Barriers to Implementing the Circular Economy in the Construction Industry: A Critical Review

To facilitate the adoption of the circular economy (CE) in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) sector, some authors have demonstrated the potential of recent designs that take into account the sustainable management of an asset’s end-of-life (EOL), providing an alternative to the dominant designs that end with demolition. However, there is no review of the literature that encompasses a large range of sustainable designs in the current CE context. This paper provides a critical review of journal papers that deal with the barriers to implementing sustainable designs and approaches to the EOL management of assets that have the potential to fulfil the principles of the CE. Eighteen approaches related to prefabrication, design for change, design for deconstruction, reverse logistics, waste management and closed-loop systems were found. Through an analysis of the barriers that are common among these 18 approaches, we classified them into six different categories (organisational, economical, technical, social, political and environmental). Two Sankey diagrams illustrate the interrelation between the barriers, their categories and the 18 approaches. The diagrams clearly show that most of the barriers are common to multiple approaches and that most of the barriers relate to organisational concerns. The study gives a detailed map of the barriers that would help stakeholders from the AEC sector develop strategies to overcome the current obstacles in the shift to a CE.

Evolutionary Dynamics of Organizational Populations and Communities

Evolution is conceptualized as a multi-level phenomenon (subunit–organization–organizational field–national economy) that links organizational and ecological systems. Analysis of population and community-level evolution emphasizes the roles of institutional change (e.g., industry deregulation, globalization, market reforms), technological innovation cycles (e.g., technological discontinuities, dominant designs), entrepreneurs, and social movements as triggers of organizational variation. Institutional and technological change transforms the dynamics of organizational communities by shifting the boundaries of organizational forms, destabilizing or reinforcing existing community structures, giving rise to consensus and/or conflict oriented social movements, and creating opportunities for entrepreneurs and venture capitalists to shape new organizational forms.

How Coopetition Influences the Development of a Dominant Design: Evidence from the Pinball Industry

Most studies concerning dominant designs focus on ‘collective’ or ‘competitive’ strategies that companies deploy to impose their choices on the market. The objective of this research is to assess the extent to which ‘coopetitive’ strategies may lead to a dominant design. We analyzed the development of a dominant design over an 84-year period through a historical study in the field of pinball machines. Our study focuses on the five main manufacturers of pinball machines and analyzes data from 1930 to 2014. We demonstrate that companies undergo three phases that involve the progressive development of coopetitive relationships with different impacts on the generation of innovation. Because manufacturers differentiated their offerings, innovated and simultaneously imitated others, increased competition resulted. Simultaneously, external threats and the need to collectively respond to clients and partners prompted the manufacturers to cooperate with one another. Thus, our research provides a better understanding of how specific horizontal coopetitive relationships among manufacturers of the same type of products impact the development of a dominant design at the industry level. This case study suggests that as a theoretical framework, coopetition introduces new insights into the comprehension of relational dynamics during the development of dominant designs. Our observations also confirm or invalidate conclusions drawn in previous works related to coopetition strategies. In particular, this case is interesting as although the appropriability regime was weak, companies still developed coopetitive relationships, contradicting previous studies.

Organiser la création de connaissance pour l’innovation de rupture

À partir d’une étude cas longitudinale chez STMicroelectronics, cette recherche s’intéresse aux processus de création de nouvelles connaissances pour l’innovation de rupture. L’article propose d’introduire le concept de société proto-épistémique d’experts pour mettre en évidence les modalités organisationnelles permettant le renouvellement des connaissances scientifiques et techniques, et l’émergence de nouveaux dominant designs.

Back to the future with IATA NDC? Critical turning points in the history of airline distribution

Purpose The International Air Transport Association (IATA) New Distribution Capability (NDC) standard aims at modernising the airline distribution landscape. It has supported the spread of Direct Connects by providing a common standard for linking airlines to travel agencies. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the historical development of airline distribution and to derive implications for the future. Design/methodology/approach This paper follows the approach of Yeoman and McMahon-Beattie (2017) in providing a chronological account based on published research. Findings Direct Connects are discussed to be a step back in the evolution of the distribution landscape because they foster disaggregation. An analysis of the history of distribution finds that a comparison of Direct Connects to the early stages of computer reservation system technology falls short to recognise the tremendous technological and market changes connected to the internet, cloud computing and the rise of low-cost carriers. Moreover, drawing on the seminal article by Anderson and Tushman (1990) on technical discontinuities and dominant designs, the current state of the distribution landscape is characterised to be an era of ferment that is driven by design competition and that might end up in a new dominant design. Originality/value The originality of this paper lies in a critical review of the turning points of distribution. By reviewing the past developments, the paper sheds light on the contribution that IATA NDC and Direct Connect technology might deliver to the field of airline distribution.