If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.Abstract: Motivation is the main force through which individuals allocate effort to generate and implement innovative ideas. However, employees are only motivated to go beyond their designated role and get involved in spontaneous and innovative activities if they have a strong identification with the organization. Organizational culture plays a critical role in motivating innovative behaviour, as it can create commitment among members of an organization in terms of believing in innovation as an organizational value and accepting innovation-related norms prevalent within the organization. The research this paper reports on addresses the motivational aspects of the relationship between culture and innovation in construction firms. Specifically, it focuses on those managerial actions through which the importance of innovation may be communicated and innovation-related behaviour may be induced and reinforced. An in-depth case study investigating the innovation activities of a Swiss contractor revealed that project constraints and regional separation may diminish the motivational effects of managerial actions in construction firms. It is concluded that a culture that motivates new solutions and innovative improvements in particular first of all prevents ideas from getting lost in daily business and within the organization. Giving immediate feedback, providing communication channels for implicit knowledge, allowing for autonomous work and task identity, initiating innovation projects and using a comprehensive reward and incentive system are appropriate managerial actions in this regard.

Defining the nature of the relationship between contractual and relational governance is critical for understanding how to maintain commitment and coordination between private and public organizations in long-term partnerships. In this study, a theoretical model explains Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project performance as the result of a mediation process. Contractual and relational governance elements operate sequentially with relational elements (relational norms and trust), playing a mediating role between contractual elements, project actors' behaviour and final performance. Based on the analysis of a survey of PPP practitioners in The Netherlands, and using Consistent Partial Least Squares Modeling, the study provides empirical support for these mediating effects. The findings are aligned with the idea that both economic incentives and hierarchical relationships formalized in contract agreements require being internalized in working practices by means of informal and socially based mechanisms. The enabling and compensating mechanisms underlying the mediation role of relational governance elements are discussed. Managers can particularly find in relational norms a leverage point for designing collaborative day-today practices aimed at reinforcing trust and long-term contractual obligations.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the relative importance of price and trust and their interaction in subcontractor selection. By doing so, it aims to respond to the currently dominant view that trust‐based procurement is the remedy to performance problems in construction. The paper also aims to argue that a specific interplay of both price and trust is always inherent to the selection of subcontracted services.Design/methodology/approachA choice‐based conjoint experiment was conducted to underpin the initial argument. The conjoint analysis is based on a sample of medium‐sized contractors from the Dutch residential building industry.FindingsThe research shows that neither price nor trust can be downplayed as procurement mechanisms. On the one hand, through repeated relationships main contractors become more confident in judging the performance of subcontractors. The level of trust increases and finally affects the supplier selection. On the other hand, favourable quotes are a prerequisite for trust to become choice relevant. Moreover, the extent to which subcontractors have performed with respect to quality, technical know‐how and cooperation in the past finally accounts for whether they are chosen or not.Research limitations/implicationsThe joint occurrence of price and trust as procurement mechanisms should be acknowledged. More research is needed to understand the trade‐offs main contractors make between price and trust while procuring subcontracted services.Practical implicationsSubcontractors need to offer competitive bids to be able to increase their chance of recurrent relationships with main contractors and thus trust development.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first that considers the interaction of price and trust in subcontractor procurement. It contributes to the ongoing discussion around partnering and supply chain integration in construction.

Conscious management of innovation in construction firms is becoming more and more a necessity. However, the possibilities and ways to successfully put an innovative idea into practice depend on a range of contingencies. A framework of innovation management was devised to structure the context variables of construction innovation. Furthermore, an analytical approach was developed to enable researchers as well as construction managers to detect those variables which should be considered for managing construction innovation. The application of the approach to the case of a Swiss contractor revealed dependency on client and location, procurement form, innovation acceptance of the client and regulation degree as significant variables of the external environment. Service offer, knowledge strength, cooperative behaviour, financial strength and time needs were identified as critical variables of the internal environment. The implications are that the management of construction firms should advocate innovative ideas explicitly, make conscious strategic decisions about the direction of the firm's innovation activity and provide methodical and hierarchical support during the innovation process. Establishing internal innovation brokers and using portfolio-based project checkpoints are supportive measures in this regard.Innovation management, context variables, construction firm,

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