Social media channels like WeChat and WhatsApp could play a larger role in helping the construction industry adapt to COVID-related changes like flexible work arrangements and smaller on-site teams, according to QUT researchers.
Dr Carol Hon from the QUT Faculty of Engineering and Dr Ramtin Etemadi, who is now a contract administrator with Sherbrooke in Melbourne, published key industry barriers to using social media for peer-to-peer knowledge sharing in Construction Innovation.
“The construction industry is traditionally slow to adopt new information and communication technologies, but COVID lockdowns and the need for better communication across a fragmented workforce have driven the need for social media use,” Dr Hon said.
Dr Etemadi estimated 60-70 per cent of construction industry members used social media but said active participation in knowledge sharing for work was still low.
“Trust in cybersecurity, information privacy and the quality of information being shared were main reasons people weren’t using social media for work.
“The industry also holds people accountable for the knowledge they share, and that sense of responsibility can hold people back, especially when the information is imperfect.”
Based on users’ control over trust factors, researchers categorised platforms as public, private, or enterprise and found private channels were preferred, followed by enterprise systems.
Private platforms like WeChat and WhatsApp were trusted because group membership was closed, and members were more identifiable through mobile numbers.
Public platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Tik Tok were seen as less secure for professional information sharing but had a greater role in marketing and recruitment.
Enterprise systems like Teams, Yammer and Telegram were seen as ‘the norm’ but still prevented full user control over information privacy and group membership.
Dr Etemadi said businesses could encourage greater use of social media for work by addressing concerns.
“Lack of proper communication and knowledge sharing results in project delays and – as time equals money – the indirect outcome would be over budget projects,” he said.
“The ultimate solution is to increase the level of trust between professionals, as well as their trust in the security and governance of the platform being used.”
Researchers proposed a three-step guide on how to encourage social media use for knowledge sharing:
- Choose a social media option your team trusts. It must have capability to share files and operate across desktop as well as mobile devices for onsite use.
- Appoint a group admin who is professionally knowledgeable and trusted, who can lead by example and encourage positive sharing behaviour.
- Enable users to assess information quality and usefulness through crowd sourcing, polling, chatbots or software extensions offered by some platforms.
“Mid-sized and larger companies are probably already using social media for knowledge sharing, but these guidelines could help improve the rate of active participation,” Dr Etemadi said.
“Smaller companies should at least try free versions of private platforms first. After maximizing those, they can then look at using the steps to transfer to new platforms with more features and communication facilities.”
Before taking up a position in the construction industry, Dr Etemadi completed the research as part of his doctorate under the supervision of Dr Hon, Associate Professor Glen Murphy from the QUT Graduate School of Business, and Associate Professor Karen Manley who is now the Visiting Researcher in innovation science for the built environment, Halmstad University in Sweden.
Dr Hon, who is also the Construction Safety Theme Coordinator with the Building 4.0 CRC, said she may explore the use of social media for sharing safety information to reduce accidents onsite.
“The industry has regulations and standards, but in some situations a site operator would need to make a call based on experience and tacit knowledge.
“Someone’s experience and practical knowledge is hard to store, so social media really helps people to keep in contact with peers and learn from each other.
“Peer mentoring through social media could even extend to cost management or pricing. It all depends on experience, so it’s good to ask a knowledgeable, closed group.”
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