Ma, C-P (2001) IT performance and organisational characteristics in construction firms: the case of Taiwanese contractors. PhD thesis, University College London, UK.
Abstract
In today's increasingly competitive business climate, information technology (IT) is becoming imperative for business survival. The view that IT expenditures are expected to increase enormously in organisations is now widely accepted in the literature. IT innovation provides construction organisations with the opportunity to improve their business performance and gain competitiveness. According to many surveys such as CICA and KPMG, IT is now becoming widely used in the UK construction industry. There is much evidence to suggest that IT has a major impact on the business performance of construction organisations. However, what is less understood is the interplay between organisational characteristics and IT implementation in construction firms This research mainly concerns the relationships between organisational characteristics and the outcomes of IT implementation for business improvement in Taiwanese construction organisations. Based on the innovation process and the organisational change literature, an analytical research framework was developed by this research. This framework was used to identify the potential organisational variables which could affect the outcomes of IT implementation for business success in organisations. After interviewing a total of fifty major contractors in Taiwan, this research firstly explored the current use of IT applications in Taiwan's construction industry and several common IT implementation problems encountered by the contractors. Some possible solutions for the problems are suggested. Secondly, this research found that several organisational variables are statistically correlated with the outcomes of IT implementation from the interviews. Five critical factors for business success through implementing IT were also identified. The results can be used to help contractors manage their IT projects effectively and obtain business success through implementing IT.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | business performance; competitiveness; construction firms; information technology; innovation; interview; organisational change; Taiwan |
| Index terms: | construction organization, becoming, critical factor, competitiveness, business improvement, construction industry, implementation, organizational characteristic, survival, competitive busines, Taiwan, organizational change, interview, construction firm, survey, evidence, business performance, information technology |
| Subjects: | computing systems, risk assessment, evaluation and assessment methods, data collection methods, organization, business, environmental science, contractual arrangements, business management, Geography, performance measurement, industry analysis, philosophical process, market analysis, sociology |
| Topics: | Organizational Design, Digital Applications, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Quality Management, Sustainability, Procurement, Risk Management, Geographical Context |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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