Innovation in small construction firms: Is it just a frame of mind?

Findings will be provided on an eighteen-month research project involving in-depth case study and action research fieldwork with seven small construction companies to understand the role and significance of innovation for them. A key finding of the work has been the organizational and market pressures for senior managers to focus principally on operational, short-term innovation, to the detriment of more long-term, strategic innovation. The potentially adverse implications of this 'innovation myopia' are discussed, and the need for senior managers in small construction firms to think more strategically and holistically is argued.