Understanding the Determinants of Blockchain Technology Adoption in the Construction Industry
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
This study explores the determinants of blockchain technology adoption in the construction industry, which has certain innovation and great research significance. The topic of this manuscript is within the scope of this journal, but there are several major flaws preventing its publication.
1. In the discrimination validity table (Table 4), the SQRT(AVE) value of CP and TM was less than the correlation coefficient of TM-PEU and CP-PEU. Could there be some explanation for the high correlation between these dimensions? Meanwhile, whether an acceptable range for SQRT(AVE) value less than the correlation coefficient can be found from the existing literature.
2. I notice that the estimated values in Figure 3 and Table 6 and Table 7 are inconsistent. Is the estimated value in Figure 3 a total effect or a direct effect? Figure 3 and Table 6 Are the estimated values in Table 7 standardized or not standardized? It is recommended to mark clearly. And all tables and figures need to be described in the text adequately.
3. In Table 6, the T-value and P-value of H3 are significant, but why is it unacceptable?
4. In Table 6, the hypothesis description of H6b is positive, and the result is negative, but why is this hypothesis acceptable?
5. In the third section of the 4. Discussion, the explanation of the significant negative impact of organizational readiness on perceived usefulness may not be convincing. Can it be explained more clearly? It would be better if it could be supported by existing literature.
6. Proper nouns for variables in context suggest unification.
7. It is recommended that the author add a “future work” section.
Author Response
1. In the discrimination validity table (Table 4), the SQRT(AVE) value of CP and TM was less than the correlation coefficient of TM-PEU and CP-PEU. Could there be some explanation for the high correlation between these dimensions? Meanwhile, whether an acceptable range for SQRT(AVE) value less than the correlation coefficient can be found from the existing literature.
Accept. We greatly appreciate your advice. We note that in the discriminant validity analysis, there are two pairs of variables that are slightly out of range. These two pairs of variables are theoretically discriminative. Competitive pressure mainly refers to the degree of pressure on the organization after competitors adopt the blockchain. The Technological maturity is related to whether there are mature blockchain products and services in the construction industry. Perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use relate to the perception of individual blockchain technologies. Therefore, we re-examined the questionnaire data and replaced some unreasonable questionnaire data from the original questionnaire data. The validity test was carried out again, and the correlation coefficient in Table 4 was revised.
2. I notice that the estimated values in Figure 3 and Table 6 and Table 7 are inconsistent. Is the estimated value in Figure 3 a total effect or a direct effect? Figure 3 and Table 6 Are the estimated values in Table 7 standardized or not standardized? It is recommended to mark clearly. And all tables and figures need to be described in the text adequately.
Accept. Thank you very much for your advice. We are very sorry for not clarifying the estimated value in Table 6. The estimated values in Figure 3 and Table 7 are standardized. The estimated values in Table 6 are unstandardized estimated values. Now replace the estimated values in Table 6 with standardized estimated values. At the same time, the relevant tables and figures are also described in the text.
4.2 Hypothesis testing results and effect
In this study, a structural model was established using AMOS software. As shown in Figure 3. The significance of the hypothesis was determined by the P and T values. When the P value is less than 0.05, or the T value is greater than 1.96, the hypothesis is considered statistically significant. The hypothetical test results are presented in Table 6. Among the 12 hypotheses proposed in this paper, H1a, H1b, H1c, H2, H3, H5, H6a, H7, and H8b pass the significance test. Among them, although the P value of H6b is significant, its regression coefficient is negative, contrary to the hypothesis in this study. To further explore the relationship between external and internal variables, this study conducted an effect analysis on the relationship between various variables, and the results are shown in Table 7.
3. In Table 6, the T-value and P-value of H3 are significant, but why is it unacceptable?
Accept. Thank you very much for your valuable suggestions. We are very sorry for missing this information. We re-checked the data and hypothesis testing results and found that hypothesis H3 does indeed hold. Therefore, we corrected the corresponding test results in Table 6. We have reconsidered the hypothetical result, and made new explanations in the discussion section. At the same time, we have also made corresponding adjustments in the abstract and conclusion of the article. The corresponding table and discussion analysis are as follows:
“5.Discussions：The efficient flow of data information between various platform systems is one of the keys to the effective application of the blockchain system in the construction industry, which requires compatibility between the blockchain and the working mode, software and system platform of the construction industry. The more compatible blockchain is with the construction industry, the more the construction industry sees it as easy to use.”
4.In Table 6, the hypothesis description of H6b is positive, and the result is negative, but why is this hypothesis acceptable?
Accept. We greatly appreciate your advice. We are sorry that this part of the article may be controversial. We corrected errors in Table 6 and added clarifications in the 4.2 Hypothesis testing results and effect. In fact, the p-value for this hypothesis is significant, but contrary to our proposed hypothesis, to prevent readers from confounding this, we have added an explanation in the text. Drawing on research on technology adoption behavior in other fields, we hypothesize that organizational readiness positively affects perceived usefulness. However, the impact of organizational readiness in the adoption of blockchain in the construction industry varies. This is an interesting finding and justifies
the need for us to test these hypotheses.
4.2 Hypothesis testing results and effect
In this study, a structural model was established using AMOS software. As shown in Figure 3. The significance of the hypothesis was determined by the P and T values. When the P value is less than 0.05, or the T value is greater than 1.96, the hypothesis is considered statistically significant. The hypothetical test results are presented in Table 6. Among the 12 hypotheses proposed in this paper, H1a, H1b, H1c, H2, H3, H5, H6a, H7, and H8b pass the significance test. Among them, although the P value of H6b is significant, its regression coefficient is negative, contrary to the hypothesis in this study. To further explore the relationship between external and internal variables, this study conducted an effect analysis on the relationship between various variables, and the results are shown in Table 7.
5. In the third section of the 4. Discussion, the explanation of the significant negative impact of organizational readiness on perceived usefulness may not be convincing. Can it be explained more clearly? It would be better if it could be supported by existing literature.
Accept. Thank you very much for your valuable suggestions.We are sorry for the superficial explanation that organizational readiness negatively affects perceived usefulness. As in the previous question, this hypothesis test turned out to be the opposite of our proposed hypothesis. As we ponder why, contrary to other industries, the more organizations prepare for blockchain adoption, the useful perception of blockchain in the construction industry declines. We think of the traditional nature of the construction industry and the revolutionary innovation of blockchain. The construction industry has its own fixed operation mode. When facing disruptive innovation, it will maintain its own working characteristics due to organizational inertia, so there is a psychology of resistance. Therefore, we reviewed some research on the relationship between organizational behavior and model innovation, and found that the organizational inertia formed by the deep-rooted organizational structure of traditional industries often becomes a burden for its transformation and transformation. We therefore revisit this result in the 5. Discussion and provide the corresponding references.
- Discussions
Unlike the adoption of other innovative technologies, blockchain is going to be a major revolution for the construction industry. It emphasizes decentralization, which will have a great impact on the working mode and inherent thinking mode of the traditional construction industry. In model innovation, management’s operational procedures, behavioral changes, and normative agreements will make it difficult for individuals to adapt, resulting in resistance [48]. When organizations prepare to adopt blockchain, it will undoubtedly change the way individuals currently work and inherently think. Individuals have become accustomed to the current way of working, and will naturally resist the learning and application of blockchain technology, which makes them think that the blockchain is useless.
Reference: 48. Huang, H.C, Lai, M. C, Lin, L. H, Chen, C. T. Overcoming organizational inertia to strengthen business model innovation: An open innovation perspective. Journal of Organizational Change Management. 2013, 26(6):977-1002(1026). https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-04-2012-0047.
6. Proper nouns for variables in context suggest unification.
Accept. We really appreciate the mistakes you pointed out in our article, we checked the full text, images, and tables, and unified the proper nouns for variables. For example, replace Perceived adoption cost with Perceived cost of adoption.
(3) Perceived cost of adoption. Adoption cost is a factor to be considered when introducing new technologies. The initial investment is required for the introduction of new technology, including the adoption cost of technology and the learning cost of being familiar with the system [27]. Rind et al. found that cost is an obstacle to the proliferation of large-scale mobile commerce in Pakistan [28]. Zainab et al. Found that perceived cost has a significant impact on the adoption of e-training [29]. Owing to the novelty and complexity of blockchain, the initial cost of adopting it is relatively high. It is also necessary to develop proprietary solutions and appropriate professionals. The adoption of blockchain solutions may exceed the financial and personnel reserves of small and medium-sized enterprises [30]. The adoption of blockchain may not produce certain benefits in the short term, which brings certain risks to the construction industry. Will the construction industry think blockchain adoption is too costly? Could this perceived cost of adoption make the construction industry think blockchain is useless? Based on this, this study proposes the following research hypotheses:
H4: The perceived cost of adoption of blockchain has a positive effect on perceived usefulness
7. It is recommended that the author add a “future work” section.
Accept. Thank you for your useful comments and suggestions on our manuscript. We reviewed the full text again. From the perspective of technology adoption behavior research, this study explores the influencing factors of blockchain adoption in the construction industry, and there are still some deficiencies and research gaps. The application of blockchain in China's construction industry is still in its infancy, and the influencing factors and implementation paths of its adoption are still unclear. Therefore, at the end of the article, we summarize the insufficiency of the research and the prospect of future work, hoping to bring enlightenment to further research related to the adoption of blockchain in the construction industry.
6.3 Future work
Although some achievements have been made, the research still has the following shortcomings: (1) TAM implicitly assumes that the adoption and use of new technologies by individuals is voluntary, but in fact, individuals are affected by internal interventions in the organization and social factors, and the adoption of new technologies is often passive. (2) at present, blockchain has not been widely used in the construction industry, and practitioners familiar with blockchain technology are few in the industry, which hinders the empirical investigation of this research to a certain extent. Subsequent research needs to optimize the research objects and consider more about the actual application of blockchain in the construction industry to further clarify the impact mechanism of the adoption of blockchain in the construction industry. (3) Construction projects in the construction industry usually involve multiple stakeholders, which have not been classified in this study. Future research work can further explore how different types of construction industry organizations differ in their blockchain adoption behavior.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
The Authors present an interesting research that is well thought out and useful to the community. My main remarks are that the hypotheses listed in the research are more research questions than hypotheses, and more importantly that most the respondents to your questionnaire seem to not have required qualifications to answer your questions. This must be addressed in the manuscript.
More details are in the attached file with the comments.
Comments for author File: Comments.pdf
Author Response
1.Something is grammatically incorrect with this sentence, please improve it and make it clearer what you are trying to say.‘Integrate technology-organization-environment frameworks and technology acceptance models to build blockchain adoption models for the construction industry and conduct empirical investigations.
Accept. Thank you very much for pointing out our mistake, we have reorganized the. abstract section and revised this sentence as follows:
Blockchain has great potential in facilitating the development of the construction industry. However, blockchain has not been widely used in the construction industry. The objective of this study is to figure out the factors affecting the adoption of blockchain in the construction industry from the technical, organizational and environmental dimensions with the help of theories related to technology adoption. Empirical results show that relative advantage, compatibility, competitive pressure, technological maturity, organizational readiness and policies have an impact on intention to adopt blockchain in the construction industry through perceived usefulness or perceived ease of use. Competitive pressure has the greatest impact on the internal variables of technology acceptance model (TAM) (0.696). Perceived cost of adoption does not have a significant effect on blockchain adoption behavior. However, in contrast to previous research, organizational readiness has a negative effect (-0.03) on perceived usefulness. The research results provide inspiration for further research on the impact mechanism of blockchain adoption in the construction industry, and provide guidance for governments to formulate blockchain adoption policies and the widespread application of blockchain in the construction industry.
2. You list 12 hypotheses in your research which is a bit too much and each is a bit to narrow focused to be a hypothesis. They are more like research questions that you posed to your respondents.
Accept. Thank you very much for your suggestions. Most of these hypotheses are based on research on technology adoption behavior in other fields. Although some hypotheses have been confirmed in other research contexts, we still need to adjust and verify the assumptions according to the characteristics of the construction industry and blockchain. At the same time, in order to ensure the necessity of hypothesis proposal, we re-enriched the source of hypothesis in the hypothesis proposal part. For example, in the relevant assumptions of Technological maturity, we enrich as follows:
(4) Technological maturity. The maturity of technology development is related to adopters’ views. When the technology is in the immature stage, there are often many problems to be solved in its implementation; that is, the adopter may think that the technology is difficult to use. As an emerging digital technology, blockchain itself still has many defects, such as a 51% attack problem, code vulnerability, storage capacity limitation [5]. Ye et al. [31] found that the initial maturity of BIM technology is a key factor affecting BIM technology diffusion. The immaturity of new technologies hinders large-scale adoption, whereas most current studies show that the application of blockchain is still in the development stage [27]. The immaturity of blockchain and the imperfection of industrial support have created obstacles for the construction industry to adopt it [26]. The construction industry is a traditional industry, and the application of information technology often lags behind other industries. We need to verify whether the current blockchain products in the construction industry are mature enough, and whether the current technological maturity of the blockchain has an impact on ease of use.
3.You do not specify what qualifies your respondents to answer the questions. Did they use blockchain before, how familiar are they with the concept, ... and if not, how is their opinion relevant?I understand that there may not be many such experts, but these limitations should be stated in the manuscript.
Accept. We greatly appreciate your valuable and constructive suggestions. We acknowledge that it is difficult to find a sufficient number of construction practitioners familiar with blockchain technology to satisfy our empirical survey. In fact, in the Guiding Opinions of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and Other Departments on Promoting the Coordinated Development of Intelligent Construction and Building Industrialization issued by China in 2020, it was only proposed to increase the application of blockchain in the construction process and promote the development of blockchain technology. Blockchain have not been used in the construction industry for a long time. Therefore, before issuing the questionnaire, we explained the blockchain technology and gave some examples of application scenarios. Also, this deficiency has been supplemented in future work.
"3.1 Survey design
Before distributing the questionnaire to organizations related to the construction industry and blockchain companies, we explained the blockchain technology and gave some examples of application scenarios."
"6.3 Future work
At present, blockchain has not been widely used in the construction industry, and practitioners familiar with blockchain technology are few in the industry, which hinders the empirical investigation of this research to a certain extent. Subsequent research needs to optimize the research objects and consider more about the actual application of blockchain in the construction industry to further clarify the impact mechanism of the adoption of blockchain in the construction industry."
4. Quite a lot of the respondents are young (over 60% of them), which makes sense that they would be more familiar with blockchain, but would on the other hand be less familiar with the processes of the construction company/industry. Same with the management positions, where only 10% of the respondents are top management. This all means that most of the respondents might not be the best suited to answer the questions you asked.
Accept. Thank you very much for your useful suggestions. This question is similar to the previous one. Blockchain has not been widely used in the construction industry, and we have screened as many respondents as possible to understand blockchain. Blockchain is still a very new concept for the construction industry. Younger workers are more likely to be exposed to these emerging technologies than senior managers who have long been focused on construction. At the same time, young workers will be more able to learn new technologies. On the other hand, your valuable opinions have also brought us some inspiration. Do different groups in the construction industry have different views on blockchain? What are the differences in the adoption behavior of blockchain technology among different types of construction companies? These have also become questions for our further research. The corresponding research gaps and future work are presented in 6.3 Future work. In addition, the order of the basic information in Table 2 has also been adjusted.
"6.3 Future work
Although some achievements have been made, the research still has the following shortcomings: (1) TAM implicitly assumes that the adoption and use of new technologies by individuals is voluntary, but in fact, individuals are affected by internal interventions in the organization and social factors, and the adoption of new technologies is often passive. (2) at present, blockchain has not been widely used in the construction industry, and practitioners familiar with blockchain technology are few in the industry, which hinders the empirical investigation of this research to a certain extent. Subsequent research needs to optimize the research objects and consider more about the actual application of blockchain in the construction industry to further clarify the impact mechanism of the adoption of blockchain in the construction industry. (3) Construction projects in the construction industry usually involve multiple stakeholders, which have not been classified in this study. Future research work can further explore how different types of construction industry organizations differ in their blockchain adoption behavior."
5.If 60% of your respondents are not sure if their own organization uses blockchain or not, how are they relevant to answer any of the other questions?
Accept. We appreciate your advice. We are very sorry for not making this option clear. We checked the representation of this option. When we distributed the questionnaire, this option meant that the organization did not plan to adopt blockchain technology. We have corrected the expression for this option in Table 2.
6.Please provide evidence to their qualifications to answer the posed questions.‘This study provided respondents with a relatively high level of cognition.’
Accept. Thank you very much for the reminder on this issue. When we analyzed the sample data, we believed that respondents with a bachelor's degree or above were more sensitive to the application potential of blockchain technology. We have now supplemented the text with a note about this.
"3.2 Data Collection
Respondents with higher education are more likely to be exposed to and learn about emerging technologies. In the adoption of new technology in the construction industry, it is more about the actual operation and application of technology by grass-roots employees. These grass-roots employees will be more aware of the actual application and difficulties of technology."
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
The proposed work focuses on Understanding the determinants of blockchain
technology adoption in the construction industry. It is of potential interest to Buildings journal readers.
Despite the importance of the subject addressed, this work needs many improvements to be ready for the publication in the buildings journal.
Specific points of improvement :
- The paper must be rewritten according to the requirements of the journal template..
- Abstract must be rewritten and restructuring.
- The objective of this research must be more developed.
- Quality of figures must be improved.
- The conclusion section is too long. Only the main results must be indicated.
Author Response
1.The paper must be rewritten according to the requirements of the journal template.
Accept. Thank you for your useful comments and suggestions on our manuscript. We refer to the papers in the journals, adjust the format of this paper. For example, put reliability and validity tests in 4. Data Analyses and Results, and put the discussion analysis section in 5. Discussions.
2.Abstract must be rewritten and restructuring.
Accept. Thank you very much for your valuable suggestions. Based on the research content, we have revised the abstract, including clarifying the research purpose in the abstract. The revision is as follows:
Blockchain has great potential in facilitating the development of the construction industry. However, blockchain has not been widely used in the construction industry. The objective of this study is to figure out the factors affecting the adoption of blockchain in the construction industry from the technical, organizational and environmental dimensions with the help of theories related to technology adoption. Empirical results show that relative advantage, compatibility, competitive pressure, technological maturity, organizational readiness and policy have an impact on intention to adopt blockchain in the construction industry through perceived usefulness or perceived ease of use. Competitive pressure has the greatest impact on the internal variables of technology acceptance model (TAM) (0.696). Perceived cost of adoption does not have a significant effect on blockchain adoption behavior. However, in contrast to previous research, organizational readiness has a negative effect (-0.03) on perceived usefulness. The research results provide inspiration for further research on the impact mechanism of blockchain adoption in the construction industry, and provide guidance for governments to formulate blockchain adoption policies and the widespread application of blockchain in the construction industry.
3. The objective of this research must be more developed.
Accept. Thank you very much for your valuable advice. We reviewed the full text and revised the research objectives in the Introduction section.。
"1.Introduction:Hence, the main research objectives of this paper are: (1) sort out the relevant theories of technology adoption to provide theoretical support for building a blockchain adoption model in the construction industry; (2) determine the factors that affect the adoption of blockchain in the construction industry, and analyze their impact on blockchain adoption behavior through empirical investigation."
4. Quality of figures must be improved.
Accept. Thank you very much for your valuable suggestions. We checked the figures in the paper again and adjusted the figures in the full text according to the research content of this paper.
5.The conclusion section is too long. Only the main results must be indicated.
Accept. Thank you for your suggestions. In the original conclusion section, we present policy recommendations that attempt to advise government departments on policies to promote the application of blockchain in the construction industry based on our findings. After consideration, we have removed policy recommendations and summarized the contributions of this study, research gaps, and future work.
6.2 Research contributions
6.2.1 Theoretical Contributions
This research combines the technology adoption theory with the TOE framework and applies it to the research on the adoption behavior of blockchain in the construction industry, and builds an adoption model. By selecting external variables suitable for the characteristics of the construction industry and blockchain, the application of technology adoption theory is expanded, and it also makes theoretical contributions to the research on blockchain adoption behavior in the construction industry.
6.2.1 Practical Implications
The influence of three dimensions of technology, organization and environment on the adoption of blockchain in the construction industry is analyzed in detail, and the research conclusions can bring enlightenment to the promotion and application of blockchain in the construction industry. For example, by improving the maturity of blockchain products and supporting facilities in the construction industry, to improve the ease of use of blockchain; by establishing exemplary enterprises, highlighting the competitive advantages brought by blockchain applications, thereby improving the construction industry’s perceived usefulness of blockchain.
6.3 Future work
Although some achievements have been made, the research still has the following shortcomings: (1) TAM implicitly assumes that the adoption and use of new technologies by individuals is voluntary, but in fact, individuals are affected by internal interventions in the organization and social factors, and the adoption of new technologies is often passive. (2) at present, blockchain has not been widely used in the construction industry, and practitioners familiar with blockchain technology are few in the industry, which hinders the empirical investigation of this research to a certain extent. Subsequent research needs to optimize the research objects and consider more about the actual application of blockchain in the construction industry to further clarify the impact mechanism of the adoption of blockchain in the construction industry. (3) Construction projects in the construction industry usually involve multiple stakeholders, which have not been classified in this study. Future research work can further explore how different types of construction industry organizations differ in their blockchain adoption behavior.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
Accept in current form.
Author Response
Thank you for your suggestions
Reviewer 2 Report
The Authors have addressed the concerns I have posed, mostly regarding the qualifications of the respondents. It still remains a bit weak part of the study, because most of the respondents maybe do not have a lot of management experience to be able to answer the questions from the management perspective. Though I am aware that the cross-section of people who know of blockchain and its uses and who also possess management experience is scarce. Therefore I suggest to further change the line in the limitations section: " blockchain has not been widely used in the construction industry, and practitioners familiar with blockchain technology are few in the industry, which hinders the empirical investigation of this research to a certain extent." to be changed to reflect that fact. I would also add that it significantly (not just to a certain extent) affects the empirical investigation, with a justification however that there is no better option, at least for now, since the technology is still not widely used.
After those two small changes to one sentence, I believe that the manuscript could be published since then there will be no questions about the validity of the research sample.
Author Response
Thank you very much for your valuable suggestion, we again state this shortcoming in the limitations of the study. It also pointed out that due to its novelty and its lack of widespread adoption in the construction industry, fewer respondents were familiar with blockchain. We modify it as follows:
6.2 Limitations and Future Research
Although some achievements have been made, the study still has the following shortcomings: (1) TAM implicitly assumes that the adoption and use of new technologies by individuals is voluntary, but in fact, individuals are affected by internal interventions in the organization and social factors, and the adoption of new technologies is often passive. (2) The small proportion of respondents who are familiar with blockchain technology and have extensive management experience affects the empirical investigation of this study. However, since blockchain is an emerging technology and not widely used in the construction industry, it is difficult to obtain enough respondents who are familiar with blockchain technology. Subsequent research needs to further optimize the research sample and more fully integrate the practical applications of blockchain in the construction industry. (3) Construction projects in the construction industry usually involve multiple stakeholders, which have not been classified in this study. Future research work can further explore how different types of construction industry organizations differ in their blockchain adoption behavior.
Reviewer 3 Report
The proposed work focuses on Understanding the determinants of blockchain
technology adoption in the construction industry. It is of potential interest to Buildings journal readers.
Despite the importance of the subject addressed, this work needs many improvements to be ready for the publication in the buildings journal.
I think that the revised version of the submitted paper is well improved by considering the reviewers and editor recommendations and remarks. Indeed, I think that this paper is accepted in this form
Author Response
Thank you very much for your valuable suggestion
