Structuration Model of Construction Management Professionals’ Use of Mobile Devices

Abstract

The use of mobile devices in construction projects has increasingly become common in many countries. Although researchers have investigated how mobile devices can help construction management professionals, previous research has primarily focused on the functionalities of the devices and overlooked how mobile devices are actually used and appropriated by construction management professionals in workplaces. Especially, how mobile devices, construction management professionals, and construction organizations interact and influence one another over time is understudied. To address this knowledge gap, this paper aims to describe the intertwined, dynamic relationships among mobile devices, construction management professionals, and the organizational attributes of construction companies and projects, based on 27 semistructured interviews from the Australian construction industry. In the interpretive analysis of the data, the structuration model of technology is used as the theoretical framework. The research shows how organization–project–user–technology interactions continually shape the use of mobile devices and its consequences in construction projects. The findings offer useful insights into how the use of mobile devices by construction management professionals can result in both intended and unintended consequences and also help identify the issues to be addressed for the successful implementation of these technologies in construction projects.