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BIM has much potential to improve the effectiveness of construction works with respect to design, construction and maintenance. However, many Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) firms are still lagging in the adoption and implementation of BIM in both developing and developed countries. The purpose of this study is to assess the barriers to BIM implementation, and examine the ways forward to improve BIM adoption within the Nigerian AEC firms.

A comprehensive literature review and questionnaire survey were used in the study. The survey targeted four different AEC firms. These include architectural firms, facility management firms, quantity surveying firms and structural engineering firms in Lagos, Nigeria. The data obtained were analyzed using mean score, standard deviation, Kruskal–Wallis test, and factor analysis.

The study identified 20 barriers to BIM implementation and identified ten ways forward to improve BIM adoption in AEC firms, particularly in Nigeria. The relative importance of both the identified barriers and the ways forward were gauged. The Kruskal–Wallis tests revealed that except for one (out of 20) identified barriers, and one (out of 10) identified ways forward; there is no statistical significant difference in the perceptions of four different AEC firms. The factor analysis result grouped the 20 identified barriers into three major factors to include: weak top management support and BIM environment related issues; cost of BIM software and training issues; and incompatibility, legal, contractual, and culture related issues.

The significance of the study cannot be over-emphasized due to BIM relevance to construction stakeholders and researchers at large.

The study findings would inform the decisions of the construction stakeholders to make some policy recommendations capable of positively influencing the full BIM implementation in AEC firms.

The purpose of this study is to examine whether service innovation capability can affect firm performance in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) context, and, if so, how.

This study developed a theoretical framework illustrating the performance impacts of service innovation capability through the business model in the AEC sector. An empirical study was conducted to test the hypotheses using 374 valid questionnaires using structure equation model (SEM).

The results verify that service innovation capability positively influences firm performance mediated by the business model. As to the direct effect, service innovation capability is positively associated with firm performance.

This study highlights how service innovation capability affects performance and reveals the underlying mechanism.

This paper aimed to identify critical success factors (CSFs) of building information modeling (BIM) implementation among architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) firms in Malaysia using quantitative statistical methods.

A questionnaire survey was conducted on the population of all AEC firms in Malaysia to rank the relative importance of 15 success factors (SFs) for BIM implementation in the firm on a 5-point Likert scale. The sampling frame consisted of all members registered with the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) from which 184 responses were received. The distinction between SFs and CSFs was achieved by a normalized mean cutoff value. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to determine the relative groupings of the CSFs and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used to examine the underlying relationships between the CSF groupings.

Results of this study validated 11 previously identified CSFs for successful implementation of BIM among Malaysian AEC firms. Non-technical factors such as management, leadership and coordination were found to have higher relevance compared to technical factors such as software and hardware. Ranking analysis of the CSFs found internal coordination factors to have more importance compared to external coordination factors. PCA revealed 4 principal components (PCs) from the 11 CSFs. Together, these four PCs explain 74.3% of the variance in the data. Also, six hypothesized relationships between these groupings were supported using PLS-SEM.

This study found an interaction between internal and external coordination factors for the implementation of BIM. Future research could explore the dynamics of both intra- and inter-firm coordination, which may create an environment suitable for BIM implementation.

This study provides Malaysian AEC firms with a general strategy on how to approach the implementation of BIM within the firm. In addition, government initiatives should focus on increasing BIM competency of graduates entering the workforce. This can be achieved through the development of a national BIM curriculum. Apart from that, the implementation of BIM requires a radical shift in the traditional building delivery process, not just simply acquiring new software and hardware.

This study revealed that the interactions between different firms at the industry level can influence successful implementation of BIM at the firm level. CSFs for BIM implementation at the firm level have been extensively studied. However, few studies exist which explore the inter-firm collaborations at the industry level that facilitate successful BIM implementation.

The unexpected spread of COVID-19 rapidly switched from a health crisis to an economic one. The Architectural, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry experienced drastic impacts, especially in Africa. Several studies investigated COVID-19 impacts on the AEC industry, but very few were conducted in Africa. This study aims to cover this gap, address detailed overview of negative and positive impacts of COVID-19 on the AEC field, especially in the different African regions, and highlight their causes and the measures taken to overcome them.

The authors combined a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses-based Systematic Literature Review (SLR) and a survey involving 87 AEC companies operating in Africa. The SLR initially used four scientific databases; however, considering the limited Africa-related found data, institutional and governmental databases were also included.

Globally, implementing the mandated restrictive measures against COVID-19 caused significant losses for developers, designers and contractors but helped the information and communication technologies operators to thrive. In the five African regions, the AEC industry experienced 22 heavy impacts that can be split into four categories: financial, managerial/strategic, operational and opportunities. This paper thoughtfully explains the causes of COVID-19 impacts and presents the undertaken measures by the African private and public sectors to overcome them. Generally, the African AEC industry lost 51% of the total sales in 2020.

This paper contains all aspects related to health hazard influences on the AEC industry, especially in Africa. Researchers and decision-makers may use it to build new approaches or strategies related to risk management or design technological solutions.

Building information modelling (BIM) research studies are highly contextual as the contexts provide lenses for interpreting the results. However, there has been a growing decontextualization in extant studies especially between the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large firms; and between developed and developing countries. Albeit these contexts are all in the same construction industry, they often react differently to the same conditions. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the perceptions of firms in varying contexts of size and location on the perceived barriers to the implementation of BIM in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry.

The perceptions of 228 firms gleaned from 26 countries across the 6 continents were collated via an international empirical questionnaire survey. The data was analysed using the mean score, rank agreement analysis, Mann-Whitney U test and factor analysis.

The findings revealed the major factors impending BIM implementation in each of the contexts and a comparative analysis emphasized the difference in their perceptions. The findings underscore that there is a general digital divide as regard BIM implementation between the SMEs and large firms, and a deepening divide between the developed and developing countries.

The study has provided empirical evidence for the BIM divide in the AEC industry, which would influence the promulgation of BIM policy and transferability of best practices across varying contexts of both firm size and country level.

The purpose of this paper is to report on studies on the ethics in the design phase in Norwegian construction projects. The ambition is to establish a descriptive picture of ethical challenges practitioners meet in the design phase in order to raise awareness among them.

In addition to a literature review and a document study of ethical frameworks within the industry, interviews with key participants were carried out according to a qualitative approach. The study was undertaken in order to address framework conditions for handling ethically challenging situations, challenges of an ethical nature practitioners commonly encounter in the design phase and finally the structural (systemic) reasons for such challenges.

This research finds indications of actors manoeuvring in the design phase for own benefit at the expense of other actors. The findings equally indicate that the design phase poses significant challenges in light of tender documents pricing and exploiting cost reimbursement contracts. In some of the projects examined, participants shifted loyalty after novation contracting and they actively tried to steer the decision processes in their own favour.

There does in fact seem to be perceptions of a room of manoeuvre between what is unlawful and what is ethically sound in this phase.

The current understanding of building information modelling (BIM) adoption often neglects the industry context in which BIM is deployed. This is particularly problematic when policymakers are planning to enact top-down policies to promote BIM adoption in public-funded construction. Therefore, the aim of this study is to establish the industry-level factors that constraint or enable actors' intention to adopt BIM.

Using institutional theory with an emphasis on the cultural-cognitive elements, the authors aim to complement the understanding of BIM adoption by incorporating institutional elements into the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). The cultural-cognitive elements were extracted from focus groups and interviews with architecture, construction and engineering (AEC) professionals in Peru. A modified UTAUT was empirically tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM) with a dataset from 171 questionnaire responses.

The industry characteristics, standardisation, affordability and technology/methodology definition of BIM were found to be the cultural-cognitive elements having direct effects on individual reactions to BIM. These findings suggest that BIM adoption policies should focus on designing incentives schemes, training/educating professionals on BIM collaborative processes and developing/adapting applicable standards. However, a BIM adoption mandate would require policymakers to create collaborative procurement environments in tandem with information management and process standards.

Findings can be used by policymakers to significantly promote BIM adoption in contexts without a government mandate for public sector construction.

The study of institutional elements on BIM adoption is still limited. This study provides empirical evidence on how the cultural-cognitive elements of the industry context are associated with actors' intention to adopt BIM. Therefore, this study bridges industry and individual levels of analysis. Furthermore, this study enables policymakers to initiate actions that significantly encourage BIM adoption.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of an appropriate investigative mechanism deployed to uncover the link between individual attitude, consequent decision making and development of group culture, and their impact on the use of information and communication technology/building information modelling (ICT/BIM) across a temporary project organisation (TPO).

The paper develops a protocol and conducts a case study of a specialist subcontractor associated with the design and construction of an engineered facade operating in a specific TPO. It adopts a phenomenological perspective, utilising ethnographic data collection techniques and constructivist analysis/abstraction.

Differentiation resulted in impaired e‐business activity; however, there was a positive impact on the overall project outcome. This was attributed to the positive cultural traits demonstrated by the specialist subcontractor. Individuals' attitudinal traits develop over time through personal experiences and interaction with others. These traits are transportable and potentially infectious, as in this case, where the result was beneficial to the stakeholders.

The paper describes the successful implementation of an appropriate investigative protocol to chart the links between the beliefs and actions of individuals in relation to ICT/BIM, and the consequences for TPO culture and the project as a whole.

The objectives of this paper are to investigate the reasons that motivate foreign architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) firms to undertake projects in China; whether foreign AEC firms derive significant benefits after working in China; and the strengths that foreign AEC firms need to possess in order to work in China.

The objectives were achieved through a postal survey, using a structured questionnaire. Data were collected from American and Singaporean firms.

Firms do indeed derive many benefits when undertaking projects in China. These include geographical diversification, monetary benefits, technical benefits and deepened relationships. Foreign AEC firms should possess strengths such as excellent track record, superior management capability and high product and service quality.

The main limitation of this research is that it addresses motivations and benefits, but does not explain how to win and manage projects in China. Further research in these areas will be conducted.

Foreign practitioners should not ignore China market, but invest in China on a long term basis to reap many rewards.

This paper is original because it quantifies the benefits that foreign AEC firms will reap if they undertake projects in China.

This study aims to investigate the impact of primary building information modelling (BIM)-related factors, extracted from the literature on the subject, on construction project performance.

Based on data collected from 134 BIM users, this study used structural equation modelling to assess the impact of these factors in five main BIM-related factor clusters.

The results of the analysis confirmed the reliability and validity of the research design and outcomes. The findings indicated that the BIM-related external factors cluster is the most influential cluster affecting construction project performance. BIM-related project factors and BIM-related technological factors also had a significant impact on project performance. These were followed by the BIM-related management factors cluster, while the BIM-related human factors cluster had a low impact on project performance.

This study will contribute to fostering BIM adoption and implementation in the construction industry in developing countries.

This study has filled a crucial knowledge gap by providing information on manageable primary BIM-related factors affecting construction project performance.