Monitoring innovation metrics in construction and civil engineering: Trends, drivers and laggards

Abstract

The study presents and analyzes innovation metrics in construction and civil engineering, domains which are found to lag behind other fields of science and technology in terms of innovation output. A specific line of focus is put on research and development (R&D) both in academia and industry. Scientific production is analyzed by treating eighteen of the oldest peer-reviewed journals in the field with over a hundred thousand articles published over the past fifty years. The aim is to capture and interpret trends with respect to four field verticals: (i) new materials and systems (hardware), (ii) digitalization, (iii) environmental impact and (iv) novelty/efficiency. The analysis reveals distinctive rates of innovation for each vertical, with some slowing down, as innovation becomes standardized and mainstream, and others peaking up, stemming from developments in other fields of science. Results are treated with respect to the S-curve technology maturity framework which accounts for effort and time towards development and the widely adopted scale of technology readiness levels. Further, corporate innovation is analyzed through patent search covering twelve key inventors and various technology focuses. While no straightforward approach exists to present innovation metrics without considering the broader socio-political and economic context, the present work seeks to provide a comprehensive monitoring of the progress in the field which reflects capital, time and effort put together, towards advancing propositions for future research.

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