Evaluating Innovation Diffusion Readiness among Architectural and Engineering Design Firms: Empirical Evidence from Australia

Abstract

This paper conceptualises the development of an Innovation Diffusion Readiness (IDR) framework used for monitoring innovation diffusion maturity levels within the Architectural and Engineering Design (AED) firm context. To achieve this, a survey was conducted with a number of Australian AED firms, using a validated survey instrument developed elsewhere. The key findings based on the study sample of 158 professionals representing 44 AED firms showed that the overall level of IDR among the sampled firms was moderate to high. Using Cluster Analysis, three main clusters of these firms that shared common IDR patterns were uncovered: Very High, High and Moderate IDR. Further analysis indicated that clusters with higher IDR appeared to perform significantly better in diffusing innovative design practices (i.e. value-based innovations). This finding highlighted that firms shifting to a higher IDR cluster could achieve a significant improvement in the diffusion of this type of innovation. The paper also provided a number of recommendations for future research to further improve the assessment of IDR within AED firms.