An Empirical Study of Factors Associated with Construction Robot Adoption Prospects Among Personnel in Small-Sized Construction Firms

Abstract

Construction robots are attracting increasing attention as a response to labor shortages, workforce aging, and stagnant productivity in the construction industry. However, small-sized construction firms may face adoption difficulties because of limited investment capacity, shortages of specialized personnel, and constrained operational capabilities. This study analyzed survey data from 40 personnel working in small-sized construction firms to examine the relationships among construction robot awareness, construction robot adoption factors, trade-specific expected benefits and adoption constraints, perceived economic and performance benefits, and industry adoption prospects. Descriptive results showed high mean scores for robot technical factors (M = 4.12) and non-technical factors (M = 4.07), although the differences among the three adoption-factor categories were not statistically significant (p = 0.051). Model 1, which included construction robot awareness and adoption factors, was not significant (R2 = 0.087, p = 0.513), whereas Model 2, which included expected benefits by trade, was significant (R2 = 0.658, p < 0.001). Model 3, which included adoption constraints by trade, was not significant (R2 = 0.184, p = 0.060). The final step of hierarchical Model 4 was significant (R2 = 0.707, p < 0.001). Expected benefits in finishing works (β = 0.424, p = 0.014) and perceived economic and performance benefits (β = 0.360, p = 0.024) were positively associated with industry adoption prospects. Adding overall adoption constraints did not significantly increase explanatory power (ΔR2 < 0.001, p = 0.893), whereas adding perceived economic and performance benefits produced a significant increase (ΔR2 = 0.048, p = 0.024). Because the findings are based on a small cross-sectional self-report sample, they should be interpreted as associations rather than causal relationships.