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Paper info: A Tension Perspective on Networks in the Construction Industry

Title


A Tension Perspective on Networks in the Construction Industry

Authors


Anna Bengtson
Uppsala University
Sweden
Anna Bengtson and
Susanne Åberg
Uppsala University
Sweden
Susanne Åberg

Place of Publication


The paper was published at the 32nd IMP-conference in Cape Town in 2016.

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Abstract


Societal dynamics are challenging the Swedish construction industry at present, and the picture of an industry in transformation emerges. These challenges are exacerbated by some of the characteristics of the construction industry, which has been described as slow-moving, conservative and cost-driven. The purpose of this paper is to discuss contemporary tendencies in the construction industry as described in research, as well as to develop a framework for studying these developments in a Swedish research project that is just starting. The paper draws on three different bodies of literature; IMP literature focusing on network dynamics, literature on process studies and dialectics, and studies of the construction industry (both from an IMP perspective and more general literature). The aim is to explore the characteristics and contributions of a dialectical lens in understanding contemporary business networks in the setting of the Swedish construction industry.