ADOPTING GAME-CHANGING CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGIES TO IMPROVE CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTIVITY FROM SINGAPORE CONTRACTORS � PERSPECTIVE: AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

Construction productivity is a vital factor pertaining to the construction industry of Singapore. Considering its compelling high-priority, Singapore government and public-sector agencies have been enterprising diligently to promote and enforce further upgrade in the industry in terms of both workforce expertise as well as game-changing construction technologies. However, this approach for transition will naturally induce friction with existing inertia in the construction industry. The acceptance progress of new technologies by the practitioners thus becomes a crucial yardstick to determine how government effort has achieved and in which way it should proceed in future. This study is hence initiated to analyze the user perception on new game-changing technologies in the construction industry. An institutional frame proposed by Scott (2008) has been employed to help structure the whole research study. Comprising three distinctive pillars: regulative, normative and cultural-cognitive, this framework provided a both wide-range and in-depth analysis, illustrating clearly the hierarchy of the effectiveness of government effort, as well as the adaptiveness of the industry per se. With the aid of common research methods such as surveys and interviews targeted at Singapore construction companies, a comprehensive set of ground-zero feedbacks had been collected and subsequently studied, so as to reflect the bona fide perception of the industry towards the adoption of game-changing construction technologies.