Emerging information and communication technology (ICT) introduces many opportunities for the improved transfer of business documents throughout the trading process in the construction industry. Perceived and actual benefits have been realised throughout many studies however the relative success or failure has not been fully investigated for neither an individual organisational basis or throughout a complete supply chain. This research fills this knowledge gap by focusing on the feasibility of success before any design or development is undergone. The primary objective was to explore, explain and understand the nature of an organisation in the construction industry with reference to the adoption of technology and electronic trading methods such as electronic data interchange (EDI) and other methods of electronic commerce (Ecommerce). The second objective was to dissect the primary research and discover the key construct elements that exist and make an organisation what it is. These four quadrants or related business influences will form the basis for the factors governing success or failure of an adoption for both a stand-alone organisation and one within a supply chain. The third objective was to development a new analytical tool for determining success prior to the adoption of new technology into an existing business framework. The fourth objective was to test the tool within the construction industry in the UK and analyse the results. This research adopted a quantitative research approach in the form of a questionnaire that when data was recorded and analysed could produce a graphical representation of an organisation. Three models have been developed, they are focused toward determining success; (1) stand-alone organisational success, (2) supply chain success, (3) period of time taken to achieve successful adoption. This research helps us to understand the nature and extent of intra-organisational factors that influence the adoption of new technology. Secondly it provides the four key factors (four quadrants) that determine successful adoption: human resources, management, processes, and culture. Thirdly, these factors provide the building blocks for newly developed models. This provides for a clearer understanding of whether new information technology and communication developments can be successfully adopted into any organisation. Lastly, the research can help us understand the barriers to, and levers for, successful adoption. This research has some limitations that need to be acknowledged, most importantly the ‘target model’ was constructed from four quadrants that are evenly sized and weighted based on a questionnaire that suffers from a similar issue, further research is needed to address this weighting issue.

In recent years there has been an increase in the adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in organisations, as the use of ICT causes some form of revolution in business practices. All over the world, ICT has greatly transformed the manner in which companies conduct business. However, there is considerable evidence to show that Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries, particularly those in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), are yet to reap the full benefits offered by ICT as compared to their counterparts in the developed countries. Although the contribution of SMEs’ is of notable importance to many countries’ economy, yet those in developing countries lag far behind. For SMEs to survive and remain competitive in the current highly competitive business environment there is a need to adopt and use ICT effectively, in order to attain some level of competitive advantage. This research investigates factors affecting the adoption and effective utilisation of ICT, with particular emphasis on SMEs in Nigeria. It is presumed that SMEs’ adoption of ICT in Nigeria will provide opportunities to accelerate the country’s socio-economic growth as it will offer Nigeria the chance to ‘leapfrog’ some stages of development. The methodology adopted in undertaking this study is the qualitative research approach although a survey was used at the initial stage, to provide an exploratory snapshot of the SMEs in context. This research has empirically identified key factors motivating ICT adoption in Nigerian SMEs, and benefits resulting from the use of ICT in their organisational performance. Factors affecting the adoption and effective utilisation of ICT in Nigerian SMEs were also identified. Following this, strategies were proposed which led to the development of a framework that will assist to increase the adoption and effective use of ICT amongst SMEs in Nigeria and also, aid the further deployment of more sophisticated ICT solutions by these SMEs. The framework was validated via a survey and analysed with the aid of SPSS software. The findings obtained from the validation procedure indicated that the framework is valuable and suitable for use in practice since the research shows that the majority of respondents accepted the research findings and recommendations for success. This research offers recommendations that will assist the Nigerian government, stakeholders such as ISPs, as well as owners/managers of SMEs, in resolving the problems confronting SMEs in Nigeria.