EXPLAINING THE EFFECTS OF NATIONAL CULTURE DIMENSIONS ON THE ADOPTION OF BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING (BIM) TECHNOLOGY IN TEHRAN PROVINCE CONSTRUCTION

It appears that Building Information Modeling with its reported benefits can help solve the inefficiency of Iran's construction industry. However, a review of some previous literature shows that the adoption status is unfavorable. There are various obstacles including legal, financial, technical, and behavioral ones to adopting BIM. One of the behavioral barriers to BIM adoption is cultural factors. Factors that make users resist change and fear new technology include the fear that they will not be able to work with new technology or that their organizational position will be endangered. The dimensions of national culture in each country or organization vary and as a result, the adoption of new technologies that are affected by these dimensions can be different. As a result, the conceptual model of the present study was developed with the aim of explaining the effect of national culture dimensions on BIM adoption in the first-ranked construction companies in Tehran province. In this conceptual model, the effect of five dimensions of national culture on the three variables of BIM adoption (TAM model) was evaluated. In this way, a researcher-made questionnaire was prepared and taken from the variables of the conceptual model and was distributed in four categories: employer, consulting, Design and Build, and contracting company. Analysis of 95 valid samples was performed using SPSS22 and SmartPLS3 software and it was shown that the adoption rate of BIM in construction companies ranked one in Tehran province, being lower than average. Also, the lower the power difference and uncertainty avoidance, individualism, and masculinity, the more members of companies find BIM implementation beneficial. Also, as risk-taking increases, company members find it easier to use BIM and are more eager for its adoption. The findings of the present study help construction companies that intend to adopt BIM technology for the first time to move towards adoption and implementation of BIM with stronger encouragement and support.