Rethinking the digital divide of BIM adoption in the AEC industry

Abstract

Extant research studies have attempted to evaluate the building information modeling (BIM) divide in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry; however, these studies are often premised on material access or a technology-centric perspective. Consequently, this study examines the BIM divide from a multifaceted perspective and evaluates its contextuality via firmographic variables. It mobilizes the digital divide model from the information technology discipline. The contextualized model depicts the BIM divide through four categories of motivational, physical, skills, and usage access. The model was empirically tested through the generalized structured component analysis (GSCA) with data from an international questionnaire survey. The findings underscore the need to rethink BIM adoption as a multifaceted and dynamic process against the extant static two-tiered representation. It highlights a notable BIM divide between firms in developed and developing economies. The findings necessitate further scrutiny of the effect of firms' sizes and ages on BIM adoption and the unavoidable Mathew effect of the BIM divide. Lastly, it provides paths in driving BIM implementation for stakeholders and policymakers and highlights the need to be context conscious in advocating for the transferability of global best practices in BIM adoption.