed that his adoption of digi- tal 3-D models as a primary representation gave rise to multiple and diverse wakes of innovation throughout his project networks. We use the image of a wake to depict an innovation as emerging in and traveling across an innovation space, much as a wake travels through water. Research on technology innovation and diffusion has put considerable effort into studying the wake of a single technology innovation in a typically homogeneous envi- ronment (Damanpour 1991, Swanson 1994, Zmud 1984, Rogers 1995, von Hippel and von Krogh 2003, Bijker 1995, Latour 1997, Williams and Edge 1996). However, in our study, firms involved in Frank Gehry’s project networks produced multiple and distinct innovations— each of which became a different wake of innovation. These multiple wakes overlapped on, intruded on, and interacted with each other in ways that formed a tur- bulent, self-propagating system of innovations—a com- plex, undulating surface of diverse innovations that fed back into the project, stimulating further innovations in a staccato fashion.
Frank Gehry’s accomplishments as an architect are well known, and he has received many distinguished, international awards in architecture, including the pro- fession’s highest accolade, the Pritzker Prize. However, his ability to spawn wakes of technology and process innovations in the tradition-bound architecture, engi- neering, and construction (AEC) industries is another important part of his legacy. Consider, for example, the following sample of the innovations during the design and construction of the Peter B. Lewis Building in Cleveland, Ohio (Figure 1).
In that one project:
(a) the structural engineering firm invented a new method for designing a steel roof with dramatically curved surfaces, which won an industry award for engi- neering innovation;
(b) the drywall contractor invented multiple patent- able ways to frame undulating wall surfaces, and began a new line of business, consulting on high-profile con- struction projects;
(c) the Cleveland fire marshal developed new tech- niques for modeling smoke evacuation, which were then presented at their national training academy;
(d) the specialty metal contractor invented a water- proof shingling system that dramatically reduced the thickness and cost of the roofing;
(e) the construction manager expanded its scope of work and begin providing location measurements to con- tractors, increasing its own risk, but reducing construc- tion time and construction errors; and
(f) the drywall contractor became the first American company to license a soundproof plaster system from Swiss developers, which created a new line of specialty business for them.
For all these innovations, there exist alternative, tra- ditional methods that the contractors, fire marshal, or construction manager could have employed. However, instead they invented a better way (less costly, more elegant, or more reliable) to accomplish their part of the overall project. Also, these innovations were car- ried forward into subsequent, non-Gehry projects by the innovating firms, thereby strengthening each individ- ual organization, as well as the AEC industries. Each innovation can be thought of as creating a wake in their respective community of practice, but in the Lewis Building project, they also served to influence each other as interacting wakes of innovation. Consider the follow- ing examples:
1. the new roof structure enabled the exterior and inte- rior surfaces of the building to directly coincide with each other—an unusual condition in a complexly shaped building;
2. the roofing shingle system enabled that parallelism between the interior and exterior surfaces to be carried out with extremely tight precision;
3. the precision requirement challenged the interior surface contractors to invent new, closer tolerance, curved surface construction techniques;
4. the curved interiors created a new challenge for the fire smoke evacuation studies, stimulating the invention of new models of air flows for extremely complex inte- rior surfaces
Richard J. Boland, Jr., Kalle Lyytinen
Department of Information Systems, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106 {boland@case.edu, kalle@case.edu}
Youngjin Yoo Fox
School of Business, Temple University, 1810 North 13th Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122, youngjin.yoo@temple.edu
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