Lockley, S R; Watson, R and Shaaban, S (2002) Managing e-commerce in construction: Revolution or e-business as usual? Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 9(3), pp. 232-240. ISSN 0969-9988
Abstract
This paper examines how the adoption of e-commerce will influence the processes of dissemination, communication and management of information in the AEC industry. We argue that e-commerce will render redundant the business models that currently support these processes, and propose templates for the business models of the future. Effective information flow is fundamental to the process of realizing a construction project and within this project information pool, manufacturers' product information forms a core component. It provides designers with technical information to support decision making during design, the data necessary to communicate specification requirements to contractors and finally a means by which contractors can source the materials required to construct the project. We examine the current business model and motivations for each actor in this sector before going on to discuss the areas where e-commerce can most effectively be adopted. We propose a three generation model for e-business and conclude by describing the changes to the underlying business models that we believe are necessary to support effective e-commerce in the future.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | AEC; e-business; process re-engineering |
| Index terms: | dissemination, information flow, business model, specification, motivation, designer, e-commerce, manufacturer, construction project, decision-making, technical information, e-business, product information |
| Subjects: | innovation studies, digital commerce, practitioner, decision analysis, information systems, profession, psychology, knowledge translation, business, contractual condition, production management, technology management |
| Topics: | Business Strategy, Risk Management, Human Resources, Research Practice, Roles and Professions, Digital Applications, Contract Administration, Project Management, Information Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 2 PC |
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