Exploring critical success factors for digital transformation in construction industry–based on TOE framework

Purpose This study aims to investigate the critical success factors of digital transformation in the construction industry and identify whether the respondents' profiles influence their perceptions of critical success factors for digital transformation. Design/methodology/approach To achieve the objectives, a literature review was first conducted based on technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework. Then a questionnaire survey was carried out. A total of 86 people were surveyed in this study, mainly from the construction industry. At the level of data processing, SPSS was used for analysis. Among the main tests used were the Shapiro–Wilk test, reliability analysis, mean rank analysis, Kruskal–Wallis test and Mann–Whitney U test. Findings The study identified 15 critical success factors of digital transformation and found the three most important factors of digital transformation. Furthermore, respondents with different years of experience, enterprises with different sizes and different years made no difference in the perception of factors. Respondents' different occupations and types of enterprises created a bias in the perception of factors for digital transformation. Research limitations/implications Firstly, the small sample size of the questionnaire limits the reference value of data analysis for certain groups. In addition, this study focuses broadly on construction enterprises without specifically examining different types of enterprises, thus lacking depth in its findings. Practical implications This study establishes a connection between TOE theory and the construction industry through an extensive literature review, identifying relevant factors and providing a reference for future research. Originality/value The study's results would enrich the research on digital transformation in the construction industry and provide a reference for the digital transformation of construction enterprises.