International Journal of Applied Science and Engineering
Published by Chaoyang University of Technology

Jien Hui Mak 1, Ooi Kuan Tan 1, 2*

1 Centre of Climate Change, Disaster & Risk Reduction, Department of Civil Engineering, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Sungai Long, Bandar Sungai Long, 43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia
2 Belt and Road Strategic Research Centre (BRSRC), Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, 43000 Sungai Long, Selangor, Malaysia

 

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ABSTRACT

Smart city is a relatively popular concept with different meaning and services provided based on the needs of the people around the globe. The implementation of smart city is no longer new as many countries including Malaysia have already started developing and digitalizing smart cities that incorporate various breakthrough technologies which seems to integrate seamlessly into the construction industry. In construction industry, subcontractors have often been overlooked in previous studies, despite their significant role in smart city development as their skills and expertise are valuable in the industry. This gap exists because research examining the preparedness of Malaysian subcontractors to engage in smart city digitalization remains scarce. Hence, the objective of this study is to examine the subcontractors’ engagement in smart city digitalization in Malaysia by studying their perception and readiness in adapting the smart city digitalization concept in Malaysia. A quantitative methodological approach is selected to determine the engagement of smart city digitalization by subcontractors in Malaysia. A total of 105 valid respondents from the subcontractors replied to this study. The results showed significant positive inter-correlation and high impact between the perception and readiness on the engagement of subcontractors in Malaysia's smart city digitalization. Subcontractors recognize the importance of smart city digitalization; however, if their perceptions are negative, their willingness and readiness to participate in such initiatives may be significantly diminished. This highlights the critical role of stakeholder perception within the construction industry, thereby underscoring the value of this study, which addresses a gap in the literature by examining subcontractors which often neglected respondent in the research.


Keywords: Smart city, Digitalization, Subcontractor, Construction engagement.


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ARTICLE INFORMATION

Received: 2024-12-26
Revised: 2025-07-17
Accepted: 2025-10-09
Available Online: 2025-11-12


Cite this article:

Mak, J.H., Tan, O.K. 2025. Uncovering the engagement of construction subcontractors on smart city digitalization in Malaysia. International Journal of Applied Science and Engineering, 22, 2024436. https://doi.org/10.6703/IJASE.202512_22(4).002

  Copyright The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are cited.

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