China, September 19, 2025
News Summary
Two new academic syntheses reveal what speeds and what blocks BIM adoption in green building projects. A TOE meta-analysis of 62 studies and 11,228 subjects finds compatibility, organizational culture and mimetic pressure as the strongest drivers, with perceived usefulness and ease of use acting as mediators. A separate ISM‑ANP study maps 16 barriers and produces a prioritized action path: policy → management → technical/environmental → economic. Together the papers recommend phased regulatory mandates, financial and R&D support, industry training, and interoperability and management reforms to foster durable BIM uptake in sustainable construction.
New studies map what drives and blocks BIM use in green buildings
Two recent academic studies lay out a clear picture of what helps and what hinders wider use of building information modeling in green building projects. A large meta-analysis using the Technology–Organization–Environment (TOE) framework points to three top drivers: compatibility on the technical side, organizational culture inside firms, and mimetic pressure from the outside. A complementary study using an ISM‑ANP modeling approach lists 16 specific barriers and traces a practical action path that runs from policy to management to technical to economic steps.
Top findings up front
The TOE meta-analysis, titled Revisiting what factors promote BIM adoption more effectively through the TOE framework: A meta-analysis, synthesized 62 empirical studies published between 2012 and 2023, pooling evidence from 11,228 study subjects across 13 countries. The study found that compatibility proved to be the major driver of BIM adoption in the technical dimension, that organizational culture was a crucial factor promoting BIM adoption in the organizational dimension, and that mimetic pressure (pressure to imitate others) stood out as a primary external driver. The authors used the TOE framework to systematically explore key factors and how they act, and they reported that perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use mediated the influences of external factors on BIM adoption. The paper examined how national BIM maturity and other contextual factors moderate specific pathways. The meta-analysis appears in Frontiers of Engineering Management and is available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s42524-025-4056-8.
Barriers and action path for green building BIM
A Scientific Reports article, titled The application obstacles of BIM technology in green building project and its key role path analysis (Sci Rep, volume 14, Article number: 30330, 2024, DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-81360-8), used an ISM model improved by DEMATEL and combined with ANP to identify and rank obstacles to BIM in green building projects. The study began with 47 candidate factors from literature review and reduced those to 16 indicators across five aspects: technology, economy, management, policy and environment. Researchers collected expert input from ten experienced specialists and obtained 179 effective questionnaires with an effective rate of 75.53%.
The ISM‑ANP results produced a layered model and a recommended action flow summarized as Policy factor layer → Management factor layer → Technical and environmental factor layer → Economic factor layer. The study found that economic barriers form the top layer that most directly affects enterprise decisions. The first (top) layer consists of exorbitant BIM cost in green buildings (S5), lack of evident investment return (S6), and protracted cost recovery cycle (S7). These economic factors can directly prevent adoption without relying on other changes.
Technical and management roadblocks
The middle layers contain technical, environmental and management issues. Reported technical and environmental specifics include limited BIM software functionality for green building tasks, interoperability and compatibility problems, lack of interdisciplinary expertise, shortage of BIM professionals, and time and effort required for BIM application. Management layer specifics include lack of robust implementation systems, coordination difficulties among project teams, inadequate risk management, shortage of professional teams and systematic training, and insufficient senior management support. The policy layer lists imperfect laws, unclear legal basis for sharing responsibility, intellectual property and data privacy risks, insufficient policy incentives, and a lack of unified standards.
Key paths and examples
The study identified a key action path described as: Insufficient government intervention in the application of green building BIM → Insufficient high-level support and imperfect management system; Insufficient R&D of domestic BIM core technology combined with green building → BIM technology is difficult to innovate and spread in the field of green building; Lack of compound talents → Insufficient economic benefits of green building BIM application → Affecting BIM in green building.
The Scientific Reports paper also highlights evidence that BIM can deliver real project gains when used effectively. Examples cited include collision detection that can save up to 10% of contract value and reduce construction schedules by 7%, an indoor renovation case that reduced annual energy use by 120.94 kwh/m2 through thermal/daylight/energy analysis, and an energy-saving renovation that cut air-conditioning load by 100 kwh.
What the studies recommend
Both works point to mixed actions. The ISM‑ANP paper recommends strong policy intervention combined with internal enterprise change: incorporate BIM application standards into building regulations, require BIM for some project types with phased rollouts, offer financial incentives and technical support, create a Green Building BIM Innovation Fund, provide tax incentives, add BIM use to industry incentive systems and project evaluations, promote domestic R&D and international cooperation, and strengthen BIM teaching and enterprise training. The paper stresses that sustained cost reduction requires technological progress and development of interdisciplinary talent, not just temporary incentives.
Methods and data at a glance
- TOE meta-analysis: 62 empirical studies, 11,228 study subjects, 13 countries, published 2012–2023.
- Scientific Reports study: ISM optimized by DEMATEL combined with ANP (ISM‑ANP coupling), literature review, expert interviews, 179 effective questionnaires (effective rate 75.53%).
- Software and computation: MATLAB R2023a for DEMATEL matrices, Super Decisions for ANP supermatrix work, Python 3.8 for entropy weight calculations.
Why this matters
Together, the studies show that BIM adoption in green building projects is influenced by clear technical, organizational and external pressures, while cost and short‑term economic returns remain the immediate hurdle for many firms. Policymakers and industry leaders can use the mapped barriers and the Policy factor layer → Management factor layer → Technical and environmental factor layer → Economic factor layer sequence to design coordinated interventions that combine rules, management practices, technology development and training to unlock BIM’s potential for green outcomes.
FAQ
What did the TOE meta-analysis find as the major technical driver of BIM adoption?
compatibility proved to be the major driver of BIM adoption
What organizational factor did the TOE meta-analysis find crucial for BIM adoption?
organizational culture was a crucial factor promoting BIM adoption
What external driver stood out in the TOE meta-analysis?
mimetic pressure (pressure to imitate others) stood out as a primary external driver
How many studies and subjects did the TOE meta-analysis synthesize?
The study synthesized 62 empirical studies published between 2012 and 2023. The pooled evidence covered 11,228 study subjects. The synthesized studies spanned 13 countries.
What is the identified action path from the ISM‑ANP study?
Insufficient government intervention in the application of green building BIM → Insufficient high-level support and imperfect management system; Insufficient R&D of domestic BIM core technology combined with green building → BIM technology is difficult to innovate and spread in the field of green building; Lack of compound talents → Insufficient economic benefits of green building BIM application → Affecting BIM in green building
What overall functional rule did the ISM‑ANP study present?
Policy factor layer → Management factor layer → Technical and environmental factor layer → Economic factor layer
Which economic factors sit at the top layer in the ISM‑ANP model?
The first (top) layer (economic factors) consists of exorbitant BIM cost in green buildings (S5), lack of evident investment return (S6), and protracted cost recovery cycle (S7).
How many influencing factors did the Scientific Reports paper identify and how many were key?
The study identified 16 influencing factors. Out of 16 factors, nine were identified as key influencers (importance weight > average 0.0625).
Key features table
| Feature | Source / Study | Key data or finding |
|---|---|---|
| Meta-analysis framework | Frontiers of Engineering Management (Wang et al.) | Technology–Organization–Environment (TOE) framework; 62 studies, 11,228 subjects, 13 countries |
| Top TOE drivers | Frontiers of Engineering Management (Wang et al.) | compatibility, organizational culture, mimetic pressure |
| ISM‑ANP approach | Scientific Reports (Meng, Hu, Chen et al.) | 16 influencing factors across technology, economy, management, policy, environment; ISM enhanced by DEMATEL + ANP |
| Top-layer barriers | Scientific Reports | exorbitant BIM cost in green buildings (S5), lack of evident investment return (S6), protracted cost recovery cycle (S7) |
| Recommended flow of action | Scientific Reports | Policy factor layer → Management factor layer → Technical and environmental factor layer → Economic factor layer |
| Practical examples cited | Scientific Reports | Collision detection saves up to 10% of contract value and reduces schedule by 7%; energy examples of 120.94 kwh/m2 and 100 kwh savings |
Deeper Dive: News & Info About This Topic
Additional Resources
- Newswise: Revisiting what factors promote BIM adoption more effectively through the TOE framework
- Wikipedia: Building information modeling
- Scientific Reports: The application obstacles of BIM technology in green building project and its key role path analysis
- Google Search: BIM green building barriers
- Nature Scientific Reports: 2025 study on BIM adoption (s41598-025-06662-x)
- Google Scholar: TOE framework BIM adoption
- AEC Magazine: BIM — the Chinese way
- Encyclopedia Britannica: Building Information Modeling
- ScienceDirect: Article S0926580524000372 (BIM adoption research)
- Google News: BIM adoption green buildings
Author: Construction CA News
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