A Framework for Assessing Strategies to Combat Individuals’ Resistance to Technological Innovation in the Construction Industry
Publication: Construction Research Congress 2022
ABSTRACT
People’s resistance to change has been identified as one of the critical challenges that inhibit the promotion and implementation of new technologies in the construction industry. Researchers have propounded various strategies to mitigate people’s resistance to technological change. However, most of these assertions are based on the researchers’ opinions which should be supported by qualitative evidence. Accordingly, this research adopted a Delphi Survey to solicit the views of a purposively sampled 7 member expert panel assessing the effectiveness of resistance-mitigating strategies. The results highlighted “Training” as the most effective mitigating strategy, followed consecutively by “organisational support,” “enhancing system design,” “education,” “communication,” “participation,” “peer support,” and “incentivization.” Notwithstanding this ranking, the research identified that no single mitigating strategy is optimal for completely curbing resistance. Therefore, this research also provided a framework for selecting the appropriate mitigating strategies according to different resistance scenarios. The findings of this study can better equip stakeholders of the construction industry in handling resistance to technological change.
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Construction Research Congress 2022
Pages: 974 - 982
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Published online: Mar 7, 2022
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