Table Of ContentUniversity of Huddersfield Repository
Seed, Lawrence
The Dynamics of BIM Adoption: A Mixed Methods Study of BIM as an Innovation within the
United Kingdom Construction Industry
Original Citation
Seed, Lawrence (2015) The Dynamics of BIM Adoption: A Mixed Methods Study of BIM as an
Innovation within the United Kingdom Construction Industry. Doctoral thesis, University of
Huddersfield.
This version is available at http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/26167/
The University Repository is a digital collection of the research output of the
University, available on Open Access. Copyright and Moral Rights for the items
on this site are retained by the individual author and/or other copyright owners.
Users may access full items free of charge; copies of full text items generally
can be reproduced, displayed or performed and given to third parties in any
format or medium for personal research or study, educational or notforprofit
purposes without prior permission or charge, provided:
• The authors, title and full bibliographic details is credited in any copy;
• A hyperlink and/or URL is included for the original metadata page; and
• The content is not changed in any way.
For more information, including our policy and submission procedure, please
contact the Repository Team at: [email protected].
http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/
The Dynamics of BIM Adoption: A Mixed Methods
Study of BIM as an Innovation within the United
Kingdom Construction Industry.
LAWRENCE S SEED
A thesis submitted to the University of
Huddersfield in partial fulfilment of the
requirements for the degree of Doctor of Business
Administration
The University of Huddersfield
May 2015
Volume 1 of 3
Copyright Statement
The author of this thesis (including any appendices and / or schedules to this
thesis) owns any copyright in it (the “Copyright”) and he has given The University
of Huddersfield the right to use such Copyright for any administrative,
promotional, educational and / or teaching purposes.
Copies of this thesis, either in full or in extracts, may be made only in accordance
with the regulations of the University Library. Details of these regulations may be
obtained from the Librarian. This page must form part of any such copies made.
The ownership of any patents, designs, trademarks and any and all other
intellectual property rights (except for the Copyright (the “Intellectual Property
Rights”) and any reproduction of copyright works, for example graphs and tables
(“Reproductions”) which may be described in this thesis, may not be owned by
the author and may be owned by third parties. Such Intellectual Property Rights
and Reproductions cannot and must not be made available without the prior
written permission of the owners of the relevant Intellectual Property Rights and /
or Reproductions.
Word Count (Excluding Tables, Appendices and References): 51,347
2
Dedication and Acknowledgements
This thesis is dedicated to:
My creator, may we all be touched again by his Noodly Appendage.
My late father for the gift of life and his inspiration since my birth.
I would also like to thank the following individuals:
My wife Karen and daughter Lucy without whose patience and understanding,
this research would not have been possible.
Annie Yeadon-Lee, Steve Lawson, Leigh Morland and my DBA cohorts for
their support and encouragement.
To Pat Condell for so many laughs when I needed them most.
3
Abstract
Building Information Modelling is an approach that fully integrates people,
systems, business structures and practices into a collaborative and highly
automated process, applicable to the design, construction and operation of
buildings. With the United Kingdom Construction Industry (UKCI), the UK
Government, as the industry’s largest client, has mandated the use of BIM on all
public sector projects by 2016. By considering BIM as an innovation, a total of
104 potential dynamics of BIM adoption were identified from literature along with
potential variations by company type and size. Through the application of equal
status mixed methods and robust stratified random sampling of 335 respondents,
to match the profile of the UKCI, the key findings of the study are:
Overall 62% of respondents have adopted BIM, with adoption highest among
Consultants and Main Contractors, and lowest among Sub-contractors, with a
substantial increase in adoption following the Government Mandate. Although
there is scope for the increased utilisation of BIM for those who have adopted it,
10% of respondents have no plans to adopt BIM.
23 significant dynamics of BIM adoption were identified, with 15 of these inhibiting
adoption and 8 supporting adoption. For large companies the government
mandate and advantages of BIM as a collaboration tool were the more significant
supporting dynamics, while for smaller companies the cost of BIM was the more
significant inhibiting dynamic. For Main Contractors, the robustness of existing
practices and for Sub-Contactors the cost and complexity of BIM, along with
company survival were the most significant inhibiting dynamics. The results
suggest that under Rogers’s diffusion of innovation model, while relative
advantage is an important supporting characteristic of BIM, compatibility with
existing practices Is an equally important but inhibiting characteristic, while
observability is not relevant.
4
Contents
Copyright Statement ............................................................................................. 2
Dedication and Acknowledgements ...................................................................... 3
Abstract ................................................................................................................ 4
Contents ............................................................................................................... 5
List of Figures ..................................................................................................... 14
List of Tables ...................................................................................................... 17
Glossary of Key Terms and Abbreviations .......................................................... 22
Chapter 1 - Introduction ...................................................................................... 23
1.1 Background and Context to the Research ................................................ 23
1.2 Rationale for Study .................................................................................... 24
1.3 Aims and Objectives ................................................................................. 25
1.3.1 Research Aims ................................................................................... 25
1.3.2 Research Objectives .......................................................................... 26
1.3.3 Intended Contribution to Knowledge ................................................... 28
1.3.4 Intended Contribution to Practice ....................................................... 29
1.4 Significant Exclusions and Limitations ...................................................... 29
1.5 Structure of Thesis .................................................................................... 30
1.5.1 Literature Review ................................................................................ 30
1.5.2 Methodology ....................................................................................... 31
1.5.3 Results................................................................................................ 32
5
1.5.4 Discussion of Results ......................................................................... 32
1.5.5 Conclusion and Contribution to Knowledge ........................................ 33
Chapter 2 - Literature Review, Introduction and The UKCI ................................. 34
2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 34
2.1.1 Structure of The Literature Review ..................................................... 34
2.1.2 Sources of Literature .......................................................................... 35
2.1.3 Organising Frameworks ...................................................................... 35
2.2 The UK Construction Industry ................................................................... 38
2.2.1 Defining the UKCI ............................................................................... 38
2.2.2 Historic Context .................................................................................. 40
2.2.3 Significant UKCI Statistics .................................................................. 41
2.2.4 Strategic and Recurring Issues ........................................................... 42
2.2.5 Procurement ....................................................................................... 46
2.2.6 Types of Companies in the UKCI ....................................................... 50
2.2.7 Characteristics of UKCI and their Impact on Innovation ..................... 52
2.2.7 Summary - UKCI ................................................................................ 57
Chapter 3 - Literature Review, BIM, Theories of Innovation and Synthesis of
Literature ............................................................................................................ 60
3.1 Introduction. .............................................................................................. 60
3.2 BIM ............................................................................................................ 60
3.2.1 Defining BIM ....................................................................................... 60
3.2.2 Drivers for the Application of BIM ....................................................... 65
3.2.3 Benefits of BIM ................................................................................... 74
6
3.2.4 Issues with Implementing BIM ............................................................ 79
3.2.5 Current Level of BIM Adoption within The UKCI ................................. 81
3.2.6 Summary - BIM ................................................................................... 82
3.3 Theories of Innovation ............................................................................... 84
3.3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................... 84
3.3.2 Defining and Framing Innovation ........................................................ 84
3.3.3 Overview of Relevant Literature ......................................................... 86
3.3.4 Key Innovation Literature .................................................................... 87
3.3.5 Generic Drivers for Innovation ............................................................ 92
3.3.6 Generic Barriers to Innovation ........................................................... 93
3.3.7 Innovation in the UKCI ........................................................................ 94
3.3.8 UKCI Products .................................................................................... 96
3.3.9 Structure of the UKCI ......................................................................... 97
3.3.10 Companies within the UKCI .............................................................. 99
3.3.11 Clients and the Procurement Route ................................................ 100
3.3.12 Network and Relationships ............................................................. 102
3.3.13 Company Size ................................................................................ 103
3.3.14 SMEs in Construction ..................................................................... 105
3.3.15 Generic Categories of Innovations ................................................. 107
3.3.16 Construction Specific Categories of Innovations ............................ 108
3.3.17 Categorisation of BIM as an Innovation .......................................... 111
3.3.18 Summary – Theories of Innovation ................................................. 113
3.4 Suggested Dynamics and Patterns of BIM Adoption ............................... 115
7
3.4.1 Relative Advantage .......................................................................... 117
3.4.2 Complexity ........................................................................................ 125
3.4.3 Trialability and Observability. ............................................................ 126
3.4.4 Compatibility ..................................................................................... 126
3.4.5 Hypothesis Development .................................................................. 134
3.5 Summary and Conclusion ....................................................................... 137
Chapter 4 – Methodology ................................................................................. 139
4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................. 139
4.2 Paradigm and Philosophical Position ...................................................... 139
4.2.1 Research Paradigm .......................................................................... 139
4.2.2 Research Philosophy ........................................................................ 141
4.3 Position of the Researcher ...................................................................... 142
4.4 Research Design ..................................................................................... 144
4.4.1 Approach .......................................................................................... 144
4.4.2 Mixed Methods ................................................................................. 144
4.5 Data Collection and Analysis Methods .................................................... 149
4.5.1 Sampling ........................................................................................... 149
4.5.2 Qualitative Methods of Data Capture ................................................ 156
4.5.3 Quantitative Methods of Data Capture ............................................. 160
4.5.4 Testing and Administration of Research Instruments ....................... 163
4.5.5 Qualitative Analysis .......................................................................... 163
4.5.6 Quantitative Analysis ........................................................................ 166
4.5.7 Triangulation ..................................................................................... 171
8
4.6 Validity and Reliability ............................................................................. 173
4.7 Ethics ...................................................................................................... 176
4.8 Summary & Conclusion ........................................................................... 176
Chapter 5 - Results ........................................................................................... 178
5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................. 178
5.2 Response Rate, Sampling Accuracy and Respondent Information ......... 179
5.2.1 Qualitative Data ................................................................................ 179
5.2.2 Quantitative Data .............................................................................. 179
5.3 Convergent Results ................................................................................. 180
5.3.1 BIM Usage ........................................................................................ 180
5.3.2 Company Size and BIM Usage ......................................................... 184
5.3.3 Time Since Adoption and BIM Usage ............................................... 184
5.3.4 Time Since Adoption and Sharing of BIM Data ................................ 185
5.3.5 Mapping of BIM Usage against Innovation Adopter Categories ....... 185
5.3.6 Non-Adopters of BIM ........................................................................ 185
5.3.7 Dynamics of BIM Adoption ............................................................... 187
5.3.8 Variations in Dynamics by Company Size ........................................ 194
5.3.9 Variations in Dynamics by Company Type ....................................... 195
5.3.10 Suggested Characteristics of BIM .................................................. 197
5.4 Divergent Results .................................................................................... 198
5.4.1 Dynamics of BIM Adoption ............................................................... 198
5.4.2 Variations in Dynamics by Company Size ........................................ 202
5.4.3 Variations in Dynamics by Company Type ....................................... 205
9
