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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to re-visit social construction of technology (SCOT) framework in understanding of innovation in the construction sector and unpack the role of innovation brokers in this context.Design/methodology/approachThis is a conceptual paper adopting SCOT framework to understand innovation in the context of the construction sector. The role of innovation brokers is unpacked in the paper, currently under-explored in the construction innovation studies.FindingsThe authors suggest SCOT framework as a useful overarching frame through which to understand construction innovation. The authors argue that innovation brokers should be positioned to oversee the interface of multiple social groups.Research limitations/implicationsFurther empirical research is proposed to test the theoretical assumptions outlined in the paper. The research agenda is to conduct further empirical research adopting a socio-technical theoretical lens and appropriate qualitative or mixed-design methodologies. There are other socio-technical theoretical frameworks that could be used to explore socio-technical interactions in different ways, e.g. socio-technical systems theory, sociomateriality, actor-network theory, etc.Practical implicationsThree propositions are developed regarding the position of an innovation broker from the perspectives of multi-social-groups interfaces, shifting significance of the roles of innovation broker and the collaboration with government.Originality/valueThe authors outline the value of SCOT framework for innovation study within project-based construction sector. The authors contribute to better understanding of the role of innovation brokers in the system of construction innovation.

Serpentine soils are drought-prone and rich in heavy metals, and plants growing on serpentine soils host distinct microbial communities that may affect plant survival and phenotype. However, whether the rhizosphere communities of plants from different soil chemistries are initially distinct or diverge over time may help us understand drivers of microbial community structure and function in stressful soils. Here, we test the hypothesis that rhizosphere microbial communities will converge over time (plant development), independent of soil chemistry and microbial source. We grewPlantago erectain serpentine or nonserpentine soil, with serpentine or nonserpentine microbes and tracked plant growth and root phenotypes. We used 16S rRNA barcoding to compare bacterial species composition at seedling, vegetative, early-, and late-flowering phases. Plant phenotype and rhizosphere bacterial communities were mainly structured by soil type, with minor contributions by plant development, microbe source and their interactions. Serpentine microorganisms promoted early flowering in plants on non-serpentine soils. Despite strong effects of soil chemistry, the convergence in bacterial community composition across development demonstrates the importance of the plant-microbe interactions in shaping microbial assembly processes across soil types.