Enablers, challenges and relationships between research impact and theory generation

Perceptions drawn from the construction management research (CMR) community regarding research impact (RI) and its relationship to theory generation (TG) are examined. Investigative emphasis is on RI and TG enablers and challenges (within an academic context). The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Qualitative narrative data accrued from open-ended questions within a structured questionnaire survey are analysed using frequency, quantitative content analysis, and graphical methods. A model of the RI/TG interface is presented and discussed.

Principal RI enablers are “facilitation” (industry engagement, time); while principal constraints include “internal factors” (the academic, the university) and “external factors” (collaboration, funding). Respective TG enablers are “resources” (competence, time, funding) and corresponding challenges include “external factors” (market forces, compliance). RI is considered a minor challenge to TG.

The study adds empirical evidence to the ongoing RI debate within the UK generally and with regard to the CMR discipline more specifically.

RI research is relatively sparse, while the findings in regard to CMR are entirely novel.