ABSTRACT
So far in the book, we have been dealing with theoretical and practical considerations
relating to the specification of buildings. This chapter marks a change in emphasis. For
the remainder of the book, we focus on how specifiers behave in practice, with partic-
ular emphasis on the uptake of building products that are ‘new’ to the recipient. This
chapter starts by looking at the issue of innovation and draws on the diffusion of inno-
vations work as a way of looking at how specifiers view products that are perceived as
‘new’ to them. We then define ‘building product innovation’ before looking at a group
of specifiers’ approach to specifying and attitude towards new products. The chapter
concludes by reporting on research findings based on a postal survey of specifiers.
