Social e-business and the Satellite Network model: Innovative concepts to improve collaboration in construction

The construction industry recognizes that significant gains can be achieved using e-business. However, e-business platforms need to progress toward new emerging paradigms; beyond the dematerialization of processes, e-business must integrate collaborative tools, support social networking mechanisms, and enhance interoperability between systems in order to improve collaboration, develop trust, and implement strategic approaches to network relationships. The Social e-business concept presented in this paper defines this innovative e-business vision, which integrates web-based collaborative tools, emphasizes the importance of social capital and social networking, and enhances the role of supply chain management. The proposed Satellite Network model fits in with this collaborative working logic, defining a functional approach to enhance the social network behavior in a project-based web platform for the construction industry. A case study is presented demonstrating the implementation of the Social e-business concept and the Social Network model in an innovative electronic platform for the construction industry. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.