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Wakes of Innovation in Project Networks: The Case of Digital 3-D Representations in Architecture, Engineering, and Construction
Richard J. Boland, Jr.
Kalle Lyytinen
Youngjin Yoo
Abstract
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.
Published July/August 2007 (Vol. 18, No. 4) in:
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