Promoting the Application of Off-Site Construction in China’s Residential Building Industry from the Angle of Ecosystem

Off-site construction (OSC) is an innovative construction method. However, OSC is not widely applied in residential buildings due to many barriers. Therefore, this paper aims to unravel this puzzle and interpret the slow development of OSC. The paper develops a new analytical lens based on the ecosystem concept. By deconstructing some ecosystem concepts, the paper conceptualizes China’s residential building industry ecosystem (RBI-ECO) and proposes three hypotheses. The results show that the current structure of RBI-ECO does not support OSC development. Firstly, the performance of different types of enterprises is imbalanced. Secondly, there is a lack of cooperation between enterprises except for daily communication of projects. Moral risks, competition, and a fragmented supply chain are the primary causes. These barriers in RBI-ECO limit the implementation of OSC. In order to promote the application of OSC, the government can implement mandatory policies and concrete measures, establish a designer-led mechanism, motivate enterprises to transform into comprehensive enterprises, and enhance learning and education for OSC enterprise managers.