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Digital Construction Management in China s Construction Industry: Current Adoption and Stage of Development

  • Jingxiao Zhang*
  • , Shuwen Cao
  • , Xin Liu
  • , Xiaoxiao Sun
  • , Pablo Ballesteros-Pérez
  • , Martin Skitmore
  • , George Zillante
  • *Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Adopting digital construction management (DCM) practices is a pivotal initiative to increase productivity and enhance coordination across and within construction projects. However, attention to regional differences in the adoption and development level of China's DCM at the industry level is still scarce. Starting with a definition of DCM, an ad hoc composite evaluation index system is proposed using latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) topic modeling and sunflower modeling. Then, the Gini coefficient and kernel density estimation are employed to measure the inter- and intra-regional disparities and the dynamic evolution of China's DCM development level. Our findings reveal that while the overall development of DCM within China's construction industry shows an upward trajectory, many provinces are lagging. Also, despite a remarkable nationwide increase in the Gini coefficient, significant regional development disparities are found due to inter-regional imbalances. This underscores a widening and worryingly development gap among regions, which future government policies should address.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationICCREM 2025: Decarbonization and Digitalization of the Built Environment-Shaping Resilience in a Changing World, Proceedings of the International Conference on Construction and Real Estate Management 2025
EditorsYaowu Wang, Weizhuo Lu, Geoffrey Q. P. Shen
PublisherAmerican Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Pages604-623
Number of pages20
ISBN (Electronic)9780784486627
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 19 Nov 2025
Event2025 International Conference on Construction and Real Estate Management - Umea, Sweden
Duration: 9 Aug 202510 Aug 2025

Conference

Conference2025 International Conference on Construction and Real Estate Management
Abbreviated titleICCREM 2025
Country/TerritorySweden
CityUmea
Period9/08/2510/08/25
OtherAdopting digital construction management (DCM) practices is a pivotal initiative to increase productivity and enhance coordination across and within construction projects. However, attention to regional differences in the adoption and development level of China's DCM at the industry level is still scarce. Starting with a definition of DCM, an ad hoc composite evaluation index system is proposed using latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) topic modeling and sunflower modeling. Then, the Gini coefficient and kernel density estimation are employed to measure the inter- and intra-regional disparities and the dynamic evolution of China's DCM development level. Our findings reveal that while the overall development of DCM within China's construction industry shows an upward trajectory, many provinces are lagging. Also, despite a remarkable nationwide increase in the Gini coefficient, significant regional development disparities are found due to inter-regional imbalances. This underscores a widening and worryingly development gap among regions, which future government policies should address.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  1. SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities
    SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities

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