Collaboration strategy selection in BIM-enabled construction projects: a perspective through typical collaboration profiles

Abstract

Purpose

Collaboration is essential to BIM-enabled construction projects (BECPs). To facilitate collaboration, various strategies have been proposed. Usually, project team adopts single collaboration strategy for convenience. However, BIM-based collaboration is rather dynamic and exposed to a lot of barriers and risks, which easily changes collaboration conditions among partners. Therefore, better understanding of collaboration conditions in BECPs is crucial to develop flexible and suitable strategies. To fill in the gap, this study intends to identify typical collaboration profiles in BECPs and develop a profile-oriented strategy selection framework.

Design/methodology/approach

This study establishes a six-dimensional collaborative behavior matric based on a comprehensive literature review to profile collaboration. Then a questionnaire survey is conducted to collect the collaboration data from 162 BECPs in China. Finally, latent profile analysis (LPA) is utilized to identify the typical collaboration profiles in BECPs.

Findings

Through LPA, four profiles are identified, including restricted collaboration profile, smarmy collaboration profile, intuitive collaboration profile, and modest collaboration profile. A profile-oriented strategy selection framework is also established to match strategies with collaboration profiles. Two major categories of strategies are proposed to promote these collaboration profiles including trust building and elevating strategies and collaborative behaviors facilitating strategies.

Research limitations/implications

These identified profiles can provide an insightful understanding on the diversified collaboration conditions in BECPs.

Practical implications

The profile-oriented strategy selection framework will help managers develop strategies flexibly to promote collaboration in BECPs.

Originality/value

This study validates four typical collaboration profiles in BECPs. Moreover, a profile-oriented strategy selection framework is also established for collaboration facilitation in BECPs.

Citation

Chen, G., Chen, J., Tang, Y., Ning, Y. and Li, Q. (2022), "Collaboration strategy selection in BIM-enabled construction projects: a perspective through typical collaboration profiles", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. 29 No. 7, pp. 2689-2713. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-01-2021-0004