Record Details

Exploring the beliefs of Australian prefabricated house builders

Construction Economics and Building

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Title Exploring the beliefs of Australian prefabricated house builders
 
Creator Steinhardt, Dale A
Manley, Karen
 
Subject Management; Psychology; Economics; Construction; Management
Housing; prefabrication; Australia; beliefs; attitudes
Building Construction Management; Project Planning
 
Description The housing sector accounts for a majority of newly constructed buildings. Prefabrication, defined as the factory construction of houses or significant components, is widely promoted as a means to improve efficiency. This paper focuses on the research questions: RQ1. What are the attitudes of builders towards prefabrication adoption? RQ2. What types of stakeholders do builders believe influence their adoption decisions? RQ3. What types of contextual influences do builders believe impact their adoption decisions? Current prefabrication research has focused on the advantages and disadvantages of prefabrication, without further unpacking the beliefs of stakeholders that underpin them. This paper addresses this gap and increases the understanding of beliefs that can frame interventions to increase the market penetration of prefabrication. Fourteen interviews with Australian prefabricators were undertaken as a Belief Elicitation Study. This qualitative methodology is framed by the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Results show that modern high-quality prefabricated housing has struggled to overcome historical stigma; improved construction speed has not and is not likely to translate to reduced totals costs for a majority of firms; and prefabrication adoption has been hindered by an almost completely unsupportive industry infrastructure. Recommendations are made to frame arguments in improving short-term outcomes for an industry driven by practical considerations. Future discourse must focus on cost impacts, financial security and risk reduction. Establishing networks of prefabricators that can build a strong, unified voice for the industry should be prioritised. 
 
Publisher UTS ePRESS
 
Contributor Australian Research Council
Western Australian Building Commission
Queensland Department of Housing and Public Works
Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre
Queensland University of Technology
 
Date 2016-06-13
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
—
Interviews
 
Format application/pdf
text/html
 
Identifier http://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/AJCEB/article/view/4741
10.5130/AJCEB.v16i2.4741
 
Source Construction Economics and Building; Vol 16, No 2 (2016): Construction Economics and Building; 27-41
2204-9029
 
Language eng
 
Relation http://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/AJCEB/article/view/4741/5447
http://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/AJCEB/article/view/4741/5456
 
Coverage Australia
2013-2015
Australian prefabricated house builders
 
Rights Copyright (c) 2016 Dale A Steinhardt, Karen Manley
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0