Social Network Analysis of Stakeholder Relationships during Construction Industrialization in China

Abstract

Modular and off-site construction has garnered world-wide attention, as evidenced by the gathering momentum of construction industrialization in China. This entails a transition for stakeholders within the construction industry, as construction industrialization will alter relationships among stakeholders on a number of levels. In this research, the stakeholders involved in construction industrialization in China are identified, and the stakeholder relationships are quantified through three surveys. Based on the collected data, the stakeholder relationships are mapped and analyzed using social network analysis. The results indicate that the social network of industrialization construction is not dense and less tied, generates relatively low impacts on the behaviors of individual stakeholders; as the most influential stakeholders, the general contractor, owner, and surveyors and designers control most of the resources; due to their influence in the form of policies, the government can become an important stakeholder during the process of construction industrialization Through strengthening the policy guidance, it can attract new stakeholders for the integrated network, incubate a construction industrialization corporate group with integrated abilities of R&D, design, construction and operation, which is valuable to effectively promote the development of construction industrialization in China.