Structured analysis of ICT adoption in the European construction industry

Construction is trailing other industries in the adoption of information and communication technology (ICT). A major European project Digiplace is investigating if this problem could be addressed using digital platform technology. In the context of this project the current state, future goals and barriers in between have been researched through literature studies, surveys, and interviews. Several similar studies have been done in the past; however, the barriers are still there. The paper, therefore, introduces a novel framework to study technology transfer. It identifies three key vectors of transfer: standards and regulation, software, and people. Along these vectors, it identifies elements that pull and elements that push technology, but which need to overcome the various frictions and barriers. These are then structured according to the PESTEL approach. This approach encourages the holistic study of factors beyond technology. The paper concludes that there is a need for a better way of deployment, organizing, marketing, and learning about new technologies which would mostly benefit small and medium enterprises which lag most in the use of ICT. This could be implemented in the form of industrial digital platforms as a part of the Industry 4.0 strategy.