Determining factors influencing BIM adoption: A competency-driven approach

Building information modeling (BIM) adoption has received increasing attention over the past two decades due to its potential to revolutionize the built asset industry. Several different characteristics, facilitators, and drivers of BIM adoption have been identified, which has led to the development of BIM adoption frameworks and guidelines. Many of these elements and frameworks have focused on specific organizational-, project-, or industry-level characteristics. Few have taken a competency-based approach to BIM adoption. Thus, this paper aims to empirically evaluate and validate the factors influencing BIM adoption within organizations operating in the built asset industry as understood through the evolution of their BIM competency profiles. The research consists of a mixed-method data collection on a sample set of 368 organizations participating in the Initiative Québécoise pour la Construction 4.0 (IQC 4.0). The research method of analysis is based on a bivariate approach for testing the correlation between the variables concerning the organization's internal characteristics and their BIM competency development level. The findings show that the factors, which include field of activity, BIM experience, size, financial capacity, and geographical location, are correlated to an organization's BIM competency development level; in parallel, an organization's perceived maturity is strongly correlated. The results from this research can be potentially useful to properly guide and structure governmental initiatives supporting competency development for digital transformation.