Browsing by Subject "skill and knowledge"

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    Modelling the impact of the adoption of digital technologies on productivity in the South African construction industry
    (2026) Lefoka, Mochelo; Windapo, Abimbola
    An endemic problem across the South African construction industry is low project productivity. This challenge affects the profitability and sustainability of a construction project, stakeholders and investors across the industry, and the lifecycle of both the project and organisations, with financial implications. Other variables that affect project success include external factors such as environmental, organisational, and technical factors. The fragmentation of the construction industry is considered a fundamental contributing factor to this phenomenon. Studies suggested that the lack of digitalisation in the construction industry is a significant contributing factor to fragmentation and, subsequently, the prevalence of poor project productivity. This study focuses on how the adoption and implementation of digital technologies impact project productivity. This study evaluates the types of digital tools used across the South African construction industry, the level of skill required among professionals, assesses how these tools mitigate the impacts of external factors, and determines barriers to the adoption of digital tools. The main research question this study investigated is: “What relationship exists between the adoption of digitalization and the level of construction productivity in South Africa?” The development of a conceptual framework for this study is based on the theoretical principles derived from Disruptive Innovation Theory, Configuration Theory, Chaos Theory, and Technology Adoption Model. The study adopted a mixed-methods research design, comprising both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Contractors listed on the cidb registry in the category Grade 4 – 9 were approached between May 2024 and December 2024. A total of 92 valid responses were obtained from 411 distributed questionnaires, which represents 22,38% response rate. The collected quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, including frequencies, standard deviation, mean item score, relative importance index, and ranking. The testing of the research hypotheses was conducted using structural equation modelling, Spearman's rho, and Kruskal-Wallis tests. The qualitative analysis of the study was conducted with eleven purposively selected construction professionals, including CEOs of digital software companies, quantity surveyors, project managers, civil engineers, and health and safety specialists. NVivo was used in the thematic analysis of the qualitative component of the data. The study's findings reveal a statistically significant relationship between the adoption of digital technologies and project productivity. The study reveals that reduced planning periods, identifying risks from the outset, and reduced rework are core benefits of digitalising. Another finding of the study is that selecting digital tools that adapt to various external variables is important. The structural equation modelling revealed that there is no statistically significant relationship between adopting digitalisation and the impact of external variables. Strategic planning and the adoption of digital technologies depend on the size of the project and an organisation's willingness and knowledge of their use. Significant improvement in skills training among construction professionals is important to the progression of digital adoption. Furthermore, the study found that external variables, environmental, organisational, and technical factors have no significant impact on productivity when moderated by digitalisation, implying that selecting digital tools is not important in addressing the impact of external variables on productivity. Based on these findings, the study concludes that strategic planning and the adoption of digital technologies depend on project size and an organisation's willingness. Additionally, the study concludes that expertise and the size of an organisation affect the types of tools available to optimise productivity. The organisational objective is directly related to procurement strategies and the skills required to optimise digital tools. Lastly, there is minimal impact of external factors on digital adoption. The study recommends that significant improvements in skills training among construction professionals are important to the progression of digital adoption and improved productivity.