Drivers of sustainable adoption of building information modelling (BIM in the nigerian construction small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

Abstract

The small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which are the backbone of any economy are often on the disadvantaged side of the digital divide in the construction industry. With the advent of building information modelling (BIM), the SMEs are facing challenges and are slow with its uptake. Hitherto, extant research studies on BIM have focused primarily on the large firms and there is an observed trend of underrepresentation of the SMEs in BIM studies. Thus, this paper aims to investigate the major drivers of sustainable adoption of Building Information Modelling in SMEs and the dynamics of these drivers in developing countries using interpretive structural modelling approach and Matrice d'Impacts croises-multipication applique a classement (MICMAC) analysis. The findings reveal that organizational readiness is of utmost importance for the proliferation of BIM in SMEs. Also, the independent drivers which are the most important drivers consist of BIM characteristics, internal and external environment drivers and thus portray the BIM adoption as a complex socio-technical system. This study categorizes the drivers for easy intervention of SMEs' managers and policymakers. It contributes to the nascent studies of BIM adoption in SMEs of developing countries.