Investigating building information modeling acceptance in the Chinese AECO industry

Abstract

PurposeConscious of the benefits building information modeling (BIM) has brought about to the architecture, engineering, construction and operations (AECO) industry, the Chinese government has been driving BIM adoption. Nonetheless, its acceptance and proliferation in China remain stagnant. Most relevant literature focuses on BIM diffusion at the industry and organizational levels, but the impact of non-managerial practitioners executing BIM or the traditional drafting approach in day-to-day work tends to be disregarded. This study aims to extend theoretical models pertaining to technology acceptance to understand non-managerial practitioners’ perceptions toward working with BIM in China.Design/methodology/approachA new BIM acceptance model was proposed based on previous technology acceptance theories. After a pilot study, a survey was conducted with 153 non-managerial practitioners in the Chinese AECO industry.FindingsAmong factors impacting non-managerial practitioners’ BIM acceptance in China, performance expectancy and task-technology fit significantly and positively influence behavioral intention to accept BIM, while the impacts from effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions are not essential.Research limitations/implicationsManagement strategies, such as improving non-managerial staff’s benefits and sense of BIM usefulness, selecting suitable tools to match with the staff’s tasks and promoting a middle-out approach in parallel with top-down interventions, are proposed for Chinese AECO organizations to enhance BIM acceptance.Originality/valueFew studies have explored BIM acceptance from the perspective of non-managerial users in the Chinese AECO industry, especially using the theories related to technology acceptance. The BIM acceptance model developed in this study is different from those used in previous global studies in terms of influencing factors.