Badamasi, A A; Aryal, K R; Makarfi, U U and Dodo, M (2022) Drivers and barriers of virtual reality adoption in UK AEC industry. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 29(3), pp. 1307-1318. ISSN 0969-9988
Abstract
Purpose: Virtual reality (VR) offers unique features of a three-dimensional (3D) model during early design stages in the virtual environment with immersive functions. Although the potential of VR is to increase the effectiveness and productivity of the project phases from initial concept design to detailed design preparation. VR adoption in the United Kingdom (UK) Architectural Engineering and Construction (AEC) sector is slow compared to other sectors. This research focuses on ascertaining the drivers and barriers of VR in construction projects in the UK. Design/methodology/approach: The study adopts an online survey design. It uses Bristol Online Survey (BOS) to create a structured questionnaire that is used to assess UK construction professionals using a convenience sampling technique. Therefore, researcher uses descriptive and inferential technique for data analysis and presentation based on Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) to analyze the questionnaire. Findings: The research findings revealed the most significant barriers to VR adoption in UK construction industry were lack of skills/expertise and cultural change. Hence, the main drivers of VR adoption as rated by the professionals in the UK construction industry are improved safety, improved quality and improved productivity. Practical implications: The identification and assessment of the drivers and barriers to VR adoption could advance VR adoption among construction professionals and other stakeholders of the UK AEC sector. This could also be extended to developing countries, given the status of VR as being in the developing stage. Originality/value: This study provides valuable insights to construction professionals and stakeholders to plan actions that could enhance the drivers and mitigate the barriers of VR. This study's main contribution is to group and classify various drivers and barriers into easily understood categories, in order to potentiate the drivers and reduce the barriers effectively. The groupings could be used as benchmarks in similar studies in developing countries.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | AEC industry; barriers; drivers; United Kingdom; virtual reality adoption |
| Index terms: | United Kingdom, survey, developing country, data analysis, virtual environment, cultural change, construction project, methodology, questionnaire, concept design, productivity, package, construction industry, early design stage, architectural engineering, virtual reality, social science, construction professional, sampling, effectiveness |
| Subjects: | design process, development economics, professional development, Geography, production management, performance management, research methods, management, design practice, theoretical framing, industry analysis, sociology, virtual reality, data collection methods, data analysis and analytics, contractual arrangements |
| Topics: | Procurement, Business Strategy, Geographical Context, Project Management, Research Practice, Information Management, Organizational Design, Design Practice, Digital Applications, Quality Management, International Construction |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here