Big data application is a significant transformative driver of change in the retail, health, engineering, and advanced manufacturing sectors. Big data studies in construction are still somewhat limited, although there is increasing interest in what big data application could achieve. Through interviews with construction professionals, this paper identifies the capabilities needed in construction firms to enable the accrual of the potentially transformative benefits of big data application in construction. Based on previous studies, big data application capabilities, needed to transform construction processes, focussed on data, people, technology, and organisation. However, the findings of this research suggest a critical modification to that focus to include knowledge and the organisational environment along with people, data, and technology. The research findings show that construction firms use big data with a combination strategy to enable transformation by (a) driving an in-house data management policy to rolling-out the big data capabilities; (b) fostering collaborative capabilities with external firms for resource development, and (c) outsourcing big data services to address the capabilities deficits impacting digital transformation.

Identity crisis has become a major source of inefficiency and ineffectiveness of individuals and organizations. One of the strategic ways for solving this crisis is through identifying the culture (personality) of organizations. The study identified organizational culture typologies of construction firms in Ghana, which is in response to the need for culture studies in construction and the unavailability of such studies in the Ghanaian Construction Industry. The study was quantitative; data were collected from Indigenous contractors in Ghana using a questionnaire survey. Analysis was done using Mean Score Ranking, Relative Importance Index and Exploratory Factor Analysis. Workplace Culture, Business Culture, System Culture and Group Culture were the identified typologies for the study. The cultures identified reveal the strategic areas of construction organizations which need management planning and commitment, to help in reshaping them to be competitive in the business environment.

Big data applications consist of (a) data collection using big data sources, (b) storing and processing data and (c) analysing data to gain insights for creating organisational benefit. The influx of digital technologies and digitisation in the construction process includes big data as one newly emerging digital technology adopted in the construction industry. Big data application is in a nascent stage in construction, and there is a need to understand the tangible benefit(s) that big data can offer the construction industry. This study explores the benefits of big data in the construction industry. Using a qualitative case study design, construction professionals in an Australian construction firm were interviewed. The research highlights that the benefits of big data include reduction of litigation among project stakeholders, enablement of near-to-real-time communication and facilitation of effective subcontractor selection. By implication, on a broader scale, these benefits can improve contract management, procurement and management of construction projects. This study contributes to an ongoing discourse on big data application and, more generally, digitisation in the construction industry.

Purpose: Integrated digital delivery (IDD) is the use of digital technologies, data, and platforms to integrate work processes and connect all stakeholders working on the same project throughout the construction and building lifecycle. The benefits of digital technologies are often cited to justify the adoption of IDD in construction projects, but such benefits remain under-researched and unverified. The purpose of the paper is to investigate the performance improvements attributable to the IDD approach in construction projects. Design/methodology/approach: This study combined questionnaire surveys, statistical analysis, social network analysis, and fuzzy synthetic evaluation to investigate the benefits of IDD in Hong Kong construction projects. The methodology was applied to rank the benefits of IDD, assess the benefit categories of the IDD, and model the relationships between the benefits. Findings: The results showed twenty-two (22) significant benefits of the IDD approach, grouped into design, cost, collaboration, sustainability, procurement, and productivity benefits. Design and collaboration benefits were ranked at the top and “high quality and faster preparation of designs” and “improved information exchange and management” were the most important benefits in these clusters, respectively. The weighted network model showed that the benefits of IDD are significantly correlated, and “cost savings associated with digital project delivery”, “improved work and project quality”, and “high quality and faster preparation of designs and calculation” were identified as the most influential benefits. Originality/value: The study outcomes offer the first empirical insights into performance gains achievable with the IDD approach in construction projects. Hence, this study, for the first time, identified and assessed the benefits and benefit categories as well as formulating the relationships between the benefits to suggest the most effective benefit pipeline.

This study identifies, maps and thematizes the barriers to the big data process in the construction industry from the perspective of construction professionals. Australian construction professionals with varying experiences in the big data process were interviewed. Qualitative data analysis identified forty barriers in the big data process and five themes: people, knowledge, technology, data, and environment. The barriers were further mapped, with some transcending more than one stage in the big data process. Many of the barriers have not been empirically identified in previous studies. By implication, mapping the barriers across the big data process enables professionals/construction firms to visualize the potential lapses before and/or during implementation. Therefore, the study offers professionals/construction firms strategic insights and operational perspectives for planning and deploying big data processes.

Digitalization is transforming the way of doing business, and the construction industry is experiencing its fair share. It has necessitated the influx and growth of digital technologies application on construction projects and, to a larger extent, construction firms. In as much as this is a great initiative, early adopters in construction are still exploring, experimenting, and exploiting the potential of these digital transformations in their projects. There appears to be a gap in the digital capabilities needed in the construction life cycle and how these should be developed. A systematic review approach was used to identify digital technologies used in the construction industry. Literature on organization and digital capabilities was used to identify these capabilities and supported with examples from the UK and Australia to explain the capabilities. A case was made for how developing countries can develop digital capabilities in the construction industry from geographical distribution analysis from the systematic review and inference from the identified capabilities and the enabling approaches. Three main digital capabilities (digital mindset, digital infrastructure/investment and digital skillset) with sub-capabilities and two main approaches (firm and external) to developing these capabilities are discussed in this chapter. By implication, these capabilities are also useful in the construction industry in developing countries.