Decide for the future by looking back: The perceived impact of predictive analytics to support decision making in the construction industry

Abstract: Based on data from the past, predictive analytics can give a competitive advantage for companies when it is used to forecast the future. Specifically, predictive analytics can be used to aid decision makers in strategic planning. As the construction industry faces challenges with both more costly and complicated projects, predictive analytics can support decision makers in the industry in the most critical parts of a construction project. The purpose of our study was to identify the perceived impact of predictive analytics to support decision making in the construction industry. The research was conducted by using a qualitative research strategy interviewing managers from six midsize and large Swedish construction companies. We used concepts on how IT may impact decision making and sorted these into the decision-making process, containing the phases of intelligence, design and choice. Our findings show that construction companies perceived extensive impact of predictive analytics to support decision making in the intelligence, and reasonably impact the choice phase. However, our findings reveal that the construction companies perceive that predictive analytics barely impact the design phase. Our findings contribute to IS research since the impact of predictive analytics on decision making for a specific industry has been identified.