The Dynamics of BIM Adoption: A Mixed Methods Study of BIM as an Innovation within the United Kingdom Construction Industry

Building Information Modelling is an approach that fully integrates people, systems, business structures and practices into a collaborative and highly automated process, applicable to the design, construction and operation of buildings. With the United Kingdom Construction Industry (UKCI), the UK Government, as the industry’s largest client, has mandated the use of BIM on all public sector projects by 2016. By considering BIM as an innovation, a total of 104 potential dynamics of BIM adoption were identified from literature along with potential variations by company type and size. Through the application of equal status mixed methods and robust stratified random sampling of 335 respondents, to match the profile of the UKCI, the key findings of the study are: Overall 62% of respondents have adopted BIM, with adoption highest among Consultants and Main Contractors, and lowest among Sub-Contractors, with a substantial increase in adoption following the Government Mandate. Although there is scope for the increased utilisation of BIM for those who have adopted it, 10% of respondents have no plans to adopt BIM. 23 significant dynamics of BIM adoption were identified, with 15 of these inhibiting
adoption and 8 supporting adoption. For large companies the government mandate and advantages of BIM as a collaboration tool were the more significant supporting dynamics, while for smaller companies the cost of BIM was the more significant inhibiting dynamic. For Main Contractors, the robustness of existing practices and for Sub-Contactors the cost and complexity of BIM, along with company survival were the most significant inhibiting dynamics. The results suggest that under Rogers’s diffusion of innovation model, while relative advantage is an important supporting characteristic of BIM, compatibility with existing practices Is an equally important but inhibiting characteristic, while observability is not relevant.