Managing Innovation Information in Engineering and Construction Firms

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a study of the ways in which project managers in the U.S. engineering and construction industry attempt to obtain information about relevant innovations, and the ways in which industry firms attempt to facilitate their project managers' abilities to obtain such information. The study determined that project managers rely heavily on trade magazines and conversations with internal colleagues for information about innovations, and that firms' efforts to facilitate information seeking by their project managers focus primarily on information from internal sources, through reports of “lessons learned” and other means. Project managers are often unaware of their firms' policies or programs intended to assist them in obtaining innovation information, or do not use available assistance.