Development of a contextualised understanding of the diffusion of innovation among quantity surveyors in the UK construction industry

The UK construction industry is often described as slow to innovate which can be attributed to the temporary nature of construction projects and its inherently fragmented structure. The nature of innovation is a common area of research in the industry, but the diffusion of these innovations to the members of this social system is an under represented area that this research addresses. This research addresses this shortfall and focuses on providing a contextualised understanding of the key aspects of diffusion of professional practice among quantity surveyors. This is achieved by utilising a particular type of innovation, the New Rules of Measurement, as a vehicle for the analysis. A qualitative research approach that gathers the rich explanatory data is utilised, using semi structured interviews, which is lacking in the diffusion research field. This approach supports a constructivist philosophy and provides a deeper understanding of different actors' diffusion journeys in contrast to the overwhelmingly positivist approach to previous studies of diffusion. This resulted in several original contributions to knowledge including the identification of current measurement practices within the UK construction industry, development of a contextualised understanding and diffusion of professional practice innovation model for quantity surveyors in addition to the identification of barriers to the diffusion process that are unique to the construction industry. This is important as it demonstrates areas that can be utilised and improved to assist in the diffusion of professional practice to the quantity surveying profession.