Champions of Social Procurement in the Australian Construction Industry: Evolving Roles and Motivations
There has been a recent proliferation of social procurement policies in Australia that target the construction industry. This is mirrored in many other countries, and the nascent research in this area shows that these policies are being implemented by an emerging group of largely undefined professio...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Buildings |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/12/641 |
| _version_ | 1797506351051571200 |
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| author | Martin Loosemore Robyn Keast Jo Barraket George Denny-Smith |
| author_facet | Martin Loosemore Robyn Keast Jo Barraket George Denny-Smith |
| author_sort | Martin Loosemore |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | There has been a recent proliferation of social procurement policies in Australia that target the construction industry. This is mirrored in many other countries, and the nascent research in this area shows that these policies are being implemented by an emerging group of largely undefined professionals who are often forced to create their own roles in institutional vacuums with little organisational legitimacy and support. By mobilising theories of how organisational champions diffuse innovations in other fields of practice, this paper contributes new insights into the evolving nature of these newly emerging roles and the motivations which drive these professionals to overcome the institutional inertia they invariably face. The results of semi-structured interviews, with fifteen social procurement champions working in the Australian construction industry, indicate that social procurement champions come from a wide range of professional backgrounds and bring diverse social capital to their roles. Linked by a shared sense of social consciousness, these champions challenge traditional institutional norms, practices, supply chain relationships, and traditional narratives about the concepts of value in construction. We conclude that, until normative standards develop around social procurement in the construction industry, its successful implementation will depend on external institutional pressures and the practical demonstration of what is possible in practice within the performative constraints of traditional project objectives. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:31:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-06055f5faf73480ea9dee7cfcff79b1b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-5309 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:31:25Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Buildings |
| spelling | doaj.art-06055f5faf73480ea9dee7cfcff79b1b2023-11-23T04:03:52ZengMDPI AGBuildings2075-53092021-12-01111264110.3390/buildings11120641Champions of Social Procurement in the Australian Construction Industry: Evolving Roles and MotivationsMartin Loosemore0Robyn Keast1Jo Barraket2George Denny-Smith3School of Built Environment, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, AustraliaFaculty of Business, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW 2480, AustraliaCentre for Social Impact, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC 3122, AustraliaSchool of the Built Environment, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, AustraliaThere has been a recent proliferation of social procurement policies in Australia that target the construction industry. This is mirrored in many other countries, and the nascent research in this area shows that these policies are being implemented by an emerging group of largely undefined professionals who are often forced to create their own roles in institutional vacuums with little organisational legitimacy and support. By mobilising theories of how organisational champions diffuse innovations in other fields of practice, this paper contributes new insights into the evolving nature of these newly emerging roles and the motivations which drive these professionals to overcome the institutional inertia they invariably face. The results of semi-structured interviews, with fifteen social procurement champions working in the Australian construction industry, indicate that social procurement champions come from a wide range of professional backgrounds and bring diverse social capital to their roles. Linked by a shared sense of social consciousness, these champions challenge traditional institutional norms, practices, supply chain relationships, and traditional narratives about the concepts of value in construction. We conclude that, until normative standards develop around social procurement in the construction industry, its successful implementation will depend on external institutional pressures and the practical demonstration of what is possible in practice within the performative constraints of traditional project objectives.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/12/641construction industrychampionsinnovationsocial innovationsocial procurementsocial value |
| spellingShingle | Martin Loosemore Robyn Keast Jo Barraket George Denny-Smith Champions of Social Procurement in the Australian Construction Industry: Evolving Roles and Motivations Buildings construction industry champions innovation social innovation social procurement social value |
| title | Champions of Social Procurement in the Australian Construction Industry: Evolving Roles and Motivations |
| title_full | Champions of Social Procurement in the Australian Construction Industry: Evolving Roles and Motivations |
| title_fullStr | Champions of Social Procurement in the Australian Construction Industry: Evolving Roles and Motivations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Champions of Social Procurement in the Australian Construction Industry: Evolving Roles and Motivations |
| title_short | Champions of Social Procurement in the Australian Construction Industry: Evolving Roles and Motivations |
| title_sort | champions of social procurement in the australian construction industry evolving roles and motivations |
| topic | construction industry champions innovation social innovation social procurement social value |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/11/12/641 |
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