Purpose The construction industry, being one of the main activities in the ever-demanding need for technology developments, sometimes falls short of other industries in terms of implementation. The adoption of Big Data (BD) in industries such as health and retail has had positive impacts in aspects such as decision-making processes and forecasting trends that allow planning some future business movements. Hence, the question of whether these results can be imitated in the construction industry. Therefore, this paper aims to address the level of awareness identified as a first step towards implementation of the BD concept within the construction industry in the Dominican Republic (DR). Design/methodology/approach As little to no information exist on the subject; the selected approach to perform this research was qualitative methodology; 21 semi-structured interviews were studied using situational awareness. Four levels of awareness were developed based on the Endsley’s Situation Awareness model. Findings The results showed that nearly 95% of the interviewees had either no knowledge or very basic awareness of the BD requirements or intermediate awareness, but only 5% had applied BD concepts in the construction industry. Originality/value This study shows the gaps that exist in the understanding and implementation of BD concepts in the DR construction industry. This paper establishes the need to develop continuous professional development programmes for construction professionals and a need to update curriculum in construction-related education.

The adoption of Big Data (BD) in the construction industry has been identified as a possible solution to the demand of the current needs of projects, but the integration of this technology has proven to be a challenge specially in industries such as construction that are not technological driven. The understanding of the key elements for the BD adoption has become the focus of many industries that seek to exploit the benefits offered by this technology. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the challenges faced by the adoption of BD in the Dominican Republic (DR) construction industry. To identify these challenges qualitative research was undertaken due to the paucity of scientific data. Twenty-one individuals representing 19 companies who have great impact in the DR construction sector were interviewed. From the analysis six main challenges were identified. They are: lack BD awareness, high cost of investment, resistance to change, lack of government support and regulation, lack of technological expertise, and security concerns of BD. The challenges identified in this study, will serve to help companies better plan their technology adoption process, mainly considering aspects such as the need to tackle the lack of awareness by disseminating and promoting the concept of BD which will not only generate a better understanding of technology by making sure that present and future professionals understand the technology and its benefits. This study provides insight in the challenges to overcome for a successful adoption of BD technology, which would help companies to prepare for a future adoption.