Building information modeling (BIM) in project management: a bibliometric and science mapping review
Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management
ISSN: 0969-9988
Article publication date: 2 February 2024
Abstract
Purpose
The impact of building information modeling (BIM) on various aspects of project management has attracted much attention in the past decade. However, previous studies have focused on a particular facet of project management (e.g., safety, quality, facility management) and within identified target journals. Despite numerous existing studies, there is limited research on the mainstream research topics, gaps and future research directions on BIM in project management. This study aims to conduct a bibliometric and science mapping review of published articles on BIM in project management and to identify mainstream research topics, research gaps and future research directions in this domain.
Design/methodology/approach
A science mapping approach consisting of bibliometric search, scientometric analysis and qualitative discussion was used to analyze 521 journal articles that were retrieved from the Scopus database and related to BIM in project management. In the scientometric analysis, keyword co-occurrence analysis and document analysis were performed. This was followed by a qualitative discussion that seeks to propose a framework summarizing the interconnection between the mainstream research topics, research gaps and future research directions.
Findings
Six mainstream research topics were found including (1) BIM-enabled advanced digital technologies, (2) BIM-based reinforcement and enhancement, (3) BIM and project composition, (4) BIM project elements and attributes, (5) BIM-based collaboration and communication and (6) BIM-based information and data. Moreover, this study discussed six research gaps, namely, (1) integration of BIM and other digital technologies, (2) future maturity of BIM applications in project management, (3) application of BIM in project components and processes, (4) role of BIM application in project elements and attributes, (5) impact of collaboration and communication in BIM application and (6) stability of information and data interaction. Furthermore, future research directions were discussed.
Originality/value
The findings and proposed framework contribute to providing a deeper understanding to researchers, policymakers and practitioners in the development of related research and practice in the domain of BIM in project management, thus, promoting digital transformation in project management. Overall, it adds to the global knowledge domain in BIM and promotes the need for digital and data integration, BIM maturity and BIM collaboration.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, University of Manchester, UK for supporting this research. The authors are also grateful to the Editor and Reviewers for their comments in improving the quality of this paper. This paper forms part of the first author’s research project where similar research backgrounds, but different scopes and/or analyzes may have been published.
Citation
Ye, Z., Antwi-Afari, M.F., Tezel, A. and Manu, P. (2024), "Building information modeling (BIM) in project management: a bibliometric and science mapping review", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-04-2023-0355
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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