An investigation of person-culture fit and person-task fit on ICT adoption in the Hong Kong construction industry

Information and communication technology (ICT) in construction facilitates integrated work processes, but low user acceptance of the technology can be a hindrance to its implementation. This paper examines individual's ICT adoption from the person-environment (P-E) perspective with respect to person-culture fit and person-task fit. An exploratory study with a questionnaire was conducted primarily in the Hong Kong construction industry with 113 valid responses to examine if person-culture fit and person-task fit are contributory to an individual's intention to adopt ICT, how person-task fit relates to organizational and personal variables, and which ICT type has the best person-task fit. It was found that person-task fit predicts an individual's ICT adoption but person-culture fit does not. Person-task fit is related to the person's age, employment level and the ICT adoption period (especially within the first five years) in the company. Person-task fit does not differ significantly amongst the different construction participant groups (contractors, consultants, and owners). The person-task fit of building information modeling ranks the lowest and is significantly lower than the procurement information packages with the highest person-task fit. It is suggested that the person-task-technology interaction models be taken into account in future research to refine the investigation of the role of the 'person' in ICT adoption.Information and communication technology (ICT) in construction facilitates integrated work processes, but low user acceptance of the technology can be a hindrance to its implementation. This paper examines individual's ICT adoption from the person-environment (P-E) perspective with respect to person-culture fit and person-task fit. An exploratory study with a questionnaire was conducted primarily in the Hong Kong construction industry with 113 valid responses to examine if person-culture fit and person-task fit are contributory to an individual's intention to adopt ICT, how person-task fit relates to organizational and personal variables, and which ICT type has the best person-task fit. It was found that person-task fit predicts an individual's ICT adoption but person-culture fit does not. Person-task fit is related to the person's age, employment level and the ICT adoption period (especially within the first five years) in the company. Person-task fit does not differ significantly amongst the different construction participant groups (contractors, consultants, and owners). The person-task fit of building information modeling ranks the lowest and is significantly lower than the procurement information packages with the highest person-task fit. It is suggested that the person-task-technology interaction models be taken into account in future research to refine the investigation of the role of the 'person' in ICT adoption.