A conceptual framework for exploring the impact of social capital on innovation ambidexterity of Construction Project-Based Small and Medium Size Enterprises (PB-SMEs)

Innovation ambidexterity is the simultaneous persuasion of incremental and radical innovation by an organisation to achieve short- and long-term competence in business. Construction Project-Based Small and Medium size Enterprises (PB-SMEs) are facing industry-driven push to uptake incremental and radical innovation emanates from technological advancement and escalating regulatory targets for energy efficiency. This poses construction PB-SMEs towards rapid adoption of not just incremental innovation for competent project delivery at present, also radical innovation for future competiveness such as competence to adopt smart construction systems. Research supports that the adoption of innovation is facilitated by effective knowledge sharing. As the one-off nature of project operation acts as a barrier to seamless transfer of knowledge across projects, so effectively sharing of innovation knowledge is challenging. Moreover, knowledge sharing is a social phenomenon, and willingness to share knowledge is impacted by the extent of sharer’s social embeddedness. The theory of social capital emphasises that actors’ embedment in network relationship can offer additional beneficial resources from network engagement. Although project operation is discontinuous in nature, it provides construction PB-SMEs the scopes to involve in various network engagements within the construction industry. These network engagements may lead to gradual establishment of social capital so as to offer additional resources to overcome disadvantages of project discontinuity. However, the impacts of social capital on innovation knowledge sharing to facilitate rapid adoption of innovation by construction PB-SMEs are yet to explore in research. This paper provides a conceptual framework to explore the impacts of social capital dimensions of construction PB-SMEs on innovation knowledge sharing in order to facilitate rapid adoption of innovation to help achieve concurrent incremental and radical innovation.