PhD: Mass Timber Adoption in South African Construction

My PhD asks why the South African construction industry has been slow to adopt mass timber. The theoretical backbone is UTAUT (Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology), borrowed from the Information Systems literature and respecified for construction material adoption.

Structure

The PhD is structured as a PhD by publication: an introduction chapter, seven papers, and a conclusion forming a single coherent narrative. Papers 1 through 3 are systematic literature reviews covering UTAUT in construction, mass timber adoption factors, and technology adoption in the South African construction industry. Paper 4 integrates these into a conceptual framework. Paper 5 tests the model quantitatively via PLS-SEM. Papers 6 and 7 are the qualitative phase: sequential explanatory interviews with 23 South African construction professionals (Paper 6) and a UTAUT respecification for construction material adoption (Paper 7).

Methods

The study follows a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design. The quantitative phase tested the conceptual model via partial least squares structural equation modelling, and the qualitative phase draws on semi-structured interviews analysed through thematic analysis.

Status

Papers 1 through 5 are complete and published. Data collection for Papers 6 and 7 is complete, with all themes saturated across 23 participants. Both papers are in the drafting phase. The introduction chapter has a full strategy but no sections written yet.