Integrating Technology Adoption Theories into the Construction Management Education: A Pilot Study

9 pages•Published: May 15, 2022

Abstract

Technology adoption and innovation play important roles in maintaining a competitive advantage for construction companies and are known to have considerable influences on the performance of construction projects. However, the construction industry is very slow in technology adoption because of a wide range of cultural and organizational barriers. More importantly, one of the main barriers that have merely been discussed is the industry readiness for implementing new technologies. To prepare the next generation of professionals to adopt and diffuse new construction technologies, construction education needs to “set the pace” by understanding current and future construction industry challenges and potential technological developments solutions. With the notion that there are disparities of current construction education regarding adopting new construction technologies, this pilot study aimed to examine the undergraduate engineering student learning outcomes through an active and interactive-learning activity about technology adoption theory with the industry professionals. The feedback obtained from students demonstrated that their understandings of new construction technologies, teamwork skills, and intellectual and critical thinking skills were improved through the activity. The results will contribute to a larger-scale study that aims to identify the areas that need improvements and realignments to the construction management curriculum for both academia and practice.

Keyphrases: construction education, construction management, technology adoption and diffusion

In: Tom Leathem, Wes Collins and Anthony Perrenoud (editors). ASC2022. 58th Annual Associated Schools of Construction International Conference, vol 3, pages 697-705.

Links:	https://easychair.org/publications/paper/pcDb
	https://doi.org/10.29007/d51w