BIM-Supported green building adoption in the construction industry

Abstract

The construction industry is under growing pressure to embrace digital technologies that advance sustainable infrastructure and support the transition toward smart cities. Building Information Modeling (BIM) has emerged as a key enabler of green building practices, yet its adoption across construction organizations remains uneven and the factors shaping this adoption are not fully understood. This study investigates the determinants influencing BIM-supported green building adoption and examines its contribution to smart and sustainable city development. Drawing on the Technology–Organization–Environment (TOE) framework and Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory, an integrated model was developed to assess the effects of technological competence, top management support, organizational readiness, external support, environmental sustainability orientation, and relative advantage on BIM-supported green building adoption. Survey data were collected from 389 construction professionals, including architects, engineers, project managers, and BIM coordinators, and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS. The results reveal that technological competence (β = 0.399), top management support (β = 0.378), and relative advantage (β = 0.317) are the strongest drivers of BIM-supported green building adoption, while environmental sustainability orientation, external support, and organizational readiness exert smaller but significant positive effects. More broadly, these determinants of BIM-supported green building adoption are relevant to the wider goal of smart and sustainable city development, given the role of green buildings in enabling data-driven design, lifecycle performance analysis, and environmentally responsible urban decision-making. This study extends technology adoption research by integrating TOE and DOI perspectives within a sustainability-driven construction context offers practical guidance for construction firms and policymakers operating in similar rapidly developing, sustainability-focused markets.