Sharifah Akmam Syed Zakaria

Contextual, structural and behavioural factors influencing the adoption of industrialised building systems: a review

ABSTRACT The adoption of industrialised building systems (IBS) technology, with its focus on off-site prefabrication and modularisation, offers a significant reduction in environmental degradation, while simultaneously achieving significant productivity gains, decreasing labour requirements and improving working conditions. IBS technology is now one of the prevalent and growing building technologies in developed and developing countries. Policy approaches in some countries have thus concentrated on providing tailored support to encourage IBS technology adoption. Despite the obvious benefits of IBS technology, the adoption is very slow. This paper reviews literature aimed at understanding the different influences impacting on IBS adoption. The aim of the paper is to categorise and synthesis factors identified in the literature that explicitly or implicitly impact on IBS adoption decision-making. It specifically focuses on how emerging (a) contextual factors (e.g. economics conditions, technology development, government involvement, sustainability feature and stakeholders participation), (b) structural factors (e.g. Project condition, procurement setup, management approach, communication process and decision-making style) and (c) behavioural factors (e.g. experience, bounded Rationality, awareness and attitude) influence IBS adoption. Hence, identifying influencing factors on the decision to adopt IBS in construction provides support in terms of better understanding and facilitating the increased use of IBS technology and thus, improving levels of sustainability and competitiveness in the construction industries.

Key factors influencing the decision to adopt industrialised building systems technology in the Malaysian construction industry: an inter-project perspective

ABSTRACT The factors impacting the adoption of industrialised building systems (IBS) technology is gaining increasing attention in Malaysia, particularly because of the slower-than-expected pace of adoption. This paper aims to identify the factors that influence the decision to use IBS in construction projects. The research methodology is embedded in an interpretative phenomenological paradigm that is applied through semi-structured face-to-face interviews with a group of 27 experienced construction stakeholders from across the industry. The ‘inter-project perspective’ is contextualised through an interpretative content analysis that synthesises varied accounts of interviewees to identify the influence of different factors on IBS adoption. The findings group the factors that influence IBS adoption decisions into ‘structural’, ‘contextual’ and ‘behavioural’ themes. The ‘structural’ and ‘contextual’ themes have five factors impacting the IBS decision, whereas ‘behavioural’ has four factors. The 14 factors are project condition, procurement setup, management approach, communication process, decision-making style, economics conditions, technology development, government involvement, sustainability feature, stakeholders’ participation, experience, bounded rationality, awareness and attitude. These factors are influenced by 49 ‘aspects’. It is suggested that the IBS adoption decision is complex and influenced by many interconnected ‘aspects’, beyond government incentives, cost, attitudes and skills. Moreover, a more integrative approach that considers all factors is needed to make the IBS adoption decision. However, because the intensity of influence of these factors/aspects may differ country to country, as may the nature of the construction industry, any attempt to develop a strategy or policy to increase IBS adoption or integration needs to be targeted.

Decision making of industrialized building system: a supply chain perspective on the influence of behavioral economic factors

Decision making skills with a wide range of decision scenario are relevant to the members of construction supply chain as decision making processes are essential to be understood in ensuring the success of a building project. Currently, there are likely that few decisional issues in the application of Industrialized Building Systems (IBS) require the invention of a completely new dimension and outlook. There is an increasing use of IBS to substitute conventional construction methods in Malaysia, however, the use of IBS technology is often resisted, apparently on grounds other than simply technological. The aim of this chapter is to present the influence of behavioral economic factors on IBS decision making as perceived by IBS supply chain members in Malaysia. Conclusions are drawn and recommendations are made with respect to the perception of behavioral aspects, socio-economic and IBS technology associated with building projects.