E-readiness in construction: an incongruous paradigm of variables

The construction industry has witnessed unprecedented levels of technological change over the last 10 years in particular, the corollary of which has required key decision makers to fundamentally re-think the way they: (a) have undertaken business in the past; (b) are currently doing business at the moment; and, (c) will need to change their business practices in order to compete in the future. This research attempts to understand this trichotomy, with a specific emphasis on understanding key decision makers' perception of e-readiness within the context of the construction industry. Research findings highlighted the importance of People, Process and Technology, along with five core enablers that are deemed priority areas for operationalisation. The rubrics for managing these dependences are also discussed in the context of future leveraging opportunities. This research reports the significant importance of ICT to capture, store and reuse knowledge in the organisational and demonstrates the need for the organisation to be e-ready.

[1]  G. Ofori,et al.  Strategies for the construction sector in the information technology era , 1991 .

[2]  Vachara Peansupap,et al.  Factors affecting ICT diffusion , 2005 .

[3]  Craig Calhoun Information technology and integration , 2001 .

[4]  Rosa Michaelson,et al.  Evaluating Failure : The Case Of UKeU , 2006 .

[5]  Euripidis Loukis,et al.  The effect of generalized competition and strategy on the business value of information and communication technologies , 2007, J. Enterp. Inf. Manag..

[6]  Mohammad J. Tarokh,et al.  Preventing failure in IT-enabled systems for supply chain management , 2009 .

[7]  野中 郁次郎,et al.  The knowledge-creating company , 2008 .

[8]  M. Crossan The Knowledge-Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation , 1996 .

[9]  K. Pandya,et al.  Issues of Knowledge Management in the Public Sector , 2003 .

[10]  Sepani Senaratne,et al.  Managing construction project change: a knowledge management perspective , 2008 .

[11]  Derek H.T. Walker,et al.  INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) IMPLEMENTATION CONSTRAINTS: A CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE , 2006 .

[12]  Tung X. Bui and Ina M. Sebastian and Wayne Jones and Sa Naklada E-Commerce Readiness in East Asian APEC Economies – A Precursor to Determine HRD Requirements and Capacity Building , 2002 .

[13]  I. Nonaka The knowledge creating company". Harvard Business Review : . , 1991 .

[14]  K. Wiig Knowledge management: Where did it come from and where will it go? , 1997 .

[15]  Chimay J. Anumba,et al.  Electronic commerce in construction—trends and prospects , 2002 .

[16]  Devendra Potnis,et al.  Measuring e-Governance as an innovation in the public sector , 2010, Gov. Inf. Q..

[17]  Goh Bee Hua Applying the strategic alignment model to business and ICT strategies of Singapore's small and medium‐sized architecture, engineering and construction enterprises , 2007 .

[18]  Jeffrey S. Russell,et al.  Information technology (IT) and integration in the construction industry , 1995 .

[19]  Seonghee Kim,et al.  The roles of knowledge professionals for knowledge management , 2000 .

[20]  J. D. Jong,et al.  How leaders influence employees' innovative behaviour , 2007 .

[21]  C. Egbu Managing knowledge and intellectual capital for improved organizational innovations in the construction industry: an examination of critical success factors , 2004 .

[22]  Chimay J. Anumba,et al.  Collaborative project information management in a semantic web environment , 2008 .

[23]  James A. Holstein,et al.  Handbook of Interview Research , 2001 .

[24]  Bennet P. Lientz,et al.  Risk Management for IT Projects: How to Deal with Over 150 Issues and Risks , 2006 .

[25]  Pollaphat Nitithamyong,et al.  Web-based construction project management systems: how to make them successful? , 2004 .

[26]  Timo Hartmann,et al.  A process view on end-user resistance during construction IT implementations , 2009, J. Inf. Technol. Constr..

[27]  G. Huber Organizational Learning: The Contributing Processes and the Literatures , 1991 .

[28]  Steve Offsey,et al.  Knowledge Management: Linking People to Knowledge for Bottom Line Results , 1997, J. Knowl. Manag..

[29]  Barry Bozeman Handbook of Interview Research: Context and Method , 2003 .

[30]  Chimay J. Anumba,et al.  STEPS: a knowledge management maturity roadmap for corporate sustainability , 2006, Bus. Process. Manag. J..

[31]  Derek H.T. Walker,et al.  Factors affecting ICT diffusion: a case study of three large Australian construction contractors , 2005 .

[32]  Mu-Yen Chen,et al.  A Review of Survey Research in Knowledge Management Performance Measurement : 1995-2004 , 2005 .

[33]  Thomas Froese,et al.  PRACTICE NOTE Building information modelling demystified: does it make business sense to adopt BIM? , 2009, ICIT 2008.

[34]  Nancy Rossiter,et al.  Essential Skills for Management Research , 2004 .

[35]  Graham Pervan,et al.  Issues and recommendations in evaluating and managing the benefits of public sector IS/IT outsourcing , 2007, Inf. Technol. People.

[36]  Peter Cappelli,et al.  Talent management for the twenty-first century. , 2008, Harvard business review.

[37]  Kalle Lyytinen,et al.  Groupware Environments as Action Constitutive Resources: A Social Action Framework for Analyzing Groupware Technologies , 1997, Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW).

[38]  Donald A. Schön,et al.  Organizational Learning: A Theory Of Action Perspective , 1978 .

[39]  Donald R. Cooper,et al.  Business Research Methods , 1980 .

[40]  John Sparrow,et al.  Knowledge Management in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises , 2011, Encyclopedia of Knowledge Management.

[41]  Charles Despres,et al.  A review of survey research in knowledge management: 1997-2001 , 2002, J. Knowl. Manag..

[42]  Peter E.D. Love,et al.  Researching the investment of information technology in construction: An examination of evaluation practices , 2005 .

[43]  Wusheng Zhang,et al.  Developing a Knowledge Management Strategy , 2007 .

[44]  Marjorie A. Lyles,et al.  The Blackwell handbook of organizational learning and knowledge management , 2003 .

[45]  Bruce D. Keillor Tools vs toys: does your technology work for you or play with you? , 2007 .

[46]  Robert D. Smith,et al.  Managing organizational knowledge as a strategic asset , 2001, J. Knowl. Manag..

[47]  Chimay J. Anumba,et al.  IMPaKT: A Framework for Linking Knowledge Management to Business Performance , 2003 .

[48]  Ganesh D. Bhatt,et al.  Knowledge management in organizations: examining the interaction between technologies, techniques, and people , 2001, J. Knowl. Manag..

[49]  Peter Bodorik,et al.  Government support for the e-readiness of small and medium sized enterprises , 2002, Proceedings of the 35th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.

[50]  D. M. Hutton,et al.  Risk Management for IT Projects – How to Deal with Over 150 Issues and Risks , 2007 .

[51]  Payam Hanafizadeh,et al.  Taxonomy of e-readiness assessment measures , 2009, Int. J. Inf. Manag..

[52]  Z. Irani,et al.  Benchmarking information technology investment and benefits extraction , 2003 .

[53]  Stephen M. Mutula,et al.  An evaluation of e-readiness assessment tools with respect to information access: Towards an integrated information rich tool , 2006, Int. J. Inf. Manag..

[54]  Raymond A. Noe,et al.  Employee Training and Development , 2001 .

[55]  C Patricio Venegas,et al.  Selecting Long-Term Strategies for Construction Firms , 1997 .

[56]  J. R. Carter,et al.  An analysis of supply risk assessment techniques , 2004 .

[57]  Dechun Huang,et al.  A construction enterprise's readiness level in implementing e- procurement: a system engineering assessment model , 2011 .

[58]  Z. Irani,et al.  An e‐business model to support supply chain activities in construction , 2001 .

[59]  Angela Lee,et al.  nD modelling: industry uptake considerations , 2007 .

[60]  Jack Steven Goulding,et al.  The pervasiveness of e-readiness in the global built environment arena , 2010, J. Syst. Inf. Technol..

[61]  Mustafa Alshawi Rethinking IT in Construction and Engineering: Organisational Readiness , 2007 .

[62]  Allan C. Reddy A Macro Perspective on Technology Transfer , 1996 .

[63]  Roger Flanagan,et al.  Measuring the costs and benefits of information technology in construction , 2000 .

[64]  Michael Johnson,et al.  Barriers to innovation adoption: a study of e-markets , 2010, Ind. Manag. Data Syst..

[65]  Elizabeth Daniel,et al.  Benefits management : delivering value from IS & IT investments , 2005 .

[66]  R. Kaplan,et al.  Measuring the strategic readiness of intangible assets. , 2004, Harvard business review.

[67]  Patrick X. W. Zou,et al.  Effective Applications of E-Commerce Technologies in Construction Supply Chain: Current Practices and Future Improvement , 2006, J. Inf. Technol. Constr..

[68]  Raymond Y. C. Tse,et al.  IS IT TRAINING IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY USEFUL , 2005 .

[69]  William L. Fuerst,et al.  Information technology and sustained competitive advantage: a resource-based analysis , 1995 .

[70]  David Ulrich,et al.  The HR Value Proposition , 2005 .

[71]  K. Ruikar EXPERIENCES OF EDM USAGE IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS , 2006 .

[72]  Alberto Carneiro,et al.  How does knowledge management influence innovation and competitiveness? , 2000, J. Knowl. Manag..

[73]  Andrew D.F. Price,et al.  Dynamics of learning for advancing improvement in organisations within the construction industry , 1999 .

[74]  Inma Rodríguez-Ardura,et al.  Towards a dynamic model of e-commerce: environmental, technological and organisational drivers of B2C along time , 2010 .

[75]  Peansupap,et al.  Strategic adoption of information and communication technology (ICT): Case studies of construction contractors , 2004 .

[76]  Mohan M. Kumaraswamy Improving Industry Performance through Integrated Training Programs , 1997 .

[77]  Barbara Bigliardi,et al.  ICTs and knowledge management: an Italian case study of a construction company , 2010 .

[78]  Martin R. Fellenz,et al.  Researching the role of information and communications technology (ICT) in contemporary marketing practices , 2008 .

[79]  Christina Apostolou The Blackwell Handbook of Organizational Learning and Knowledge Management, M. Easterby-Smith, M.A. Lyles (Eds.). Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Oxford (2005), ISBN: 1-4051-3304-X , 2006, Int. J. Inf. Manag..

[80]  Thomas Olofsson,et al.  An evaluation model for ICT investments in construction projects , 2008, J. Inf. Technol. Constr..

[81]  Fawzy Soliman Application of knowledge management for hazard analysis in the Australian dairy industry , 2000, J. Knowl. Manag..

[82]  Jon A. Krosnick,et al.  The Measurement of Values in Surveys: A Comparison of Ratings and Rankings , 1985 .

[83]  Mike Kagioglou,et al.  Technology adoption: breaking down barriers using a virtual reality design support tool for hybrid concrete , 2007 .

[84]  Lee Chuan Ee,et al.  Knowledge management in construction , 2010 .

[85]  I. Nonaka,et al.  How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation , 1995 .

[86]  Mustafa Alshawi,et al.  Generic and specific IT training: a process protocol model for construction , 2002 .

[87]  María Sarabia,et al.  Knowledge leadership cycles: an approach from Nonaka's viewpoint , 2007, J. Knowl. Manag..

[88]  Gary David Holt,et al.  Cutting Construction Costs: EDMS as An Administrative and Communication Tool , 1999 .

[89]  Vanita Ahuja,et al.  Study of ICT adoption for building project management in the Indian construction industry , 2009 .

[90]  Antoni Meseguer-Artola,et al.  Toward a Longitudinal Model of e-Commerce: Environmental, Technological, and Organizational Drivers of B2C Adoption , 2010, Inf. Soc..

[91]  K. Ringen,et al.  The Construction Industry , 2006, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

[92]  Charles Egbu,et al.  Information technologies for knowledge management: their usage and effectiveness , 2002, J. Inf. Technol. Constr..

[93]  Mustafa Alshawi,et al.  Strategic Positioning of IT in Construction: The Way Forward , 2010 .

[94]  Umit Isikdag,et al.  Design patterns for BIM-based service-oriented architectures , 2012 .

[95]  J. Goulding,et al.  A case study on knowledge management implementation in the banking sector , 2006 .

[96]  Ashok Jashapara,et al.  Organisational learning and inter-firm 'partnering' in the UK construction industry. , 1998 .

[97]  F. Caeldries Reengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business Revolution , 1994 .

[98]  Gustavo Stubrich The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization , 1993 .

[99]  James Sommerville,et al.  Information management systems on construction projects: case reviews , 2006 .

[100]  Mustafa Alshawi,et al.  Critical success factors for e-tendering implementation in construction collaborative environments: people and process issues , 2009, J. Inf. Technol. Constr..

[101]  L. Wright,et al.  The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research (3rd ed.) , 2006 .

[102]  I. Bell Business Research Methods -3/E. , 2012 .

[103]  Jay Liebowitz,et al.  A set of frameworks to aid the project manager in conceptualizing and implementing knowledge management initiatives , 2003 .

[104]  Raja R. A. Issa,et al.  Evaluating industry perceptions of building information modelling (BIM) impact on construction , 2009, J. Inf. Technol. Constr..

[105]  Peter E.D. Love,et al.  Re‐thinking TQM: toward a framework for facilitating learning and change in construction organizations , 2000 .