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EXPORT DATE: 19 June 2026

@CONFERENCE{Lappalainen2026,
author={Lappalainen, Eelon and Ainamo, Antti and Desmarais, Dominic and Reinbold, Ana },
editor={Hamzeh, Farook and Poshdar, Mani and Garcia-Lopez,, Nelly P. },
title={When you meet Lean Construction gurus - beware!}, 
journal={Proceedings of the 34th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC 34)}, 
booktitle={Proceedings of the 34th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC 34)}, 
year={2026},
pages={899-910},
url={http://www.iglc.net/papers/details/2440},
doi={10.24928/2026/0100},
affiliation={Visiting Scholar, Civil Engineering, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland, ext-eelon.lappalainen@aalto.fi, orcid.org/0000-0002-7573-344X ; Associate Professor, Institute of Computer Science, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia, antti.ainamo@ut.ee, orcid.org/0000-0003-0210-0294 ; Assistant Researcher, Civil Engineering, University of Alberta, Alberta, Canada, ddesmar1@ualberta.ca, orcid.org/0009-0002-0506-5041 ; Doctoral Researcher, Civil Engineering, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland, ana.reinbold@aalto.fi, orcid.org/0000-0002-7774-7984 },
abstract={Research shows that people can become dependent on “gurus” or teachers whose theories and systems they deeply respect. Such dependence can become an anxious form of attachment that hinders critical thinking, genuine understanding, and independent decision-making. Building on these premises, this article revisits lean construction (LC), a recent, fashionable construction management paradigm that challenges established construction practices. Limited attention has been paid to guru discourse in the context of LC. Drawing on prior research on gurus and LC, we argue that the interpretive flexibility of LC has enabled continuous reinterpretation and provided fertile ground for guruism. Using a Google search, we collected LC discourse-related data in the form of 100 posts posted between 2019 and 2025 on LinkedIn, a professional social media platform. We analyzed these posts using netnographic methods as a theory-testing approach. Our findings identified five interrelated dimensions: (a) charismatic expertise, (b) rhetorical simplification, (c) framing LC as a universal solution, (d) emphasis on doctrinal purity and orthodoxy, and (e) prosocial community building. We argue that these dimensions shape online communities on social media platforms and crowd out reflexive, critical, professional judgment in contemporary LC discourse. },
author_keywords={Lean construction, guru, charismatic leadership, social media, discourse analysis. },
address={Singapore, Singapore },
issn={2789-0015 },
publisher={ },
language={English},
document_type={Conference Paper},
source={IGLC},
}