Innovation Diffusion Associated with Informatics Capability Building in Civil Engineering Organizations

Abstract

This paper examines the mechanisms of innovation diffusion within civil engineering organizations by focusing on informatics capability building. Traditional construction and engineering firms frequently encounter persistent barriers to digital transformation, driven by fragmented workflows, temporary project-based structures, and a cultural aversion to technological disruption. To investigate how informatics capabilities—specifically advanced computational design, parametric modeling, and data analytics—diffuse within these organizations, we conducted a rigorous controlled experiment involving 120 professional civil engineers across multiple design firms. The experimental group participated in a structured, peer-coached, and project-integrated capability-building program, whereas the control group relied on conventional self-paced online modules and passive software onboarding. Over a six-month monitoring period, we tracked individual skill acquisition, actual application on live projects, and subsequent peer-to-peer knowledge diffusion using social network analysis. The empirical results reveal that the structured, peer-supported intervention led to a statistically significant increase in both software proficiency and the rate of internal skill transmission compared to the control group. Network analysis demonstrated that trained peer coaches acted as critical catalysts, accelerating the diffusion of informatics practices to untrained colleagues by a substantial margin. These findings provide robust quantitative evidence that deliberate, network-centric capability building outperforms passive technology dissemination, offering a scalable blueprint for digital modernization in the civil engineering sector.