Abstract
Digitizing buildings via building information modelling (BIM) is increasingly gaining traction in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) sector. The plethora of BIM-based technologies affects both inter- and intra-organizational relations. Structured inter-organizational networks across tiers, such as supply chain (SC) partnerships were used to examine how BIM affects these changing relations across and within firms’ boundaries. Empirical explorations around the interplay between BIM and SC partnering – as a proxy for supply chain management (SCM) philosophy – were deployed to assess their contribution to SC integration, and to investigate the functions of key actors in AEC. One young and one long-standing SC partnership were studied, and it was observed that the contractual arrangements had to be complemented by well-defined BIM scope, and communications across multiple tiers to built trust and support collaboration in the network. There were two types of BIM-enabled SC partnering: with emphasis on either transactions or relations, the former being merely operational whereas the latter strategic. These inter-organizational orientations of BIM-enabled SC partnering outlined further intra-organizational conditions for integration regarding functional division, business models and services offered. The study carries implications for BIM and SCM researchers, policy-makers and practitioners, and proposes strategies for SC integration by aligning intra- with inter-organizational relations.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 649-664 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Building Research and Information: the international journal of research, development and demonstration |
Volume | 45 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2017 |
Keywords
- building information modelling (BIM)
- collaboration
- integration
- supply chain
- supply chain management
- supply chain partnerships
- trust