Key factors for the BIM adoption by architects: a China study
Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management
ISSN: 0969-9988
Article publication date: 16 November 2015
Abstract
Purpose
There has been a growing attention to building information modeling (BIM) globally due to its benefits to various stages of a building’s life cycle. To facilitate the implementation of BIM in the construction industry effectively, the purpose of this paper is to gain a better understanding of the mechanism for BIM adoption by practitioners such as architects.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire survey of architects is conducted in Shenzhen, China. A structural equation model is built with survey data to identify the key factors affecting architects’ BIM adoption in the design firms.
Findings
It is found that motivation, technical defects of BIM and BIM capability are the statistically significant factors affecting architects’ BIM adoption whereas management support and knowledge structure are not.
Research limitations/implications
Only one architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) profession, i.e. architects were selected as research participants. In future, other professions such as construction engineers, project managers, etc. should be investigated with respect to their BIM adoption issues.
Practical implications
BIM technology developers should improve the technology along the objectives of economic benefits, effectiveness and efficiency of BIM adoption. The compatibility and integration between BIM and other widely available software in the industry should also be improved. Moreover, AEC company and project managers should provide architects with opportunities of BIM training so that architects are more likely to apply BIM in future projects.
Originality/value
A quantitative theoretical model, i.e. structural equation model is built to identify key factors affecting architects’ BIM adoption, which takes one step further to reveal the BIM adoption mechanism in contrast to previous descriptive-oriented studies.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This research is conducted with the support of the National Science Foundation for Young Scholars of China (Grant No. 71202101); Scientific Planning Research Grant (No. 2009-K4-17, No. 2011-K6-24), Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of P.R.C. The authors are also thankful to those who participated in this study and supported the research work.
Citation
Ding, Z., Zuo, J., Wu, J. and Wang, J. (2015), "Key factors for the BIM adoption by architects: a China study", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. 22 No. 6, pp. 732-748. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-04-2015-0053
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited