Developing and Validating a Next-Gen Digital Project Manager Competency Model for Construction’s Digital Transformation

Abstract

The construction industry is undergoing rapid digital transformation, yet no empirically validated competency framework currently exists to guide Project Managers (PMs) in navigating this shift. Existing models are either generic or fragmented, failing to unite traditional competencies with emerging digital demands. This thesis addresses that gap by developing and validating a Next-Gen Digital PM Competency Model tailored to the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) sector.

Adopting a five-phase mixed-methods design, the study systematically progressed from conceptual exploration to empirical validation. First, traditional PM competencies were identified through an intensive literature review and thematic categorisation, reaffirming their enduring relevance but also their insufficiency for digitally enabled delivery. Second, a Systematic Literature Review (SLR), NVivo-assisted thematic analysis, and Large Language Model (LLM) synthesis produced a standardised list of 55 digital competencies across skills, knowledge, and core personality traits, refined through expert validation. Third, these competencies were integrated into a taxonomy, distinguishing between unchanged, digitally enhanced, and newly emerged competencies. Fourth, the taxonomy was empirically tested through a survey of AEC professionals, with Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) revealing seven latent constructs encompassing 25 retained items. Finally, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) validated the model, producing a robust framework of seven interrelated constructs with 22 retained items, demonstrating strong reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity. The study is conceptually grounded in international literature and empirically validated using data collected from AEC professionals in New Zealand and Australia, providing a context-specific foundation for a model that is intended to be transferable, while its validation remains grounded in this specific context.

The validated Next-Gen Digital PM Competency Model makes three contributions. Theoretically, it unites fragmented competency traditions into a coherent, hybridised framework that reflects the realities of digital construction. Methodologically, it advances competency research through a novel combination of qualitative synthesis, taxonomy development, and sequential factor analysis. Practically, it establishes a validated backbone that functions as a stable yet adaptable foundation. While not a final endpoint, this model provides the basis for future development of guidelines, competency assessment instruments, and self-reflection tools that enable PMs and organisations to benchmark digital readiness and identify gaps in capability, ensuring its progressive operationalisation across workforce planning, professional certification, and training.

Beyond its immediate validation, the model also serves as a research and universal backbone, consolidating evidence across competencies, methodology, taxonomy integration, and empirical factor structure. Its stability provides a common reference point for PMs, organisations, and academia, while its adaptability allows contextual tailoring to legislation, culture, and technological maturity. In this way, the model functions as both a rigorous research construct and a practical platform for deployment, charting a clear pathway toward role-specific frameworks, assessment instruments, and international uptake.

By bridging traditional strengths with emerging digital demands, this thesis delivers an empirically grounded competency backbone that equips PMs to lead and adapt to the evolving digital future of construction.