2.1 Role of theory in construction management research
Construction management is a moderately new field that draws from both
the natural and social sciences. Attributable to its situation as the
mid-point between engineering and management, researchers in the field
are confronted with the adoption of an objective (engineering) paradigm
- where the attention is on discovering something genuine with regards
to the world it centers around, or a subjective (social
science/management) paradigm - where the goal is to see the way that
various truths are established (Lauri, 2008). As a result of this
quandary, positivism and quantitative techniques have been in the
ascendancy in construction management research (Dainty, 2007).
Nonetheless, the discussion about the role of theory in construction
management research began during the 1990s and was driven by Seymour and
Rooke (1995), Rooke et al. (1997), Loosemore et al. (1999), Dainty
(2008), and Seymour et al. (1998).
The discussion was significantly started on the contention that the
research methods taken on by the construction management researchers
have directed the focal point of the field however gave a limited
advance in the comprehension of industry peculiarities (Phelps et al.,
2010). In the following discussion, a portion of the researchers
contended that the ‘object’ of most construction management research is
people; while some argued otherwise. The result of the discussion
prompted the agreement that the culture of research should change if
researchers were to impact the industry (AlSehaimi et al., 2013). Rather
than restricting construction management research to quantitative or
qualitative methods; endeavors ought to be made to pick research
philosophy as indicated by the nature of the investigation and expected
contribution to knowledge.
As indicated by Gay and Weaver (2011), unique research ought to add to
the assemblage of knowledge in the appropriate discipline or space.
Since the theory is the cash of academic exploration, theory-building
and testing are the best methods to contribute to knowledge (Hughes,
1999; Corley and Gioia, 2011). The degree to which research fabricates
new theory and the degree to which existing theories are validated
determine the extent to which a theoretical contribution to knowledge
could be made (Colquitt and Zapata-Phelan, 2007). Theory building and
testing will be a huge step forward for construction management because
the development of theories and advancement of knowledge proceeds from
them (de Valence, 2012). This suggests that construction management is
an alternate set of management and by so it requires theories and
principles formulated from theoretical contributions and implications.
Nonetheless, there is an innate intricacy in the construction industry
and the majority of the research in this field is still issue-centered.