This document is an abstract for an MSc dissertation submitted in September 2013 at University College London. The dissertation investigates the socio-cultural factors important for effective implementation of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) in organizations. The abstract notes that while BIM is becoming widely used for its efficiency benefits, implementation often fails due to neglecting the human/cultural perspective of prospective BIM users in organizations. The research aims to examine this socio-cultural paradigm and how it can facilitate collaborative project teams through effective BIM use.

1. MSc Dissertation 2012-13
Investigating the socio-cultural endeavour for
effective BIM and IPD implementation in
organizations
MSc. Construction Economics and Management
Dissertation 2012-13
Submitted by:
AISHWARYA BASKARAN
SN. 12043587
September 2013
The Bartlett Faculty Of The Built Environment
Bartlett School Of Construction And Project Management
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON
MSc Construction Economics and Management
1

2. MSc Dissertation 2012-13
ABSTRACT
With Building Information Modeling (BIM) being widely established as a concept
revolutionizing the construction industry, businesses are set in a race to internalize BIM
for its proven efficiency gains. BIM is a ground-breaking innovation nonetheless highly
deceitful, in that its overwhelming technological presence often overrides concerns of a
fundamental element namely, the people in the organizations who are the prospective
BIM users. A neglect of this perspective is often quoted as being the reason for failed
attempts of organizations at implementing BIM and moving up the BIM maturity ladder.
This calls for a shift in the standpoint of businesses aiming at effective BIM
implementation, that of the socio-cultural paradigm surrounding BIM. The underlying
idea behind the research revolves around this paradigm, its expression, relevance and
backing for BIM to facilitate highly integrated and collaborative project coalitions.
Keywords:
Building
Information
Modeling,
Technology, Integrated Project Delivery,
Information
and
Communication
Organizational Change, Technology,
Sociology, Culture, BIM Maturity
MSc Construction Economics and Management
2

3. MSc Dissertation 2012-13
REFERENCES:
Alvesson, M. (2002), Understanding Organisational Culture, Sage, London.
American Institute of Architects (AIA) , “Integrated Project Delivery: A Guide,” 1st ed, pp1-5, 2007 ,
URL http:// www.msaipd. com/IPD_Guide_2007.pdf
Aranda-Mena, G., Crawford, J., Chevez, A. and Froese, T. (2009), Building information modelling
demystified: does it make business sense to adopt BIM?, International Journal of Managing Projects
in Business, Vol. 2 No. 3, pp. 419-34.
Associated General Contractors of America(AGC), “The Contractor’s Guide to BIM, ” 1st ed, AGC
Research Foundation, Las Vegas, NV, pp1-5, 2006 cited in Yang, Z., & Wang, G. (2009, September).
Cooperation between Building Information Modeling and Integrated Project Delivery Method Leads
to Paradigm Shift of AEC Industry. In Management and Service Science, 2009. MASS'09.
International Conference on (pp. 1-4). IEEE.
Banks, J. Carson, B. Nelson, D. Nicol (2001).Discrete-Event System Simulation. Prentice Hall.
p. 3.ISBN 0-13-088702-1.
Beck.P, 2005 [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.di.net/articles/collaboration-vs-integrationimplications-of-a-knowledge-based-future-for-the-aec-industry/
Becker, H. (2009). Hype, hope and hubris: the quest for the killer application in microfluidics. Lab on
a Chip, 9(15), 2119-2122.
Berlo et al., (2012), Bim Quickscan: Benchmark Of Bim Performance In The Netherlands,
Proceedings of the CIB W78 2012: 29th International Conference –Beirut, Lebanon, 17-19 October
BIM
Episode
8
(2008)
Understanding
the
BIM
stages
[ONLINE]
Available
at
(http://changeagents.blogs.com/thinkspace/2008/02/the-bim-episode.html)
Brewer, G., & Gajendran, T. (2009). Emerging ICT trends in construction project teams: a Delphi
survey. Journal of Information Technology in Construction, 14, 81-97.
Brewer, G., Gajendran, T., & Beard, C. (2009). Inhibitors to the adoption of BPM/BIM: an Australian
perspective. In CIBW78 Information Communication Technology in Construction Conference.
Brewer, G., & Gajendram, T. (2011). Attitudinal, behavioural, and cultural impacts on e-business use
in a project team: a case study. Journal of information technology in construction, 16(0), 637-652.
MSc Construction Economics and Management
57

4. MSc Dissertation 2012-13
Brewer, G., & Gajendran, T. (2012). Attitudes, behaviours and the transmission of cultural traits:
Impacts on ICT/BIM use in a project team. Construction Innovation: Information, Process,
Management, 12(2), 198-215.
Cherns, A. B., & Bryant, D. T. (1984). Studying the client's role in construction
management. Construction management and economics, 2(2), 177-184.
Construction, M. H. (2011). Prefabrication and Modularization: Increasing Productivity in the
Construction Industry.
CURT Construction User Round Table, (2006), Optimizing the construction Process: An
implementation strategy. Available from CURT:http://www.gnycuc.org/media/curt2.pdf
Dana K. Smith, Michael Tardif ( 2009), Building Information Modeling- A Strategic Implementation
Guide for Architects, Engineers, Constructors, and Real Estate Asset Managers. Available from:
Wiley Online Library, http://www.wileyonlinelibrary.com
Dawkins, R., 1989. The Selfish Gene. New York (NY): Oxford University Press.
Deal, T.E. and Kennedy, A.A. (1988), Corporate Cultures: Rites and Rituals of Corporate Life,
Penguin, London.
Designing Buildings Wiki (2013), Building Information Modeling, [ONLINE], Available at:
http://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Building_Information_Modelling
Deutsch, R. (2011). BIM and Integrated Design: Strategies for Architectural Practice. John Wiley &
sons.
Eastman, C., Teicholz, P., Sacks, R., & Liston, K. (2011). BIM handbook: A guide to building
information modeling for owners, managers, designers, engineers and contractors. Wiley. com.
Edwards, G. (2010). Mixed-method approaches to social network analysis.ESRC National Centre for
Research Methods Review paper NCRM/015. National Centre for Research Methods.
Farlex, I. N. C. (2009). The free dictionary.
Fenn, J., & Time, M. (2007). Understanding Gartner's Hype Cycles, 2007.
Frost, P. J., Moore, L. F., Louis, M. R. E., Lundberg, C. C., & Martin, J. E. (1985). Organizational
culture. Sage Publications, Inc.
MSc Construction Economics and Management
58

5. MSc Dissertation 2012-13
Gajendran, T., & Brewer, G. (2012). Cultural consciousness and the effective implementation of
information and communication technology. Construction Innovation: Information, Process,
Management, 12(2), 179-197.
Gajendran, T., Brewer, G., Dainty, A. R., & Runeson, G. (2012). A conceptual approach to studying
the organisational culture of construction projects.Australasian Journal of Construction Economics
and Building, 12(2), 26.
Getting the most out of BIM: A guide for clients, 2012, [ONLINE] Available at:
http://www.davislangdon.com/upload/StaticFiles/EME%20Publications/Other%20Research%20Publi
cations/Davis%20Langdon%20-%20BIM%20guide%20for%20clients%20-%20Apri%20l2012.pdf
Gomes, Carla P. (Dec 2009). "Computational Sustainability: Computational methods for a sustainable
environment, economy, and society". The Bridge, National Academy of Engineering 39 (4)
Government
Construction
Strategy
(GCS),
2011,
[ONLINE]
Available
at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/61152/GovernmentConstruction-Strategy_0.pdf [Accessed 03 September 2013]
Hannus, M., Luiten, G., Watson, S., Deguine, M., Sauce, G., & Van Rijn, T. (1999). ICT tools for
improving the competitiveness of the LSE industry. Engineering, Construction and Architectural
Management, 6(1), 30-37.
Harvey, L. J., & Myers, M. D. (1995). Scholarship and practice: the contribution of ethnographic
research methods to bridging the gap. Information Technology & People, 8(3), 13-27.
Heylighen, F. and Chielens, K. (2009), “Evolution of culture: memetics”, in Meyers, B. (Ed.),
Encyclopedia of Complexity and Systems Science, Springer, New York, NY, available at:
http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/Papers/Memetics-Springer.pdf (accessed 13 October 2010).
Industrial Strategy: UK Sector Analysis article from BIS, 2012, [ONLINE] Available at:
http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/BISCore/economics-and-statistics/docs/I/12-1140-industrial-
strategy-
uk-sector-analysis.pdf [Accessed 03 September 2013]
Integrated Project Delivery: For Public and Private Owners, 2010, [ONLINE] Available at:
http://www.aia.org/aiaucmp/groups/aia/documents/pdf/aiab085586.pdf
Kennerley,
B.
(2012).
“BIM
is
a
Sociotechnical
System.”
WSP
Group
plc.
http://www.wspgroup.com/en/wspgroup-bim/BIM-home-wsp/what-is-bim/
MSc Construction Economics and Management
59

6. MSc Dissertation 2012-13
Kumar, R. (2005), Research Methodology: A Step by Step Guide for Beginners, Pearson Longman,
Frenchs Forest.
Kwak, Y. H., & Ibbs, C. W. (2002). Project management process maturity (PM) 2 model. Journal of
Management in Engineering, 18(3), 150-155.
Linderoth, H. C. (2010). Understanding adoption and use of BIM as the creation of actor
networks. Automation in construction, 19(1), 66-72.
Loukissas, Y. A. (2012). Co-designers: Cultures of Computer Simulation in Architecture. Routledge.
Marx, L. (1964). The machine in the garden: Technology and the pastoral ideal in America. Oxford
University Press.
Lynch, A. (1996), Thought Contagion: How Belief Spreads Through Society, Basic Books, New
York, NY.
Martin, J. (2002), Organizational Culture: Mapping the Terrain, Sage, Newbury Park, CA.
McCuen, T. and Suermann, P., 2007, ‘The interactive capability maturity model and 2007 AIA TAP
BIM
award
winners’,
AECbytes
Viewpoint
33
(6
December
2007).
Available
at:
http://www.aecbytes.com/viewpoint/ 2007/issue_33.html [accessed 8 March 2010].
McCuen, T., & Suermann, P. (2007). The interactive capability maturity model and 2007 AIA TAP
BIM award winners. AECbytes Online Journal.
Merschbrock, C., & Munkvold, B. E. (2012). A Research Review on Building Information Modeling
in Construction―An Area Ripe for IS Research.Communications of the Association for Information
Systems, 31(1), 207-228.
Meyerson, D., & Martin, J. (1987). Cultural Change: An Integration Of Three Different Views
[1]. Journal of management studies, 24(6), 623-647.
Morse, J., & Richards, L. (2002). Readme first for a user’s guide to qualitative research. CA, US: Sage
Publications Thousand Oaks.
National
BIM
Report,
2013,
[ONLINE]
Available
at:http://www.thenbs.com/pdfs/NBS-
NationlBIMReport2013-single.pdf [Accessed 02 September 2013]
National
Culture
(2013),
The
Business
Dictionary,
[ONLINE],
Available
at
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/national-culture.html
MSc Construction Economics and Management
60

7. MSc Dissertation 2012-13
NBS (2013), BIM in construction - Building Information Modelling (BIM), [ONLINE] Available
at:http://www.thenbs.com/topics/bim/articles/bimInConstruction.asp. [Accessed 04 September 2013].
Porter, M. E. (2008). Competitive advantage: Creating and sustaining superior performance. Simon
and Schuster. com.
Prahalad C. K. and Hamel G., (1990) The core competence of the corporation, Harvard Business
Review May/June, 79-91.
Race, S. (2012). Bim Demystified. Riba Enterprises.
RICS
(2013),
BIM
is
more
than
just
another
fad.
[ONLINE]
Available
at: http://www.rics.org/uk/knowledge/news-insight/comment/bim-is-more-than-just-another-fad-/.
[Accessed 04 September 2013].
Rousseau, D. M. (1990) ‘Assessing Organisational Culture: The Case for Multiple Methods’,
Goldstein, I. L. (Ed.), Frontiers of Industrial and Organisational Psychology, Jossey-Bass Inc,
California.
Schein, E. H. (1993). How can organizations learn faster? The challenge of entering the green
room. Sloan Management Review, 34(2), 85-92.
Schein, E.H. (2004), Organizational Culture and Leadership, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA.
Sebastian, R., & van Berlo, L. (2010). Tool for benchmarking BIM performance of design,
engineering and construction firms in the Netherlands. Architectural Engineering and Design
Management, 6(4), 254-263.
SEI. (2008d, 11 October). People Capability Maturity Model – Version 2 Software Engineering
Institute/Carnegie Melon. Retrieved from http://www.sei.cmu.edu/cmm-p/version2/index.html
Spradley, J.P. (1979), The Ethnographic Interview, Rinehart and Winston, New York, NY.
Strauss, A. and Corbin, J. (1998), Basics of Qualitative Research, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA.
Succar, B. (2009). Building information modelling framework: A research and delivery foundation for
industry stakeholders. Automation in Construction, 18(3), 357-375.
Sung, Kwon and Lee (2011), Business Models For Convergence Of Construction And Information
Technology -A Senario Planning-Based Approach
TNO, 2010, BIM QuickScan. Available at www.bimquickscan.nl [last accessed 1 June 2012].
MSc Construction Economics and Management
61

8. MSc Dissertation 2012-13
Underwood, J., & Khosrowshahi, F. (2012). ICT expenditure and trends in the UK construction
industry in facing the challenges of the global economic crisis.Journal of Information Technology in
Construction, 17, 26-41.
Wainwright, D., & Waring, T. (2004). Three domains for implementing integrated information
systems:
redressing
the
balance
between
technology,
strategic
and
organisational
analysis. International Journal of Information Management, 24(4), 329-346.
Yang, Z., & Wang, G. (2009, September). Cooperation between Building Information Modeling and
Integrated Project Delivery Method Leads to Paradigm Shift of AEC Industry. In Management and
Service Science, 2009. MASS'09. International Conference on (pp. 1-4). IEEE.
Zack, M. H. (2000) Researching Organizational Systems using Social Network Analysis. 33rd Hawaii
Internal Conference on System Sciences. Hawaii.
Zhou, L., Perera, S., Udeaja, C., & Paul, C. (2012). Readiness of BIM: a case study of a quantity
surveying organisation.
Zutshi, A, Grilo, A., and Jardim-Goncalves, R.,2011. The business interoperability quotient
measurement model. Working Paper, UNIDEMI, FCT-UNL.
MSc Construction Economics and Management
62