Understanding the Determinants of Construction Robot Adoption: Perspective of Building Contractors

Abstract

Construction robots have emerged as a revolutionary technology for buildings. However, real-world adoption is still limited. Little is known how the decision of adopting construction robots or not is made in organizations, which inhibits the benefits of robots from being fully realized. This paper aims to investigate the determinants affecting construction robot adoption for building works at the organizational level. Drawing on the technology-organization-environment framework, a research model with 11 hypotheses on determinants was developed and empirically evaluated via a survey of 94 typical building contractors in Hong Kong using a partial least-squares structural equation modeling technique. The results indicate that relative advantage, top management support, organizational readiness, market competitive pressure, and high costs are significantly related to the adoption, among which top management support is most influential. A two-stage conceptual framework is derived that provides theoretical insights on the determinants and reveals the complexities and influence dynamics of determinants on the adoption during technology development. The findings offer useful suggestions for the effective development of robots for building works and lay a foundation for construction innovation adoption in a wider context.