e-Business in Construction [electronic resource]

With a number of disparate, often geographically distributed, organisations involved in the delivery of construction projects, there has been considerable interest in e-business tools within the construction industry. These tools open up a range of possibilities for the industry to rethink existing processes and working methods, so their use is increasingly common. Nevertheless, there has been little definitive guidance for practitioners, researchers and students on the major issues in electronic business from a construction perspective. By bringing together 16 contributions from research and industry covering theory, technological issues, practical implementation and legal matters, and illustrated with a number of case studies, e-Business in Construction fills that gap. Starting with the theoretical aspects of e-commerce and moving on to consider the specifics of the construction context, it includes a mechanism for the assessment of the e-readiness of construction sector organisations. The middle part of the book focuses on the role of various technologies in e-business, with examples included as appropriate. This is followed by a discussion of practical, legal and trust issues. The potential of next generation of information and communication technologies is also addressed. With a fine blend of theoretical and practical aspects of e-commerce in construction, and well illustrated with a number of industrial case studies, e-Business in Construction will find an appreciative audience of construction practitioners, researchers and students at all levels.