**1. Introduction**

As part of the fourth industrial revolution or so called Industry 4.0, digital technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence, block chain, Internet of Things and machine learning have spread widely around the world and have the potential to transform how companies operate in the digital context [1–3]. The spread and application of digital technology has promoted the development of companies digitalization [4]. With the ongoing intensification of global competition, the digital transformation of companies has become a general trend in many countries [5–7]. This trend includes not only the application of digital technology, but also the profound change of a business model [4]. Consequently, the digital transformation of traditional industries has become key for enterprises to secure and maintain competitiveness [8–10]. Therefore, various countries have introduced measures to promote the digital development of enterprises. The United States has successively issued policies, such as 'National Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Strategic Plan' and 'Intelligent Manufacturing Revitalization Plan' to promote the integration of digital technology in traditional industries [11]. As a strong country in traditional manufacturing, Germany has gradually improved its digital transformation plan with Industry 4.0 as

**Citation:** Li, H.; Han, Z.; Zhang, J.; Philbin, S.P.; Liu, D.; Ke, Y. Systematic Identification of the Influencing Factors for the Digital Transformation of the Construction Industry Based on LDA-DEMATEL -ANP. *Buildings* **2022**, *12*, 1409. https://doi.org/10.3390/ buildings12091409

Academic Editor: Farook Hamzeh

Received: 15 July 2022 Accepted: 6 September 2022 Published: 8 September 2022

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**Copyright:** © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

the core and launched 'Digital Strategy 2025' to promote the development of traditional manufacturing industries [12]. In 2021, China's 'Government Work Report' emphasized the need for accelerating digital development, creating new advantages of digital economy as well as promoting digital industrialization and industrial digital transformation [13].

As a traditional resource-intensive sector, the construction industry has made significant contributions to national economic development [14]. However, the inherent problems in the sector, such as high consumption, low efficiency and in some cases poor management have been seriously restricting the development of the construction industry. Promoting digital transformation of the construction industry has therefore become an inevitable requirement to enable the transformation and upgrading of the construction industry as part of a high-quality development strategy [15–17]. For this reason and in the field of engineering construction, developed economy countries have successively issued construction industry development strategies based on the adoption of digital technology, such as the Strategic Plan for Infrastructure Reconstruction (USA), the 'Build 2025' Strategy (UK) and the 'Construction Site Productivity Revolution' Strategy (Japan) [18].

Although the construction industry is actively promoting digital transformation, compared with other industries, the application of digital technology in the construction industry is still at a relatively low level and subject to certain challenges [19]. The overall digital development level of the construction industry ranks last among twenty-two industries, even lower than metallurgy, mining and agriculture [18]. In the case of China and to some extent, the low level of digitalization in the construction industry hinders the high-quality development of country's construction industry and the realization of the transformation goal. Therefore, it is an urgent priority to explore the development path of digital transformation of the construction industry and clarify the key factors that impact the digital development of China's construction industry. Although academic circles have recognized the importance of developing an effective digital transformation strategy for the success of construction enterprises, nevertheless certain questions remain unanswered: What are the key factors behind the digital transformation of the construction industry? What are the structural relationships among these key influencing factors? What mechanisms are needed for the digital transformation of the construction industry? Consequently, the above questions and corresponding propositions need to be explored both theoretically and empirically.

As a traditional industry with inherent problems, such as low productivity, periods of negative growth, high consumption of resources and energy, and relatively low levels of scientific and technological focus, the digital transformation of the construction industry is potentially a long and complicated process; during which the sector will face challenges in technology, resources, ability, organization, culture and management [20]. Indeed, from a practical point of view, the digital transformation of the construction industry is still in its infancy. Furthermore, a typical position of "I don't know how to do it" is an important problem faced by construction enterprises, which is an active area of investigation for various researchers.

There are two main focus areas for current research on this matter. Firstly, there is research on the impact of the digital technology application layer on the digital transformation of the construction industry. For instance, Zhen Xu et al. studied the application of 3D printing technology combined with a construction robot in the construction industry as well as integration with building materials and building environment to realize green and sustainable building construction and digital transformation [21]. Through a process of literature review and bibliometrics, Gleiliu et al. identified that the current level of digital intelligent construction is still in its infancy, and the key to digital transformation is to harness the advantages of intelligent technology to promote the productivity and management performance of construction projects [22]. Whereas Seungwon Baek et al. studied the application of NLP (natural language processing) technology in the field of architecture, and identified that NLP could have a potential role in building engineering and management [23].

Secondly, there is research using qualitative analysis to explore the impact of digital transformation on the construction industry from the macro level. For instance, Han Qiuming and others discussed the development mechanism of industrial intelligence through a method based on expert interviews and identified that strengthening policy guarantees and improving infrastructure can potentially accelerate the rate of digital transformation [24]. Whereas Chen Ke studied the participants and policy tools of construction industry transformation and identified that there is a need to consider the different characteristics of the governmental entities, construction enterprises, universities and scientific research institutions as well as and digital solution providers. This is required to promote the development of digital transformation in the construction industry through leveraging interactions between government and university-industry collaborative research, thereby injecting vitality into the digital transformation of the construction industry [25]. Further, Xie Xianqi and others studied the development path for the new generation of building quality and safety management systems, identified that digital twin technology has good potential in the construction industry and is an important driving force for the digital transformation of the construction industry [26]. On the whole, the existing research often focuses on one factor, or some set of factors, but does not necessarily build a complete system of key influencing factors for the digital transformation of construction industry. At the same time, research from extant literature also considers the influence of internal and external factors of construction enterprises but does not further explain which factors are more worthy of attention.

Therefore, this research study is based on the global perspective, and attempts to obtain more comprehensive research literature relating to the digital transformation of the construction industry, which is filtered and processed before being imported into LDA thematic model. Through the LDA theme model, the research theme of digital transformation of construction industry is excavated, and the key influencing factors of digital transformation of the construction industry are revealed. The DEMATEL method is used to analyze the mutual influence of each factor, and a comprehensive influence matrix among each factor is established. Finally, the ANP network hierarchy is established according to the influence relationship obtained by DEMATEL method. Thereafter it is imported into SD software for calculation, and the weight of each influence index is obtained, so as to quantitatively evaluate the key influencing factors for the digital transformation of the construction industry.

The research contributions of this study can be considered according to the following aspects: (1) Research on the path of digital transformation of construction industry has been improved from a global perspective. (2) An in-depth discussion on the mechanism of various factors affecting the digital transformation of the construction industry is provided. (3) The comprehensive impact index system of digital transformation of the construction industry is constructed. (4) The study provides a reference for government departments to formulate industrial policies for the transformation of the construction industry.
