How do institutional pressures affect the level of BIM adoption in organisations: An AEC industry analysis
In the current era of data revolution, information systems (IS) and information technologies (IT) play a vital role in the survival of organisations. However, technology application within organisations does not happen automatically or seamlessly. Various external and internal factors can affect the different stages of the technology adoption process, from decision-making to inter- and intra-organisational diffusion. As a result, the investigation of the factors that influence the adoption level of various technological solutions in different contexts has been an interesting subject for scholars. This study examines the mechanisms through which various factors affect organisations in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry to apply building information modelling (BIM) to their processes.
BIM is an information and communication technology (ICT) and incorporates software and processes that enable the parties involved in construction projects to communicate data and information through an integrated virtual model. BIM is regarded as a technological revolution in the AEC industry, but its adoption in organisations has proved to be challenging. Organisations need to go through a change management and learning process to adopt the new technology. Thus, in this study, we initially propose a conceptual framework, based on a detailed literature review, to demonstrate the organisational learning process of BIM adoption and to indicate the various elements that play a role along this learning process.
Further, the adoption of technology in organisations does not happen in isolation. The environment plays a vital role in persuading the organisation to adopt and assimilate the technology. Therefore, in the next step, the focus of the study narrows down to examine the interaction between environmental and various intra-organisational factors that affect the organisational level of BIM adoption. In doing so, the main body of this research is divided into distinct, yet related, studies. A conceptual model incorporating the research hypotheses is proposed in each study of this series. To empirically test the proposed hypotheses, the data are gathered from BIM managers and frontline staff in Australia and the United States (US) through an online survey. The collected data are then analysed by using the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique.
In this series of studies, the lens of institutional theory is applied to examine institutional pressures, as the environmental factors, that affect the level of BIM adoption. First, the study investigates the degree to which various types of institutional pressures affect the level of BIM adoption. In addition, the study explores the reasons why organisations adopt BIM to a greater or lesser extent despite experiencing almost the same institutional pressures. To address the latter, the theoretical concepts of potential and realised absorptive capacities and top management support are considered. The results of the data analyses show that industry’s norms are the main institutional pressures affecting the level of BIM adoption in AEC organisations. In addition, the study outcome determines the role of organisational potential and realised absorptive capacities in the process of technology adoption.
In the next step, the study explores the impact of institutional pressures and the supportive behaviour of organisational top management on the behaviour of frontline employees, assisting them to increase the BIM adoption level in the organisation. The outcomes of the study demonstrate that institutional pressures motivate frontline employees to take proactive steps towards a higher level of BIM adoption when they receive support from the top management.
Last, the study examines the interaction between the organisation’s internal interoperability capability and institutional pressures, and the effect of this interaction on the organisation’s level of BIM adoption. The study evaluations show that the impact of institutional pressures on the level of BIM adoption is less prominent in organisations with internally developed interoperability capability.
