Innovation is often viewed as vital in addressing future demands on the construction industry, but innovation implementation is also considered challenging in this fragmented, project-based industry. In order to address the challenges, client organisations are commonly acknowledged as key actors in driving construction innovation. However, the details of what the client role constitutes is less clear, and the question of whether innovation should be mainly client-led or supplier-led is debated. The purpose in this paper is to explore different roles public client organisations can enact to promote innovation. To fulfil this purpose, an explorative case study has been conducted at the largest transport infrastructure client in Sweden; exploring two initiatives which have simultaneously been deployed to promote innovation. The studied organisation is on the one hand trying to influence the industry to implement Building Information Modelling (BIM), adopting a BIM policy and actively influencing the supply chain, while on the other hand promoting innovation through policies aimed at providing more flexibility in projects, enabling suppliers to propose new solutions and emphasising market competition. Even though the overarching goals are similar, promote innovation, the research finds that the simultaneous use of the policies create intra-organisational tension within the client organisation. The findings provide insights into the different roles clients can enact in promoting innovation, and contribute to the understanding of clients as a key actor for promoting innovation in the construction industry.

Building information modelling (BIM) is widely discussed in both industry and academia and studies have argued that public clients play an important role in industry's implementation of BIM. While public client initiatives have gained much interest in previous research, there is still a lack of knowledge exploring the public clients' role and choice of strategies when implementing BIM with the aim to change industry. Based on a case study of BIM implementation at the largest infrastructure client in Sweden, this paper applies the theory sociology of translation to explore the role of the public client as a driver for industry change and the strategy used during this process. The case study shows how the public client tries to influence its own organization and the construction industry as a whole. Findings show that the main strategy for enrolling actors to implement BIM is to demand its use in the procurement of all construction projects, thereby attempting to establish the BIM issue as a Black Box. A Black Box, a locked network element, which includes associated inscriptions aimed at prescribing BIM use in projects conducted by this client. The acceptance of this Black Box has however been problematic, resulting in a diverse influence on the demand for BIM in procured construction projects.

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Public clients are proposed as key actors in driving construction industry change towards a more sustainable, efficient and productive industry. Based on how they procure consultants and contractors, it is argued that public clients have the power and are in the position to act as "innovation supporters" and "change agents." However, the client's role as a driver of change and innovation is oversimplified and there is a need for further investigation into the client's ability to drive industry change. This paper presents a case study of a public client's initiative to drive industry change through the implementation of Building Information Modelling (BIM). We do this by investigating the process of intra-organisational change at the public client by mapping the client's absorptive capacity for change. The case study shows difficulties in turning the external knowledge into actual transformation when implementing a systemic innovation such as BIM. Findings contribute to the literature on public clients as drivers of change and innovation in construction and are relevant to research on public clients as drivers for industry change and innovation and to research on BIM as a game changer.