Factors influencing the application of prefabricated construction in China: From perspectives of technology promotion and cleaner production

Abstract It has been proven that prefabricated construction plays a significant role in cleaner production in the construction industry due to its capacity for energy conservation, emissions reduction, low-carbon development and environmental protection. Although prefabricated construction was introduced in China decades ago, it still faces some problems during the application stage. In order to improve the application of prefabricated construction in China, this research explores its influencing factors from the perspectives of technology promotion and cleaner production. Twenty-one types of factors are identified through a literature review, and a questionnaire survey is conducted for the purpose of collecting empirical data. Factor analysis establishes an influencing factor model composed of industry factors, company factors, technology factors, government factors and market factors. The relative importance of each cluster and factor is revealed by its index of relative importance (IRI): the dominant player is the government, and the top five factors in the promotion of prefabricated construction in China are technology lock-in (76.42%), incentive policies (75.91%), standardization (73.70%), cost (73.70%) and entrepreneurial cognition (73.13%). Additionally, the process of conducting semi-structured interviews with experts provides suggestions. The findings will benefit researchers, practitioners and policymakers who want to promote the application of prefabricated construction, and provide references for other cleaner production technologies in China.

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