Adoption of building information modelling in small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries : a system dynamics approach

Abstract

Despite the benefits reaped from the adoption of BIM (Building Information Modelling) in the construction industry, the adoption in developing countries where there is a lack of client and government support and directions is still facing many challenges. These challenges are compounded for SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) which are the backbone of the industry because of scarce resources and the organizational structure. Extant research studies on BIM adoption have focused on large firms and a few research studies on SMEs were carried out in developed countries with a high level of awareness as compared to developing countries. This research study presents a desktop review of literature on BIM perceived barriers, challenges and benefits with respect to developing countries. The identified barriers were then grouped into a perspective (organisation/project level and industry level) and context (technology-related, economic-related and process/people-related) matrix. A conceptual causal loop diagram was developed based on the desktop review to investigate the adoption of BIM in SMEs using System Dynamics (SD) which enables complex system behaviours to be studied. The causal loop diagram illustrates the key variables and their interrelationships affecting the BIM adoption to enable better BIM adoption policies in SMEs. The findings revealed that process and people related barriers are the major challenges of BIM adoption in SMEs, and there are few studies conducted on BIM benefits in developing countries because there are still bottlenecks with adoption. Also, the clients are regarded as one of the major drivers of BIM adoption at the organisation/project level while the government is one of the major advocators at the industry level. Adoption of BIM is a necessity for the SMEs towards the goal of achieving a smart construction industry, as they represent the backbone of economies.