Digital platforms and the construction supply chain: trends and emerging themes in extant AEC research

A substantial body of research has emerged on the conditions that impact how and when industry stakeholders adopt digital platforms. However, in the construction industry in general—and the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry in particular—to date, this research remains fragmented, which hampers our understanding of how digital platforms can enhance productivity and value creation. This paper aims to provide a better understanding of the benefits and challenges of adopting digital platforms and integrating them into the AEC industry. We conduct a systematic literature review on digital platform integration to identify themes that are relevant to the AEC industry. Based on our findings, we develop an integrative model that captures the phases of digital platform adoption and integration and outlines where different industry stakeholders tend to face challenges in this process, and we pinpoint where benefits can be derived. We employ this model to derive a research agenda that will fill the identified knowledge gaps currently existing in our understanding of construction industry stakeholders’ integration within the digital platform space.