Search results

This study examined the influence of information and communication technology (ICT) on Nigeria's trade in sectors. Specifically, the research evaluated the effects of internet penetration, mobile phone subscriptions and fixed telephone subscriptions on exports and imports.

The study considered data from 1995 to 2022, highlighting ten trade sectors per standard international trade classification (SITC) single digit. It utilised the panel auto-regressive distributed lag (ARDL) with a preference for a pooled mean group (PMG) estimator.

The study finds that, in the short run, increases in internet penetration, mobile phone subscriptions and fixed telephone subscriptions significantly decrease export levels in Nigeria. Nonetheless, ICT advancements, particularly in mobile and fixed telephone subscriptions, significantly boost import activities by 17.9 and 41.5% in the long run, highlighting their positive impact on trade dynamics. In the long run, mobile telephone subscriptions substantially negatively affect exports. In contrast, internet penetration and fixed telephone subscriptions show no significant impact, indicating differing influences of ICT components on trade over time.

The study underscored the need to prioritise enhancing ICT infrastructure to boost export growth, especially in sectors identified under the SITC framework. Strategies should be developed to mitigate the negative impacts associated with ICT advancements.

The study used the SITC framework, which presents different export and import sectors. It offers a distinctive examination of the short- and long-term effects of ICT on Nigeria's trade sectors. It also provided valuable insights into the impact of mobile and internet technologies on exports and imports, highlighting sector-specific effects and the need for strategic resource allocation.

Studies show that building information modelling (BIM) technology can improve construction productivity regarding the design, construction and maintenance of a project life cycle in the 21st century. Revit has been identified as a frequently used tool for delivering BIM in the built environment. Studies about BIM technology via Revit are scarce in training middle-level workforce higher education institutions. Thus, this study aims to investigate the relevance of BIM technology and offer measures to promote digitalisation in Nigeria’s built environment polytechnic undergraduates via Revit.

Given the unexplored nature of training the middle-level workforce in Nigeria, 37 semi-structured virtual interviews were conducted across Nigeria, and saturation was achieved. The participants were knowledgeable about construction-related BIM. The researchers used a thematic analysis for the collected data and honed them with secondary sources.

Improved visualisation of design, effective and efficient work productivity, automatic design and quantification, improved database management and collaboration and data storage in the centrally coordinated model, among others, emerged as BIM’s benefits. BIM technology via Revit is challenging, especially in Nigeria’s polytechnic education curriculum. The 24 perceived issues were grouped into government/regulatory agencies-related, polytechnic management-related and polytechnic undergraduate students-related hindrances in Nigeria’s built environment.

This study is limited to BIM implications for Nigeria’s built environment polytechnic undergraduates.

This study contributes to the literature paucity in attempting to uncover perceived issues hindering the implementation of BIM technology via Revit in training Nigeria’s built environment polytechnic undergraduates via a qualitative approach.

The circular economy business models (CEBMs) provide ways for firms operating in the construction industry to move from a linear to a circular approach. Thus, this study aims to explore CEBM research within the construction sector to show the focus area of studies, highlighting new areas that require attention.

This study adopted a bibliometric approach, using the Scopus database as the data source. The keywords used for paper extraction from the database were “circular economy business” OR “circular business” AND “model” OR “models” AND “construction industry” OR “building industry”. The VOSviewer software was then used to prepare a co-occurrence and co-authorship map based on the bibliographic data gathered.

The study’s findings reveal five research clusters in the construction industry. These clusters include circular construction intelligence, modular business modelling, eco-construction, sustainable construction economics and smart energy-efficient buildings. The two most cited scholars had two publications each, while the top journals are the Journal of Cleaner Production and Sustainable Production and Consumption. This study concludes that there is a need for research within the construction sector to focus on CEBMs’ archetypes and frameworks. This will enable a smooth transition from linear to circular business models in the sector.

The information was gathered from a single database, Scopus; hence, using other databases, including Web of Science, Google Scholar and Dimensions, might produce more articles for examination and, consequently, different findings on the subject under investigation.

These findings would assist researchers in considering the areas mentioned, which are yet to receive attention, and, by extension, enhance economic development while maintaining environmental sustainability.

This paper made a significant contribution to the body of knowledge by identifying scholars and platforms that have been instrumental in advancing CEBM research and highlighting new areas that require attention in the construction sector.