The role of the industry’s cultural-cognitive elements on actors’ intention to adopt BIM: empirical study in Peru

Purpose: The current understanding of building information modelling (BIM) adoption often neglects the industry context in which BIM is deployed. This is particularly problematic when policymakers are planning to enact top-down policies to promote BIM adoption in public-funded construction. Therefore, the aim of this study is to establish the industry-level factors that constraint or enable actors' intention to adopt BIM.

Design/methodology/approach: Using institutional theory with an emphasis on the cultural-cognitive elements, the authors aim to complement the understanding of BIM adoption by incorporating institutional elements into the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). The cultural-cognitive elements were extracted from focus groups and interviews with architecture, construction and engineering (AEC) professionals in Peru. A modified UTAUT was empirically tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM) with a dataset from 171 questionnaire responses.

Findings: The industry characteristics, standardisation, affordability and technology/methodology definition of BIM were found to be the cultural-cognitive elements having direct effects on individual reactions to BIM. These findings suggest that BIM adoption policies should focus on designing incentives schemes, training/educating professionals on BIM collaborative processes and developing/adapting applicable standards. However, a BIM adoption mandate would require policymakers to create collaborative procurement environments in tandem with information management and process standards.

Practical implications: Findings can be used by policymakers to significantly promote BIM adoption in contexts without a government mandate for public sector construction.

Originality/value: The study of institutional elements on BIM adoption is still limited. This study provides empirical evidence on how the cultural-cognitive elements of the industry context are associated with actors' intention to adopt BIM. Therefore, this study bridges industry and individual levels of analysis. Furthermore, this study enables policymakers to initiate actions that significantly encourage BIM adoption.