Keywords: IT application, strategy, construction technology, competitiveness, performance, production process.

Information Technology (IT) is changing work operations, management methods, and even organization strategies. IT management from 1960 to 2000 has gone through data processing, microcomputer, and current network eras [1]. In recent years, construction companies are thinking of using IT to gain competitiveness. Studies in other industries indicate the relationship between IT and firms' competitive advantages [2], and how a firm adopting an appropriate IT application would enhance their performance [3].

However, Carr [4] proposed the perspective of "IT doesn't matter" that as IT's power and ubiquity have grown, its strategic importance has diminished. Many top-level managers developed an IT framework of their companies without considering the real IT needs of their organizations. That is why it is more difficult to promote information management in organizations [5]. Therefore, the way organizations approach IT investment and management will need to change dramatically. This concept can be borrowed by construction organizations.

There are obstacles in using IT in the construction industry such as a lack of leadership and a lack of cost-driven approaches [6]. IT application is usually limited in the stages prior to jobsite construction such as the bidding system, but not commonly seen in construction activities. It may be bounded by the nature of the construction industry [7,8]. Thus, we should examine and understand the operations of the construction industry fundamentally before pushing e-construction programs.

This study explored the real needs of construction and their relationships with IT application to suggest IT strategies. It evaluated the existing IT applications through interviewing practitioners and surveying current practices. From the view of forces driving the adoption of new IT [9], this study connected suitable software (management methods) and hardware (equipment or techniques) of construction production technology with a consideration of market needs, organizations and work processes to improve the construction firm's productivity and competitiveness [10].

The study findings suggest the appropriate practice for issues of e-construction, furthermore, they point out the direction for construction IT competitive advantages to improve operation performance.

1

R.L. Nolan, Information Technology Management From 1960-2000, 1998.

2

D.W.L. Wightman, "Competitive Advantage through Information Technology", Journal of General Management, Summer, 12, 36-45, 1987.

3

N. Venkatraman, "IT-Enabled Business Transformation: Form Automation to Business Scope Redefinition", Sloan Management Review, Winter, 73-87, 1994.

4

N.G. Carr, "IT Doesn't Matter", Harvard Business Review, May, 41-49, 2003.

5

R.G. Eccles, "The Performance Measurement Manifesto", Harvard Business Review, January/February, 131-137, 1991.

6

R.A. Stewart, S. Mohamed, and M. Marosszeky, "An Empirical Investigation into the Link between Information Technology Implementation Barriers and Coping Strategies in the Australian Construction Industry", Construction Innovation, 4, 155-171, 2004. doi:10.1108/14714170410815079

7

A.S. Chang and K.P. Lee, "Nature of Construction Technology", Proc. 12th Annual Lean Construction Conference. 3-5 Aug., Denmark, 2004.

8

A. Dubois and L. Gadde, "The Construction Industry as a Loosely Coupled System: Implications for Productivity and Innovation", Constr. Mgmt and Econ., 20, 621-631, 2002. doi:10.1080/01446190210163543

9

P. Mitropoulos and C.B. Tatum, "Forces Driving Adoption of New Information Technologies", Journal of Construction Engineering and Management. ASCE, 126(5), 340-348 2000. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2000)126:5(340)

10

R.L. Daft, Organization Theory and Design. 8th edition. South-Western Thomson Learning, Inc., Ohio, 2004.

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