How can organisations work together to make construction more sustainable? Can organisational collectives genuinely drive industry-wide change—or might they become permanent organisations whose membership fees and organisational survival take priority over meaningful transformation?

In the first episode of the ARCOM Construction Management Research Podcast, hosts Dr. Léon olde Scholtenhuis and Dr. Dimosthenis Kifokeris are joined by Dr. Nicolaj Frederiksen, Assistant Professor at the University of Southern Denmark.

They discuss Nicolaj’s research into organisational collectives for sustainability: groups of organisations that come together to address shared challenges that are too complex for any single organisation to tackle alone. Part of this research was presented at the 41st Annual ARCOM Conference in Dundee in 2025, where it received a Best Paper Prize.

Drawing on examples from the Danish construction industry, the conversation explores how networks, platforms, hubs and clusters can coordinate action, exchange knowledge and create change beyond individual projects and organisations.

But collective action also raises difficult questions:

• How can commercial organisations balance their own interests with a shared sustainability ambition?
• Who gets to participate—and who risks being excluded?
• Do organisational collectives create genuine systemic change, or do they reproduce the structures they aim to transform?

Ultimately, the episode asks whether organisational collectives for sustainability are a source of hope—or a hoax.

Chapters

• (02:27) - What Are Organisational Collectives for Sustainable Change?
• (05:55) - How Can We Identify Organisational Collectives?
• (08:04) - Value Chain Tensions
• (13:50) - Representing Companies and Collectives
• (17:04) - Membership, Professionalisation and Voluntary Participation
• (22:59) - Haven’t We Heard This Before?
• (23:42) - Four Types of Organisational Collectives
• (29:28) - Hope or Hoax?
• (34:59) - Examples from the Danish Construction Industry
• (39:25) - Power Structures, Membership and Exclusion
• (42:15) - Join the Debate at ARCOM

Guest

Dr. Nicolaj Frederiksen
Assistant Professor
University of Southern Denmark

Hosts

Dr. Léon olde Scholtenhuis
University of Twente

Dr. Dimosthenis Kifokeris
Chalmers University of Technology

Episode references

Discussed paper

Frederiksen, N., Gottlieb, S. C., de Gier, A., Holmegaard, R., Koch, C., & Buser, M. (2025). Organisational Collectives for Sustainable Change: Hope or Hoax? In C. Thomson & C. J. Neilson (Eds.), Proceedings of the 41st Annual ARCOM Conference, 1–3 September 2025, Abertay University, Dundee, UK, pp. 822–831. Association of Researchers in Construction Management.

Read the paper

Government statement referenced by Léon

Joint Statement by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and [complete title or link].

Prior research discussed

Astley, W. G., & Fombrun, C. J. (1983). Collective strategy: Social ecology of organisational environments. Academy of Management Review, 8(4), 576–587.

Read the article

About the ARCOM Construction Management Research Podcast

The ARCOM Construction Management Research Podcast brings construction management research to life through conversations with researchers from the ARCOM community. Each episode explores the theories, research methods and perspectives shaping construction management, connecting academic research with the wider challenges facing the built environment. Whether you are a researcher, student or construction professional, join us as we explore recent and thought-provoking research from the construction management community.