Housebuilding business models and offsite construction take-up

The potential benefits of offsite construction have been widely reported. However, its take‐up in UK construction has been lower than hoped. Previous studies have contributed solutions to accelerating take‐up of offsite technology, albeit few examining the issue in business contexts. This paper contributes a novel approach to addressing offsite construction take‐up in relation to business models. It reviews the challenges facing UK housebuilding business, maps conventional and emergent business models, and identifies factors capturing and creating value, centering on process and activities, risks, and finance. UK housebuilding is often decoupled from contracting, instead focusing on land acquisition, in response to the dominance of land‐use planning. The competitive edge potentially available from technological innovation is often rendered less important or prevalent. However, exemplars do exist regarding incorporating offsite into housebuilders’ business strategy, as well as adapting or creating business models to optimize such an approach. A conceptual model is presented here to help illustrate the multi‐faceted relationship between business models and offsite construction, which is examined drawing on a number of case studies of large UK housebuilders, the findings of which should help position future enquiries.