The strategic implications of e‐commerce for the design and construction industry

In this paper we discuss the impact of e‐commerce on the design and construction industry, with specific reference to how information technology will affect competition and competitive advantage in the industry. This paper continues the exploration of a concept that we have been working on for several years, namely ‘…that information technology is evolving from a tool that incrementally improves “back‐office” productivity to an essential component of strategic positioning that may alter the basic economics, organizational structure and operational practices of facility management organizations and their interactions with service providers (architects, engineers and constructors)’ (Johnson & Clayton, Automation in Construction, 8, 1998, 3). We first review industry trends and then develop a generalized model for thinking about strategy and e‐commerce based on our previous research as well as the well‐known framework developed by Michael Porter. Next we apply this framework to the discussion of several case studies and draw preliminary conclusions about the viability of the model for future research.