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In-House Engineering as a Catalyst for Sustainable Innovation in Construction

In-House Engineering as a Catalyst for Sustainable Innovation in Construction
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Author(s): Mitchell Roy Woodworth (University of Calgary, Canada)and Oleksiy Osiyevskyy (University of Calgary, Canada)
Copyright: 2026
Pages: 44
Source title: Mitigating Unsustainable Practices in Construction and Architecture
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): Roberto Alonso González-Lezcano (Universidad CEU San Pablo, Spain)and Sunil Kumar Sansaniwal (NITI Aayog, India)
DOI: 10.4018/979-8-3373-2555-2.ch002

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Abstract

In-house engineering can be a powerful driver of innovation and sustainability in the construction industry. The authors examine the strategic choice between internalizing engineering services and outsourcing them and how it influences a firm's ability to innovate and meet sustainability goals. Integrating the four established theoretical perspectives (Transaction Cost Economics, Resource-Based View of the Firm, Dynamic Capabilities, and Absorptive Capacity), they develop a decision framework providing insights into the contexts and situations when in-house engineering adds the most value, becoming the preferred choice for construction firms. They start with an overview of industry trends, showing a clear shift from traditional outsourcing toward more integrated models as firms seek long-term competitive advantage. Then, they integrate decision criteria (cost, risk, innovation potential, sustainability, knowledge retention, and governance considerations) into a unified framework and illustrate them with case studies of major construction and engineering firms.

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