Koopman, K L (2023) Implementation of technological innovations within the South African construction industry. PhD thesis, Nelson Mandela University, South Africa.
Abstract
In South Africa the construction industry has grown by more than 15% per annum over the past five-years and the construction industry is facing several pressures to decrease costs, improve productivity and to develop a competitive edge in terms of quality of service and customer satisfaction. Faced with a growing demand for service delivery the industry must seek new and improved ways to stay competitive in this market space. By effectively analysing the construction market all role players within the AEC industry can adopt new trends and techniques being implemented by either their foreign counterparts or direct competitors. One of these trends within the industry is technological innovations; each designed to play a beneficial role in construction industry advancements. It is clear that our industry is moving forward at an alarming rate, yet our foreign counterparts seem to be one step ahead. Based on the 2010 Soccer World Cup it was clear that the South African AEC Industry had the ability to conform and deliver on world class infrastructure, yet we still seem to have a slow adoption rate surrounding technological innovations. Investigating the depth of knowledge based around the most popular technological innovations currently being implemented can provide a clear view as to what S.A. industry role players see as potentially profitable within our marketplace and the steps that could be taken to provide further research pertaining to those technological innovations which are being overlooked. Establishing the most prominent barriers preventing technological adoption within the South African AEC Industry can effectively be compared with those faced by foreign counterparts to mirror their solutions to similar problems. Finally, by establishing whether resistance to a changing environment plays a vital role in the hindrance to technological adoption one can access the extent to which the AEC Industry may effectively change based on a projected industry time frame.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | market; service delivery; South Africa; productivity; technological innovation; innovation |
| Index terms: | South Africa, construction market, quality of service, implementation, construction industry, customer satisfaction, technological innovation, productivity, service delivery |
| Subjects: | innovation and technology management, contractual arrangements, market analysis, Geography, industry analysis, management, public and environmental health, service delivery |
| Topics: | Health and Safety, Geographical Context, Project Management, Engineering Principles, Procurement, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Stakeholder Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
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