Constraints on the ICT diffusion within large Australian construction firms

Abstract

Many practitioners and academics realise the importance of implementing information and communication technology (ICT) in construction organisations and identify various success factors influencing ICT implementation. However, few of them can adequately explain the barriers that may occur during from initial adoption to actual implementation stages. To fill the above gap, this paper adopts innovation diffusion concept and highlights the constraints of ICT diffusion within large Australian construction firms. Two case studies of web-based document management and one case study of Intranet document management systems are used to support our explanation. Our research results indicate that at the organisational level, these constraints are: a limited ICT investment budget; organisational adoption gaps; and business results gaps. The scope of this paper precludes us from discussing personal level and group level constraints that we have identified. However an understanding of the organisational level constraints may help us become more aware of possible ICT implementation delays at that level and solutions for these constraints are proposed in this paper