Measuring performance and the impact of research and development in the construction industry: Research methodological perspectives

Research and innovation in construction industry have a significant role to play
in performance improvement while providing benefits to the industry as well as to its
stakeholders. However, it has been identified that the nature of Research and Development
(R&D) work has become complex. Due to the rising cost, time and other resource constraints,
much attention is paid on the successfulness of R&D and the managers are under pressure to
monitor and improve the performance. In this context, the use of performance measurement
(PM) systems benefits R&D organisations by evaluating the successfulness of related
activities. Accordingly, this paper highlights the aspects which will be covered when
designing a feasible research methodology for the study under consideration. The paper
illustrates how the philosophical issues directed the use of case studies as the suitable research
approach. The importance of case study design in gaining the maximum outcome from the
research is also discussed.