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Faculty Profile
Lena Elisabeth Bygballe
Associate Professor - Department of Strategy and Entrepreneurship
Biography
I am Associate Professor and Head of Centre for the Construction Industry at the Department of Strategy, BI Norwegian Business School.
Research areas
My research interests are within themes related to innovation processes and inter-organizational relationsships, particularly using the construction industry as an empirical setting.
Teaching areas
My teaching areas are within purchasing and SCM.
It is widely held that collaborative project delivery models, such as partnering, represent a key means of improving construction project performance. Institutionalizing these models in practice, however, is not straightforward. We suggest that the (in)ability to establish new routines may be one reason for the variance in partnering outcomes. Based on a study of a partnering project, we develop a model of how partnering is institutionalized through the establishment of routines, enabled through common understanding and truces between the partners’ interests. The model illustrates how such routines develop through a balance between top-down structural interventions and emergent social learning processes.
Bygballe, Lena Elisabeth & Kvålshaugen, Ragnhild (2018)
Practices in Institutional Prosjects as Moblizers of Change: A Case of Adaptation to Climate Change
Academy of Management Proceedings
Kvalshaugen, Ragnhild & Bygballe, Lena Elisabeth (2018)
Practices in institutional projects as mobilizers of change: A case of adaptation to climate change
Purpose – Previous research shows that implementing lean construction is not a straightforward task. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of formal and informal mechanisms in implementing lean principles in construction projects. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on a single case study of the implementation of innovative lean principles in a public construction project in Norway. The study is based on qualitative data, including 17 semi-structured interviews with 21 individuals, document analysis, and observations in meetings and seminars, in addition to informal conversations. Findings – Formal mechanisms, including contractual arrangements, have the potential to both facilitate and hamper the implementation of innovative lean principles in a construction project. They might create coherence, but at the same time they might limit the scope of the concept in such a way that others do not accept it. Informal mechanisms, including social and lateral relationships and trust aid implementation, both directly by creating commitment and by modifying the challenges that the formal mechanisms potentially incur. Formal mechanisms may, in turn, nurture the informal ones. Research limitations/implications – The research is based on a single case study within the Norwegian public sector, which is dependent on specific public procurement regulations and subject to strong contractual traditions. Originality/value – The research extends the existing knowledge of implementation of lean construction in the construction industry. It helps refining the understanding of the role played by formal and informal mechanisms, and the interplay between them in the implementation process. This knowledge is also relevant for process innovations in construction in general.
Swärd, Anna & Bygballe, Lena Elisabeth (2017)
Lean Construction i et Strategisk perspektiv
Kalsaas, Bo Terje (red.). Lean Construction. Forstå og forbedre prosjektbasert produksjon
Pryke, Stephen; Badi, Sulafa & Bygballe, Lena Elisabeth (2017)
Editorial for the special issue on social networks in construction
Almås, Anders-Johan; Time, Berit, Bygballe, Lena Elisabeth & Lisø, Kim Robert (2016)
How can a research centre facilitate innovations for climate adaptation of buildings and infrastructure?
et al, . (red.). 4th Nordic Conference on Climate Change Adaptation "From Research to Actions and Transformation", August 29-31 2016 in Bergen, Norway. Book of Abstracts
Bygballe, Lena Elisabeth & Swärd, Anna Sundberg (2015)
Strategizing in Project-Based Organizations: The Role of Internal and External Relationships
Das, T.K. (red.). The practice of behavioral strategy
Bygballe, Lena Elisabeth; Dewulf, Geert & Levitt, Raymond E. (2015)
The interplay between formal and informal contracting in integrated project delivery