Akmam Syed Zakaria, S; Gajendran, T; Rose, T and Brewer, G (2018) Contextual, structural and behavioural factors influencing the adoption of industrialised building systems: A review. Architectural Engineering and Design Management, 14(1-2), pp. 3-26. ISSN 1745-2007
Abstract
The adoption of industrialised building systems (IBS) technology, with its focus on off-site prefabrication and modularisation, offers a significant reduction in environmental degradation, while simultaneously achieving significant productivity gains, decreasing labour requirements and improving working conditions. IBS technology is now one of the prevalent and growing building technologies in developed and developing countries. Policy approaches in some countries have thus concentrated on providing tailored support to encourage IBS technology adoption. Despite the obvious benefits of IBS technology, the adoption is very slow. This paper reviews literature aimed at understanding the different influences impacting on IBS adoption. The aim of the paper is to categorise and synthesis factors identified in the literature that explicitly or implicitly impact on IBS adoption decision-making. It specifically focuses on how emerging (a) contextual factors (e.g. economics conditions, technology development, government involvement, sustainability feature and stakeholders participation), (b) structural factors (e.g. Project condition, procurement setup, management approach, communication process and decision-making style) and (c) behavioural factors (e.g. experience, bounded Rationality, awareness and attitude) influence IBS adoption. Hence, identifying influencing factors on the decision to adopt IBS in construction provides support in terms of better understanding and facilitating the increased use of IBS technology and thus, improving levels of sustainability and competitiveness in the construction industries.The adoption of industrialised building systems (IBS) technology, with its focus on off-site prefabrication and modularisation, offers a significant reduction in environmental degradation, while simultaneously achieving significant productivity gains, decreasing labour requirements and improving working conditions. IBS technology is now one of the prevalent and growing building technologies in developed and developing countries. Policy approaches in some countries have thus concentrated on providing tailored support to encourage IBS technology adoption. Despite the obvious benefits of IBS technology, the adoption is very slow. This paper reviews literature aimed at understanding the different influences impacting on IBS adoption. The aim of the paper is to categorise and synthesis factors identified in the literature that explicitly or implicitly impact on IBS adoption decision-making. It specifically focuses on how emerging (a) contextual factors (e.g. economics conditions, technology development, government involvement, sustainability feature and stakeholders participation), (b) structural factors (e.g. Project condition, procurement setup, management approach, communication process and decision-making style) and (c) behavioural factors (e.g. experience, bounded Rationality, awareness and attitude) influence IBS adoption. Hence, identifying influencing factors on the decision to adopt IBS in construction provides support in terms of better understanding and facilitating the increased use of IBS technology and thus, improving levels of sustainability and competitiveness in the construction industries.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | industrialised building systems; building projects; construction industry; decision-making; biodegradation; construction; government procurement; decision making; buildings; project management; competitiveness; developing countries; procurement management; developing nations; sustainable development; technology adoption; technology; environmental degradation; sustainability; prefabrication; working conditions; technology utilization |
| Index terms: | environmental degradation, influencing factor, developing country, building technology, industrialized building system, procurement management, sustainable development, productivity, developing nation, decision-making style, government procurement, decision-making, modularization, competitiveness, bounded rationality, technology utilization, technology development, construction industry, prefabrication, biodegradation, labour requirement, working conditions, project management, technology adoption |
| Subjects: | management, decision-making and reasoning, employment law, health safety and environment, development economics, project management theory and practice, market analysis, building construction, decision analysis, procurement strategy, industry analysis, risk assessment, environmental impact, engineering systems, materials science, innovation and technology management |
| Topics: | Site Management, Legal Issues, International Construction, Risk Management, Sustainability, Procurement, Construction Technology, Health and Safety, Business Strategy, Engineering Principles, Research Practice, Project 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