A unified BIM adoption taxonomy: Conceptual development, empirical validation and application

Abstract Building Information Modelling (BIM) is an innovation that is transforming practices within the Architectural, Engineering, Construction and Operation (AECO) sectors. Many studies have investigated the process of BIM adoption and diffusion and in particular, the drivers affecting adoption at different levels, ranging from individual and team through organisations and supply chains to whole market level. However, in-depth investigations of the stages of the BIM adoption process and the drivers, factors and determinants affecting such stages are still lacking. A comprehensive classification and integration of adoption drivers and factors is absent as these are disjointedly identified across disparate studies. There is also limited attention to the key terms and concepts (i.e. readiness, implementation, diffusion, adoption) in this area of study. This aim in this paper is twofold: (1) to develop and validate a Unified BIM Adoption Taxonomy (UBAT); and (2) to identify the taxonomy's constructs (i.e. three driver clusters and their 17 factors) that have influence on the first three stages of the BIM adoption process namely, awareness, interest, and decision stages, and compare their effects on each of the stages. The research uses: a systematic literature review and knowledge synthesisation to develop the taxonomy; a confirmatory factor analysis for its validation; and an ordinal logistic regression to test the effect of the UBAT's constructs on the BIM adoption process within the UK Architectural sector using a sample of 177 organisations. The paper is primarily intended to enhance the reader's understanding of the BIM adoption process and the constructs that influence its stages. The taxonomy and its sets of drivers and determinants can be used to perform various analyses of the BIM adoption process, delivering evidence and insights for decision makers within organisations and across whole market when formulating BIM diffusion strategies.