Technology Adoption Decisions in Construction Organizations

Abstract

This research examines how managers in contractors' organizations make decisions to adopt a new technology. This paper presents the decision-making processes managers use in the adoption of new technologies, the factors affecting these processes, and the strategies managers use to deal with the uncertainty involved in such decisions. The study focused on eight cases of adoption of two commercially available information technologies: (1) Electronic data interchange; and (2) 3D computer-aided design systems. This paper summarizes relevant background, briefly describes the decisions studied, presents the major findings, and highlights practical applications. The recommendations focus on the strategies that managers can use to increase the likelihood of successful adoption of new technologies.