The Pervasiveness of e-Readiness in the Global Built Environment Arena

Abstract

Purpose – Electronic readiness (e-readiness) presents a measure to which an organisation or business may be ready, prepared or willing to obtain benefits which arise from the digital economy. In this context, an advanced state of organisational e-readiness is needed for businesses to expand domestically and internationally; to compete readily in the global open market. It is therefore imperative that organisations align their business strategies with e-readiness strategies. This paper aims to focus on these issues.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper investigates the initiation, development and practice of e-readiness of nations, and presents a case for possible adoption for the built environment area. By combining key indicators of e-readiness of nations and achieving business success and competitive advantage, the pervasiveness of e-readiness within the built environment arena is determined. The validity of this initial research is further endorsed through industry collaboration research.

Findings – The relationship between people, process, and technology are common themes and enablers of e-readiness. In this respect, built environment organisations are no different. These elements are highly interrelated, as developing competence in one element must be accompanied by improvement in the others. Contextually therefore, the key elements of organisational e-readiness should embody each nation's (national) e-readiness reports, rankings, assessments and measuring tools as their fundamental building blocks.

Originality/value – This paper presents an argument that the industry needs to adopt a “measured approach” to help them be “e-ready” – the rubrics of which should be augmented through some form of a practical framework which allows them to measure their e-readiness capability. This paper postulates that any such model should embrace both the “hard” and “soft” issues associated with people, technology, and process.