Abstract

In spite of the considerable research on construction labor management, labor resource availability remains a challenge for China’s construction projects. The reason is the separation between contractors and laborers caused by the main labor resource utilization method, namely, labor subcontracting rather than direct recruitment. Service-oriented concept and technology are introduced by multiple industries for the management and optimal allocation of distributed resources, and have the potential to solve the problem of labor resource availability faced by China’s construction industry. However, insufficient conceptual understanding impedes implementation. Accordingly, this research extends the service-oriented concept to construction labor and proposes a conceptual framework for explanation, thereby contributing to the body of knowledge. In this framework, a service-oriented labor resource management model called labor-as-a-service is covered and described from three aspects: organizational relationship, managerial process, and technical framework. A strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis is conducted to preliminarily investigate the potential of the proposed framework. Results show that the conceptual framework suits China’s conditions and has the potential to improve labor resource management.