Leadership Research Summary:
- Construction firms are struggling to stay in business as a result of BIM’s new and compelling business model and potential. As a result, businesses must adapt their current operations to the BIM paradigm by developing new organisational leadership capabilities. While such BIM leadership capacity is critical in designing, advancing, and driving a competitive and successful BIM transformation, BIM researchers have largely ignored it. Thus, this research explores the leadership capacities to drive BIM transformation in construction organisations in order to determine whether it will provide a leadership model as a solution to the leadership demands of organisations undergoing BIM transformation.
- The study design was a confirmatory sequential mixed methods research strategy that included a theoretical framework established through literature synthesis, qualitative grounded theory, and artificial intelligence (AI)-based modelling. Following the GT analysis, leadership capacity to drive organisational BIM transformation equates to the capability to develop a BIM-friendly leadership orientation, build a BIM-focused leadership procedure, perform BIM-related leadership responsibilities, generate a BIM-enabled leadership environment, and reach maturity within the realms of these strengths.
- The overall results of the AI-based modelling demonstrated that the acceptable capacity needed by the leadership that is pivoting organisational BIM transformation is the capability to coordinate functions, individuals, and transition alignment; produce BIM-related policies and a positive atmosphere for BIM implementation; and impartiality in recruiting individuals for BIM leadership roles. The study’s findings have implications for targeting key initiatives that might aid leaders in constructing adaptation strategies for organisational BIM transformation.
Leadership Research Implications and Findings:
- People transformation, according to the findings, is a crucial leadership need for organisational BIM transformation since it has a favourable impact on the overall success of organisational BIM transformation. People are the most essential resource and source of competitive advantage for organisations, and they are the key to BIM change. As a result, they are the most critical asset to harness for organisational BIM transformation. Organizational BIM transformation can be accomplished through a people-centered transformation because the success of the transformation is dependent on the people involved (Islam et al., 2020). Furthermore, an organisation cannot be considered BIM competent unless its personnel are BIM-competent, inventive, and possess advanced BIM abilities. Organizational leaders must exercise caution when imposing BIM implementation on staff without considering their concerns or the construction of new supporting structures and governance mechanisms.
- The findings also show that work and business processes must comply with BIM requirements without identifying the procedures that need to be changed or improved. Process transformation entails improving operational efficiency in existing business processes as well as completely changing corporate operations and workflows to meet business demands. A transition of this magnitude implies a considerable change in the work design, flow, events, and activities. Processes are fundamental to the operations and culture of every organisation. As a result, existing workflows must be modelled to identify gaps, repetition, and redundancy in order to achieve organisational BIM transformation. Following that, new concepts should be implemented, procedures should be modernised, essential business functions should be streamlined, and the business should be structured in accordance with the economic, social, and regulatory aspects of BIM.
- The study’s discoveries have consequences for leadership practise. The BIM leadership theory can help leaders who are advancing or planning an organisational BIM transformation identify their limitations and learn how to adapt. It is possible that a company has a hazy BIM transformation strategy. The BIM leadership theory would help leaders analyse and adapt to the BIM transformation situation. The study’s findings have significance for identifying specific interventions that could assist leaders in developing capacity building plans for organisational BIM transformation. It will also assist leaders in identifying BIM’s transformative leadership needs and adapting to those expectations.
- BIM transformation is difficult, and commitment alone is insufficient. The study’s propositions would assist leaders in creating accountability for BIM transformation, measuring leadership capability, reflecting on better methods to approach BIM transformation, determining the competences they lack, and developing training programmes for BIM managers, consultants, and leaders. The outcomes of this study also show that leaders should generally exhibit a promising vision and serve as charismatic role models to enhance employees’ positive reactions to BIM transformation and to inhibit negative reactions. Furthermore, this study has significance for producing leaders capable of future change by including BIM leadership capacity characteristics into corporate training programmes.