Purpose: A significant amount of work has been performed in the area of identification of factors affecting construction productivity. Previous studies have tried to determine the most important factors affecting construction productivity in different countries for a long time. As a result of continuous effort in this direction, researchers have identified a wide range of factors. While the subject area has matured, no general agreement could be made on the factors affecting construction productivity. To fill this gap, the purpose of this paper is to undertake a comprehensive systematic review of mainstream studies on factors affecting construction productivity published in the last 30 years (1986–2016). Design/methodology/approach: A total of 46 articles from different sources such as journals, conference proceedings, dissertation and PhD theses were identified and thoroughly reviewed. Findings: Gaps in research and practices are discussed and directions for future research have been proposed. The literature review indicates that despite noticeable differences in the socio-economic conditions across both developed countries and developing countries, an overall reasonable consensus exists on few significant factors impeding productivity. These are, namely, non-availability of materials, inadequate supervision, skill shortage, lack of proper tools and equipment and incomplete drawing and specifications. Nevertheless, implications of technology, site amenities, process studies, project culture, and impacts of physiological and psychological factors were not adequately covered in existing literature. The study also found that traditional construction projects have remained the main focus of these studies while green construction projects have been generally overlooked. Research limitations/implications: The review does not include studies that report productivity at the organisational or industry level as well as total factor productivity. The scope of the review is limited to work on identification of factors affecting productivity at the activity level in construction projects. Practical implications: The outcomes of this study would help researchers and practitioners by providing the findings of previous studies in a concise manner. It is also expected that presenting a deeper and wider perspective of the research work performed until now will direct a more focussed approach on productivity improvement efforts in the construction industry. Originality/value: This review paper undertakes a comprehensive systematic review of studies on identification of factors affecting construction productivity published during the last three decades.

Purpose: The issue of low productivity has remained a very stern and chronic problem in construction projects. Previous studies have found poor communication as one of the leading causes of low-construction productivity. Recent advances in the field of information and communication technologies (ICT) have the potential to enhance communication and access to information in construction projects. However, the implications of the use of mobile ICT on construction productivity have not been investigated in sufficient depth, especially from the perspectives of its users, i.e. construction management (CM) professionals. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approach: A focus group session involving ten experienced CM professionals from different organisations of the South Australian construction industry was moderated by a group of four researchers to gather data on mobile ICT usage and its implications for construction productivity.Findings: Lack of training and guidelines on effective applications of these technologies to construction projects is a major bottleneck. Results indicate that despite noticeable advances in mobile ICT, differences in usage style and user attitude have limited their overall impact on productivity.Research limitations/implications: This paper is based on data gathered from CM professionals working in the South Australian construction industry.Practical implications: The study highlights the importance of strategising the use of mobile ICT to achieve the desired productivity rates through policy, training, work-life balance, and deeper and wider understanding of these technologies.Originality/value: The study examines the perceptions of CM professionals on the usefulness of mobile ICT in construction projects and its implications for construction productivity.

Purpose: – This study aims to present an integrated conceptual model in order to highlight the major aspects of diffusion of innovations in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) context. To this end, a critical review of literature is conducted, accompanied by synthesising the findings of previous studies. The driving force behind this study is stemmed from the fragmentation of literature on innovation diffusion, and paucity of research on diffusion of Global Virtual Engineering Teams (GVETs) as the platform for many technological innovations in relevant literature. Thus, the present study is intended to facilitate filling the gap in GVETs literature. That is, the proposed model will offer a foundation for academia for grounding studies on any innovation including GVETs in the literature on innovation diffusion in the AEC context.Design/methodology/approach: – This paper draws upon the qualitative meta-analysis approach encompassing a critical review of the relevant literature. To this end, the review builds upon studies found within 15 prestigious journals in AEC. The domain of this review was confined to areas described as “innovation”, “innovation diffusion” and “innovation adoption”, along with keywords used within a broad review of recently published GVETs literature. The rigour of review is augmented by incorporating 35 authoritative works from other disciplines published in 21 well-known journals in the manufacturing, business and management fields. Moreover, the study deploys the peer-debriefing approach through conducting unstructured interviews with five Australian scholars to verify a model presenting an aggregated summary of previous studies.Findings: – The key findings of the study include the following items: synthesising the fragmented studies on innovation diffusion in the AEC context. In doing so, a model capturing the major aspects affecting diffusion of an innovation in AEC projects is presented; providing a foundation to address the drawbacks of previous studies within the sphere of GVETs, based on the developed model.Research limitations/implications: – The developed model was only enhanced using a small sample size of academics, as such not empirically validated.Originality/value: – As possibly, the first literature review of innovation in the AEC context, this paper contributes to the sphere by sensitising the AEC body of knowledge on innovation diffusion as a concise conceptual model, albeit verified through the peer-debriefing approach. This study will also further establish the research field in AEC on GVETs along with other methods reliant on virtual working such as building information modelling (BIM) through providing an expanded foundation for future inquiries and creation of knowledge.

A healthy work–life balance is paramount for all employees in today’s fiercely competitive and stressful work environments. However, work–life balance can be a challenging goal to achieve for construction management professionals (CMPs), who often work long hours on construction projects. Many recent studies have reported that the adoption of mobile information and communication technologies (mICT) can increase informal work (i.e., during nonwork hours, or after-hours work). However, this topic has not been adequately researched in the context of the construction industry despite a significant increase in the uptake and use of mICT in construction projects in recent years. This paper reports on findings from 27 in-depth semistructured interviews conducted to examine CMPs’ use of mICT in the Australian construction industry. The interview data on work-related non-work-hours use of mICT were analyzed focusing on how CMPs manage boundaries between work and life, given that the use of mICT has added to the amount of informal work. The findings showed that there is a lack of consensus among CMPs as to how to view informal work induced by mICT. The analysis also found that, in the absence of relevant organizational policies and guidelines, work–life boundary management approaches taken by individual CMPs vary substantially and largely determine the extent of their mICT usage for work during nonwork hours and its implications for their work and life. In addition, this study explains variability in the permeability of work–life boundaries based on three factors: individual behavioral characteristics, work attitude, and job factors. Understanding the different factors that determine CMPs’ use of mICT during nonwork hours and associated informal work can provide valuable insights into how to address its negative implications at the individual, team, company, and industry levels.

Industry in general has seen many technological developments in recent decades. However, the construction industry has not kept pace particularly within the area of information and communication technologies (ICTs). This could be for many reasons notably including the fragmented structure of the industry. Many studies regard the construction industry’s failure to keep pace with ICTs as a major problem affecting its performance. Hence, they have tried to diagnose the problem in this regard. Many drivers have seen the successful adoption of new ICTs within other industries with this trend now emerging within the construction industry. Because of the increasing awareness among practitioners of the benefits of utilising ICTs within construction, the recent decade has seen many construction projects harnessing ICTs methods and strategies in construction. This paper has an exploratory approach with the aim of reviewing the existing research publications on the subject, describing the current state of ICTs in construction industry, and introducing some successful methods. The presented discussions will provide guidelines for practitioners and policy makers in the construction industry regarding the advantages of adopting ICTs for enhancing the efficiency of the construction industry. The methods introduced could be beneficial for key construction stakeholders in developing countries by presenting the advantages gained from merging ICTs into construction projects processes based on methods previously tested in developed economies.