Trends of integrated project delivery implementations viewed from an emerging innovation framework
Authors: Rashed Ahmed , Mutis Ivan 
Published: December 2021

Purpose

Research into integrated project delivery (IPD) has attracted increased attention over the past 2 decades, and a significant number of IPD studies have been published more recently. The purpose of the study is to explore the state of IPD to reveal innovative areas of focus.

Design/methodology/approach

The research presented puts forward a science mapping and bibliometrics methods to study systematic analysis of IPD scientific output published between 2006 and 2020. It uses a framework from emerging literature relating to innovation to incorporate a perspective of the process of innovation for the analysis of IPD. The adapted framework from the literature on innovation, called the Technology Innovation System (TIS), has functions that reveal novelty in the existing structures of IPD. The framework uses the analysis of scientific output from science mapping and bibliometric study techniques, using the ScienceDirect (SD) and Web of Science (WoS) databases as sources. The framework analyzes factors involved in the development and diffusion of the IPD approach and charts new knowledge development on IPD.

Findings

From the analysis, future implementation of IPD will converge on cases of collaboration, as a systemic feature, among participating stakeholder teams. A significant and robust effect resulted from collaboration and integration as major mechanisms influence opportunities, problems and solutions within construction firms using IPD, marking a future trend. Reports further substantiate the importance and focus on collaboration and integration between IPD practitioners. With the same dynamic and gradual prominence, building information modeling (BIM) and new technology applications demonstrated the importance of the development and diffusion of IPD in the form of, for example, digital government initiatives. It is expected that the trend for IDS and resource mobilization functions will continue to grow – clear evidence of the benefits of the IPD approach in the construction sector. New evidence for gaining cognitive and normative legitimacy emerged. The expansion of new avenues for further legitimation is expected to enable growth.

Research limitations/implications

Beyond the innovative approach of viewing IPD from the emerging innovation framework, the research presented fully contributes to IPD literature, providing a comprehensive state-of-the-art status and a quantitative analysis of IPD scientific output, thereby illuminating promising work areas for future research into IPD. The main limitation is related to the dynamic process of indexing of IPD literature in the WoS and SD – although many new research publications are added in the discipline, only a part of them have been indexed in the WoS and SD core database.

Practical implications

The study revealed key evolving trends within the field, including instructive findings and implications concerning possible deficiencies. Based on factors from network visualizations and quantitative evaluation from major influential articles, journals and authors, future critical IPD implementation focus will be on BIM and sustainability concepts – centerpiece concepts for the evolving line of IPD growth and development in the architecture, engineering and construction industry.

Social implications

This study fills the gap created in a shortage of studies mapping out the most critical contributions in journals, authors and research perspectives related to IPD. It presents a framework that can be used as an objective procedure to evaluate the topic. It is expected that the study will serve as a cornerstone for researchers in this field, as it provides a bibliometric analysis and presents trends using an analytical framework of innovation.

Originality/value

The research presented is a keystone in the foundation of the literature review on this topic. The research draws on an existing framework for innovation – the TIS, developed from innovation studies using a robust theoretical framework to enable further analysis of IPD. This approach is one of a kind, using the results of scientometric analysis to study the scientific landscape and knowledge output of IPD in the AEC community. Science-mapping bibliometric analysis was conducted to shed light on IPD trends and explain factors that back or support the development and diffusion of IPD, including shaping and enabling evolution and growth. The framework helps to shed light on the interaction of socio-technical structures (i.e. stakeholders, technologies and rules) embedded in the industry, which helped create, direct and advance IPD in the project delivery system.