Beyond Product Substitution: Comparative Lessons for Systemic MMC Adoption

Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) are increasingly promoted as solutions to housing crises, labor constraints and decarbonization targets, yet implementation outcomes vary markedly across national contexts. This study applies a structured cross-case comparative design to examine MMC adoption in seven high-income countries—Japan, Germany, Sweden, Singapore, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia. Drawing on documentary analysis of 66 company cases and 26 government initiatives, validated through expert consultation, the study develops and applies an eight-dimensional framework assessing policy alignment, industrial capability, and cultural receptivity. Findings show that successful adoption is rarely the result of technological innovation alone, but of sustained alignment between institutional, industrial, and socio-cultural systems. Barriers such as regulatory fragmentation, workforce resistance, and context-insensitive transfer strategies are shown to undermine outcomes. By distinguishing context-dependent constraints from transferable mechanisms, the paper reframes MMC not as a fixed set of technologies but as a systemic transformation, identifying the structural preconditions for effective adoption and contributing to debates on construction industrialization, policy learning, and innovation diffusion in the built environment.