Characteristics and Dynamics of BIM Adoption in China: Social Network Analysis

Building information modeling (BIM) can integrate multi-stage resources and promote multi-agent collaboration. As a key information technology in the architecture, engineering and construction field, BIM has attracted increasing attention worldwide. Existing research mainly focuses on influencing factors or project-based applications of BIM, lacking a macroscopic and quantitative measurement. This study quantitatively explores the macro characteristics and dynamics of BIM adoption. A total of 4,591 BIM-related patents were collected, and the current BIM adoption status was clarified. The evolution process of BIM adoption from 2011 to 2020 was revealed using social network analysis, and the development trend was predicted based on a Barrat, Barthelemy, Vespignani (BBV) model. The results indicate that BIM adoption in China presents significant regional imbalances and scale-free network features, with low connectivity as a whole and a significant island effect locally, and is entering a stage of rapid development and active evolution. This study provides an overview of actual BIM adoption and its potential causes, which is a breakthrough in existing research. The conclusions will contribute to the government issuing evidence-based policies to promote BIM at large.