Opportunities created by information technology for the executive in the engineering and construction industry

Abstract

This thesis examines the opportunities created by information technology for individuals at the executive level in the engineering and construction industry, in particular with respect to networking and interaction. The foundations of this research emerge in part from a project initiated by the World Economic Forum in the late 1980s aimed at connecting its members, executives of global companies, through a virtual network. The project was called Welcom for World Electronic Community, and it was a first attempt in developing an information technology solution focused on executive's needs. To understand how information technology today, primarily through the Internet and the web, can be utilized at the executive level, it is critical to analyze these needs. This analysis is done in this thesis via a survey of about 20 executives from the engineering and construction industry. The survey is based on a series of interviews, followed by a questionnaire. The interviews reveal critical tasks for executives such as interacting and networking with clients and peers. How information technology is used to add value to these tasks and in particular the aspects of virtual versus face to face interaction is examined. The questionnaire acts as a follow-up to the interviews and reveals the interest of using the web as a content provider to executives for issues such as industry specific economic and financial information. The thesis combines literature research on the information technology revolution, the analysis of the Welcom initiative, and the survey. This provides us with insight about how information technology is having an influence on the way executives in the engineering and construction industry interact, communicate and do business today, and the potential opportunities for the future.