Ahankoob, A; Manley, K; Hon, C and Drogemuller, R (2018) The impact of building information modelling (BIM) maturity and experience on contractor absorptive capacity. Architectural Engineering and Design Management, 14(5), pp. 363-380. ISSN 1745-2007
Abstract
Building information modelling (BIM) has been adopted with increasing frequency by the construction industry in the last few years due to its potential to enhance construction business performance. While there is a general belief that higher BIM proficiency will lead to higher business performance, few empirical studies have tested this relationship. This research explores the extent to which a positive relationship exists between BIM adoption and organisational learning. The impact of BIM maturity and years of experience on the absorptive capacity (AC) of contractors to adopt new information for organisational learning is investigated through a survey of Australian building contractors. While BIM experience was found to be a significant predictor for contractor AC, the analysis of variance showed no significant relationship between BIM maturity and AC. The literature indicates a pervasive belief in a potent relationship between BIM maturity and organisational learning, yet it seems that factors traditionally viewed as more peripheral play a bigger role than expected in determining the impact of BIM on learning and business performance. Subsequent interviews found that (1) poor business ties, (2) willingness to share information and (3) organisational cultural values weaken the expected relationship between BIM maturity and AC. The results suggest that the extent of an organisation's experience with BIM is a greater predictor of learning performance than the complexity of BIM usage within the organisation. The main contribution of this paper is to reveal the complexity surrounding the relationship between BIM and business performance.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | absorptive capacity; BIM maturity; building information modelling; business performance; contractors; knowledge; organisational learning |
| Index terms: | complexity, construction industry, business performance, empirical study, survey, construction business performance, building contractor, absorptive capacity, building information modelling, organizational learning, interview, variance |
| Subjects: | practitioner, data collection methods, professional development, performance measurement, theoretical framing, research methods, industry analysis, systems engineering, information systems, measurement and scaling |
| Topics: | Digital Applications, Quality Management, Engineering Principles, Information Management, Research Practice, Roles and Professions |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here