Dahri, F. and Shahruddin, S. (2026) Interpreting digital transformation towards industry 5.0: Paradoxical tensions among leaders in architectural consultancy practices. Architectural Engineering and Design Management, 22(4), pp. 1211-1238. ISSN 1745-2007
Abstract
The transition from Industry 4.0 to Industry 5.0 has intensified digital transformation in Architectural Consultancy Practices (ACPs), reshaping professional roles and organisational operations. While leaders adopt digital strategies to remain competitive, these strategies are often introduced without fully recognising the contradictory, yet interdependent forces involved. This study therefore examines how leaders in ACPs experience and interpret paradoxical tensions during digital transformation. Guided by an interpretive phenomenological approach, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 top-management architects, including managing directors, principal architects, directors, and chief executive officers within Malaysian ACPs. Drawing on the theoretical lenses of learning, performing, organising, and belonging, thematic analysis revealed five interrelated paradoxical tensions: (1) integrating expanding digital possibilities with workforce learning demands, (2) anchoring professional identity while embracing multidisciplinary collaboration, (3) balancing institutional control with project-level agility, (4) balancing organisational stability while investing in future-oriented innovation, and (5) sustaining professional performance amid digital intensification. The fifth tension introduces a novel Sustaining Paradox, capturing the ongoing effort required to manage technological intensification alongside the maintenance of professional functioning and adaptability over time. Theoretically, the study extends paradox theory into the psychosocial and professional domain of ACPs by demonstrating how digital transformation generates interconnected tensions that operate concurrently rather than sequentially. Practically, the study contributes by making these tensions conceptually visible. This conceptualisation provides leaders with a clearer language to interpret their situations, rather than prescribing specific interventions. Such clarity enables more informed leadership responses during the transition to Industry 5.0.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | architectural consultancy practice; architectural design management; digital transformation; industry 5.0; paradox theory |
| Index terms: | paradox, collaboration, identity, interview, consultancy, industry 4.0, architectural design, drawing, transformation, thematic analysis, chief executive officer, adaptability, strategy, architect, stability |
| Subjects: | structural engineering, technical documentation, profession, business, social theory and frameworks, methods and analysis, technology adoption, management, design practice, organization, data collection methods, user focus, sociology, practitioner |
| Topics: | Engineering Principles, Research Practice, Organizational Design, Design Practice, Roles and Professions, Business Strategy, Digital Applications |
| 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