An Assessment of the Significant Bottlenecks Towards Adoption of Information and Communication Technology by Kenyan Building Contractors
Elias Nyaga Nelson1, Ahmad Omar Alkizim2, Anthony Kiplimo Mutai3
1Elias Nyaga Nelson, Student: MSc Construction Project Management, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Juja, Kenya.
2Ahmad Omar Alkizim, PhD (Reading, UK) MSc. (International Construction Project Management, University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, England.
3Anthony Kiplimo Mutai, Ph.D (Bowling Green State University, Ohio, United State.
Manuscript received on December 16, 2016 . | Revised Manuscript received on December 29, 2016 . | Manuscript published on January 05, 2016 . | PP: 22-27 | Volume-5 Issue-6, January 2016 . | Retrieval Number: F2768015616/2016©BEIESP
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©The Authors. Published By: Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Abstract: In the competitive market of the construction industry, construction firms attempt to implement projects within the least cost and time, and the highest quality. One of the factors that has been established to affect these parameters is the utilization of information and communication technology (ICT) Many ICT platforms have been developed to help in execution of projects. Kenyan construction firms have attempted to utilize several of them. However, many of the contractors have not managed to adopt many of the available ICT platforms This research explored the factors that hinder the Kenyan building contractors from achieving higher levels of ICT adoption. Eighty construction firms were selected mainly in class NCA1 and NCA2 through sampling. Practitioners directly involved in project implementation within various construction firms were interviewed to establish the factors that hinder them from achieving higher levels of this ICT adoption. The responses were analyzed and a narrative interpretation developed which established that the most prevalent factor hindering adoption is the rapid changes in ICT technologies, high cost of employing ICT professionals, satisfaction with the existing method of working, Inadequate knowledge about return on ICT investment, high cost of training ICT professionals and inadequate financial resources.
Keywords: Construction, Information and communication technology.