Construction productivity and digitalisation: An I.T. productivity paradox perspective

The construction industry has been going through digitalisation for several decades to improve the delivery of built assets. However, despite the ongoing investments in digital technology, productivity growth in construction has remained very low. This suggests that there is a need to better understand the relationship between digitalisation and construction productivity so that the desired productivity benefits through digitalisation could be achieved. A systematic literature review is conducted on the Scopus database to scan the publications that have made claims regarding the relationship between digital technology and construction productivity over the last ten years. The results are grouped into six categories based on the kind of claim they have made, and the key arguments of each group are examined. These key arguments are then discussed using the literature on the 'information technology productivity paradox' as the interpretive framework. The discussion suggests that digitalisation has not had the desired impact on productivity due to the lack of consideration for the interdependencies between various factors and levels of organisation affecting productivity. It is concluded that adopting a system-innovation perspective is crucial to enable meaningful productivity improvements through digitalisation