Identifying Effective Collaborative Behaviors in Building Information Modeling–Enabled Construction Projects

Abstract

Collaboration tightly relates to the effective management of construction projects. Especially for building information modeling (BIM)-enabled construction projects (BECPs), collaboration is the prerequisite for effective BIM use. However, different from traditional construction projects, the collaboration process in BECPs should transform into an integrated mode to achieve BIM benefits. Specifically, partners should adopt effective collaborative behaviors supporting an integrated collaboration mode. Therefore, this study intends to systematically identify those effective collaborative behaviors in BECPs. The Integrated project delivery (IPD) philosophy was taken as the theoretical lens, and the grounded theory approach was utilized to deduce the collaborative behaviors based on semistructured interviews about 34 BECPs. Five categories of collaborative behaviors aligned with the IPD philosophy for integrated collaboration were identified, including “Adaption to customized BIM use,” “Integrated coordination,” “Integrated communication,” “Shared responsibility to reduce conflicts,” and “Flexibility to support the team.” Meanwhile, a theoretical model was established that described how these collaborative behaviors combined for effective BIM use. This research helps broaden the understanding of how partners should collaborate in BECPs and provides a model for further empirical examination.