Overcoming Deterrents to Modular Construction in Affordable Housing: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The study aims to identify and categorise the deterrents to adopting modular construction (MC) in affordable housing (AH), revealing their interconnections, and proposing strategies to overcome them. A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted, followed by Pareto analysis and total interpretive structural modelling (TISM). A total of 75 deterrents were identified from 46 studies, spanning 7 categories: environmental, social and cultural, technical and construction, industry and market, administrative and bureaucratic, economic, and regulatory and policy. The top deterrent category was found to be economic, specifically high initial investment costs and financing challenges. Significant deterrents, particularly economic ones, that impede the adoption of MC in AH are revealed. The interconnectedness of these deterrents highlights the need for comprehensive strategies addressing multiple categories simultaneously. Mitigation strategies and countermeasures are proposed to facilitate the adoption of MC. The study is based on the existing literature, which may have limitations in terms of capturing all possible deterrents. Further empirical research is needed to validate and expand upon these findings. A critical gap is filled by this study, which systematically categorises and analyses deterrents to MC in AH and proposes actionable strategies to mitigate them, thereby contributing to more effective and widespread adoption of MC. The findings are valuable to both global audiences and Australian stakeholders and provide insights that allow the barriers to MC in AH to be overcome.