From Blueprints to Bytes

QC 20260126

Abstract

Digital transformation has in recent years become a central feature of the development of the Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Operations (AECO) industry. In large public client organizations, digitalization is often pursued through the introduction of digital work systems, such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), with the aim of improving coordination, information quality, and decision-making across long asset life cycles. At the same time, previous research shows that digital work systems are frequently used in fragmented ways and in parallel with established work practices, which limits their potential to support integrated and sustainable ways of working. These challenges have to a limited extent been analyzed from a coherent sociotechnical perspective, particularly in public infrastructure contexts characterized by formal governance, complex project- and line-based organizational structures, and long-term responsibility for critical societal infrastructure. Against this background, the aim of this thesis was to deepen the understanding of digital transformation in the AECO sector from a sociotechnical perspective by identifying which human, technological, organizational, and leadership-related factors, as well as the interactions between them, are associated with professionals’ attitudes toward, trust in, and use of digital work systems in practice. The thesis places particular emphasis on the role of leadership in shaping organizational conditions for digital work and in translating strategic digital ambitions into operational working conditions. The thesis is based on four constituent studies applying a mixed methods approach. An initial scoping review mapped prior research on interactions between humans, technology, and organization in the use of BIM. Two quantitative questionnaire survey studies examined associations between individual, social, and organizational factors, leadership-related aspects, and attitudes toward and trustful use of digital work systems in a large public client organization within the AECO industry. Finally, a qualitative interview study with managers at different organizational levels was conducted and analyzed using a grounded theory approach, to explore how conditions, opportunities, and constraints for digitally oriented leadership were perceived and managed in practice. The results showed that attitudes toward and trust in digital work systems are not solely related to technical system characteristics but are shaped through the interplay between technical and organizational conditions, social relations, and leadership practices. The quantitative analyses demonstrated that organizational and social conditions, including leadership quality and clarity, were associated with how digital work systems are perceived and used. The qualitative findings indicated that leaders often operate within narrow organizational constraints, where formal governance structures, unclear mandates, and fragmented processes limit opportunities to support integrated use of digital work systems across organizational levels and project phases. Overall, the thesis demonstrates that digital transformation in large and complex public AECO organizations should be understood as a sociotechnical process in which leadership constitutes a central mechanism for coordination, sensemaking, and the legitimation of digital work. The thesis contributes theoretically by further developing sociotechnical perspectives on digital transformation through empirical analysis of how leadership interacts with human, technological, and organizational factors. Empirically, the study contributes to in-depth knowledge of conditions for digital work in a public infrastructure context. Practically, the findings provide guidance on how governance, organizational design, and leadership practices may be developed to support more integrated, trustful, and sustainable use of digital work systems.

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