BIM business value generation theory: a grounded theory approach

Theoretical developments in the Architectural Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry have been deficient, especially for the operations and use phase. The need for asset owners to understand the Building Information Modelling (BIM) process and to realise business value from BIM implementation cannot be over emphasised. This study investigates a BIM-based Asset Management (AM) system to examine how business value can be created for the asset owner. The BIM-based AM system is evaluated from the Transformation-Flow-Value (TFV) generation view to define the characteristics and functions. This is followed by the grounding of data to develop a novel explanatory theory through the development of conceptual categories. A qualitative research approach based on a grounded theory methodology is utilised to generate a proposition on how BIM can create value in an AM system. The study involves a five-stage research design using interviews and document analysis to inform the phenomenon of BIM business value creation in AM. The paper highlights that BIM business value generation in AM is dependent on three main categories, which are: development of the information requirements, creation of the information content and management of the information content. From the grounded data, the study finds that it is crucial for asset owners to develop their information requirements since the information requirements development category guides the data creation, data management and value generation. Furthermore, the development of a sound rationale that appropriately translates the organisational business objectives is critical to value generation. The paper studies how BIM can create business value in an AM system using a grounded theory methodology. The results show that the rationale for developing BIM-based information requirements determines the value that will be generated by the AM system. The key contribution of the paper is that it presents a novel theory for BIM-based AM. One of the contributions of this study is the demonstration of the application of grounded theory within the AEC industry. Also, the study demonstrates the relationships between concepts and how they emerge from the grounded data.

建筑工程与施工（AEC）行业的理论发展一直不足，尤其是在运营和使用阶段。资产所有者了解建筑信息模型（BIM）流程以及从BIM实施中实现商业价值的需求怎么强调都不为过。本研究对一个基于BIM的资产管理（AM）系统进行了调查，以研究如何为资产所有者创造商业价值。从转换 - 流程 - 价值（TFV）产生的角度对基于BIM的AM系统进行评估，以定义其特征和功能。接着通过数据基础，通过概念范畴的发展构建一种新的解释性理论。采用基于扎根理论方法的定性研究方法，就BIM如何在AM系统中创造价值提出一个命题。该研究涉及一个五阶段的研究设计，通过访谈和文件分析来了解AM中BIM商业价值创造的现象。本文强调，AM中BIM商业价值的产生取决于三个主要类别，即：信息需求的开发、信息内容的创建和信息内容的管理。从扎根的数据来看，研究发现资产所有者开发其信息需求至关重要，因为信息需求开发类别指导数据创建、数据管理和价值产生。此外，制定一个合理的基本原理，恰当地转化组织的商业目标，对价值产生至关重要。本文研究了BIM如何使用扎根理论方法在AM系统中创造商业价值。结果表明，开发基于BIM的信息需求的基本原理决定了AM系统将产生的价值。本文的关键贡献在于它提出了一种基于BIM的AM的新理论。本研究的贡献之一是展示了扎根理论在AEC行业内的应用。此外，该研究还展示了概念之间的关系以及它们如何从扎根的数据中产生。