Could it be more than a toolbox? Defining a business model for artificial intelligence-driven general contractors
The purpose of this research is to address the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to drive business models for general contractors. While AI is used for various tasks, its holistic impact on general contractors' business models remains unclear. The research utilizes a qualitative, multi-stage, action-research-oriented study. The methodology includes a literature review, two internal company workshops to design a specific business model and a third validation workshop with 25 industry experts to broaden and generalize the model. The research provides a transferable, AI-driven business model structured around Osterwalder's business model canvas components. It details a gradual adoption pathway for general contractors, addressing the tension between AI as an operational tool and as a transformative force. The pathway starts with internal efficiency enhancements (an incremental “toolbox” approach), progressing to value-added client services and culminating in transformative, servitized offerings such as project-independent AI-as-a-Service (AIaaS). This study addresses a significant gap – AI-driven business models for general contractors are largely missing from the existing research. It moves beyond viewing AI as a toolbox for isolated tasks to explore its potential to reconfigure the entire business system. The research provides a timely and structured overview that is valuable to both industry and academic actors by conceptualizing the AI-driven contractor as a data-driven ecosystem orchestrator.