Stakeholders’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Intentions of Adopting Modular Integrated Construction for Sustainable Development in Hong Kong

Abstract

<p>Modular construction has been hailed as an innovative construction approach for overcoming labor shortages, the aging workforce, and low productivity in the construction industry. Previous studies focused on the technical aspects, but few contextualized modular construction in sustainable development (SD), nor analyzed stakeholders' knowledge, attitudes, and intentions toward adopting modular construction for SD. This paper develops a three-level knowledge-attitude-intention model to examine stakeholders' knowledge, attitudes, and intentions from technical, economic, social, and environmental aspects. The empirical research was conducted through a questionnaire survey with 197 stakeholders in the Hong Kong construction industry. The results indicate inconsistent knowledge, polarized attitudes, and high intention of stakeholders toward modular construction for SD in Hong Kong. The statistical analysis results show stakeholder differentials lead to differences in stakeholders' knowledge and attitudes about modular construction for SD, but no statistically significant difference was found in behavioral intentions. Besides, knowledge and attitudes were found to be significantly correlated to intention on modular construction for SD. The stakeholder knowledge, attitudes, and intentions toward modular construction for SD were considered to be complex sociotechnical systems, which led to varied articulations of the dialectics and complexities of modular construction for SD. The study contributes to the literature with systems thinking by scrutinizing institution-demand-supply-regulatory collaborations and partnerships, integrating the ontological, axiological, and epistemological understanding of stakeholders, revealing dialectic of stakeholders' knowledge, attitudes and intentions, and reviewing multifaceted and interwoven technical, economic, social, and environmental aspects of modular construction for SD. Practical implications are provided to enable the exchange of knowledge on innovative modular construction for SD with institutions and industry, shape the attitude of industry and society stakeholders toward sustainability, and encourage the practice of innovation-driven SD.</p>