Leadership models in era of new technological challenges in construction projects

Abstract

The building sector is under the significant influence of emerging technologies. Structures shape the environment and “consume” natural resources throughout their life cycle. They “live” many years after the construction which implies a dependence on some generations of supporting technologies. They can be useful in the subsequent phases: design, construction, maintenance and demolition. They may refer to main processes (construction production) as well as to concurrent processes (management, accountancy, logistics etc.). Computers, automated tools and machines or other intelligent devices seem to be inevitable in the 21st century. Therefore, contractors of construction projects should be sensitive to these issues. Based on literature studies, the article revealed that knowledge management in a construction company should primarily rely on the corporate culture that manifests a preference for computer-aided methods. This part was supplemented by a questionnaire technique and a statistical analysis of the results. It was concluded that the path to technological maturity of the construction company is a continual process. Consistency in this pursuit enables effective promotion of innovative technologies in the construction company. The research allowed us to draw three explicit phases: lack of experience, euphoria, and experience in becoming a technologically matured enterprise.