Decision-makers in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry lack knowledge about the implementation of digitalisation to generate value. We applied a scenario planning method developed by Schoemaker and Mavaddat to provide decision-makers with information for using digital data and technolo-gies to create value for customers. We aim to theoretically understand how the scenario planning process helps AEC decision-makers to make sense of the fu-ture. Our findings show that boundary spanners are needed for steering the dis-cussions among industry actors toward shared knowledge about the technologi-cal, social, economic and political changes needed at the industry level to opti-mise the benefits of digitalisation. Our findings also show that boundary spanners apply scenario figures as boundary objects to cross knowledge boundaries. Based on our findings, we theoretically conceptualise scenario planning as a boundary-spanning activity that enables AEC decision-makers from different fields to share tacit knowledge and to cross knowledge boundaries. The practical implication is that scenario planning provides a method for AEC decision-makers to make sense of the changes needed to realise the preferred future for the industry.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.