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Wakes of Innovation in Project Networks: The Case of Digital 3-D Representations in Architecture, Engineering, and Construction

Department of Information Systems, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
Department of Information Systems, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
Fox School of Business, Temple University, 1810 North 13th Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122
boland{at}case.edu
kalle{at}case.edu
youngjin.yoo{at}temple.edu

Changes in the technologies of representation in a heterogeneous, distributed sociotechnical system, such as a large construction project, can instigate a complex pattern of innovations in technologies, practices, structures, and strategies. We studied the adoption of digital three-dimensional (3-D) representations in the building projects of the architect Frank O. Gehry, and observed that multiple, heterogeneous firms in those projects produced diverse innovations, each of which created a wake of innovation. Together, these multiple wakes of innovation produce a complex landscape of innovations with unpredictable peaks and valleys. Gehry’s adoption of digital 3-D representations disturbed the ecology of interactions and stimulated innovations in his project networks by: providing path-creating innovation trajectories in separate communities of practice, creating trading zones where communities could create knowledge about diverse innovations, and offering a means for intercalating innovations across heterogeneous communities. Our study suggests that changes in digital representations that are central to the functioning of a distributed system can engender multiple innovations in technologies, work practices, and knowledge across multiple communities, each of which is following its own distinctive tempo and trajectory.

Key Words: innovation; diffusion of innovation; innovation theory; IT-induced innovation; wakes of innovation; digital 3-D representation; intercalated innovations; trading zones; Frank Gehry; path creation; path dependency; distributed systems; architecture; engineering and construction