Factors Affecting the Innovation and Competitiveness in Kurdistan Region of Iraq Construction Industry

Innovation is the process of creating and implementing new ideas for the community, while competitiveness is the ability of a firm to provide the community standard quality services at competitive costs. Creativity and innovation have always been recognized as the foundation of success of any organization, as is the case for the construction industry worldwide. However, without taking the competitiveness in consideration, the prosperity process would be difficult. Over the past decade, the construction industry has been grown dramatically in Iraq, especially in northern region of the country. To keep the industry firms on the success path by way of making them innovative and competitive, examining factors affecting innovation and competitiveness is crucial. With this aim, this research is conducted so as to identify the factors influencing innovation and competitiveness of the firms. Literature review about innovation and competitiveness was reviewed to identify the factors affecting the innovation and competitiveness of construction projects. Pilot study of the questionnaire was achieved by a scouting sample. A questionnaire survey was conducted and 43 factors were identified, categorized into 7 groups of dimensions: 1) input, 2) driver, 3) barriers, 4) enabler, 5) impact, 6) competitiveness, and 7) firmâ?™s need of innovation. 150 questionnaires were distributed on local construction firms. 85 questionnaires were received (57%). Four hypotheses addressing the improvements of firmâ?™s project performance and their competitive advantages are developed, a conceptual framework explaining the developed hypotheses are designed, ended up with recommendations to improve innovation, competitiveness and performance of construction projects in Kurdistan Region of Iraq.