Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a critical review of research in information and equipment technology adoption in the construction industry. The study also aims to formulate a conceptual framework of the different stages in the adoption process identify gaps in the existing literature and to provide a holistic picture of contemporary research in technology adoption in construction research literature. Design/methodology/approach – A generic framework is initially proposed containing the fundamental concepts of “pre-adoption”, “adoption” and “post-adoption”. The review separates the literature according to three key perspectives: “socio-economic”; “managerial”; and “psychological”. The applicability of the existing approaches to the construction context is discussed, and then a new conceptual framework for construction is developed. Findings – Significant gaps in the understanding of construction technology adoption are identified that provide an interesting agenda for future research. A Construction Technology Adoption Framework is presented, which draws together all of sub-processes involved in technology adoption. This framework covers key activities of both the vendor and the customer. Research limitations/implications – The study has been restricted to information technologies and construction equipment technology. Other construction technologies, such as formwork systems, have not been examined. Practical implications – The new framework provides a direction for research into the technology adoption process including key sub-processes and potential research areas. The framework also assists vendors to influence customers’ decision-making processes, and guides new customers in setting up their own decision procedures. Originality/value – This paper departs from earlier research by focusing on information and equipment technology adoption rather than innovation adoption in general. In addition, this paper considers both sides of the adoption equation (vendor and customer), which is in contrast to previous binary studies which considered one side or the other. It delineates the boundaries of different concepts such as diffusion, adoption, acceptance and implementation, which have been interchangeably used in previous studies. This paper introduces the concept of dissemination to construction, which has previously been investigated in other industries.

Due to the complexity, high-risk and conservative character of construction companies, advanced digital technologies do not become widely adopted in the short term, while vendors make determined efforts to overcome this and disseminate their technologies. This paper presents the methods of an investigation addressing the extremely complex issues related to the current practices of digital technology adoption in construction. It discusses how construction companies follow a specific logical process linked to need, project objectives, the characteristics of the adopting organization and the characteristics of the new technology to be adopted. The study aims to demonstrate a novel method of data collection and analysis, such as data and methodological triangulation techniques, including the use of NVivo and AHP to explore how companies make the decision to uptake new technology (e.g., advanced crane, tunnel boring machine or drones) by focusing on customer and vendor activities, their interactions, contributing factors and people involved in the process. The major original contribution of this paper is developing an innovative methodological cube for investigating the Construction Technology Adoption Process (CTAP) covering technology adoption, acceptance, diffusion and implementation concepts. CTAP is a framework that delineates the phases of the process that customer organizations use when deciding to adopt a new digital technology and the parallel vendor activities. The significance of these contributions is that they enable vendors to understand how to match their strategies with customer expectations in each phase of CTAP. It also provides a benchmark for new construction companies to use the current best practices of decision making. Future research is warranted to more clearly delineate any differences with respect to developing nations or related industries such as mining and property management.

Purpose -To provide a decision support tool for long-term management of subcontractor supply chain for achieving better quality in construction. Design/methodology/approach -Defects on three construction projects are investigated through direct observation, document analysis, and interviews. A method to analyse and present defects information as an aid to decision making in relation to subcontractor supply chain management is proposed, and its application is illustrated by using the information obtained from the study. Findings -The importance of managing the subcontractor supply chain to reduce the incidence of defects is established. The nature and extent of the defects, along with what caused them, are discussed. Method for conversion of raw data into a decision support tool is presented.Research limitations/implications -The data collection method was limited in that it was not based on continuous full-time observation. Such presence by independent observers for full duration of the project would provide more accurate information. Practical implications -A useful tool for the construction industry in view of the fact that most of the construction work is now done by subcontractors and the head contractors primarily act as project managers. Originality/value -The concept of using Pareto analysis/histogram for managing quality has been around for a considerable period of time. This paper converts it into a more efficient and useful decision support tool.

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