Exploring emerging barriers to BIM adoption for sustainable project tracking and control readiness in Saudi Arabia: an ISM-based approach

Purpose Although BIM has advanced globally, its implementation still faces resistance and practical challenges. This paper examines barriers to implementing building information modeling (BIM) for project tracking and control readiness from the perspectives of architectural/engineering (A/E) firms and contractors in Saudi Arabia. Design/methodology/approach Literature review was integrated with expert interviews. Two approaches were utilized for ranking barriers to BIM adoption for sustainable project tracking and control readiness. The first was the relative importance index (RII) to assess obstacles facing A/E firms and contractors. The second was the interpretive structural modeling (ISM) to analyze interdependence and key influencing barriers. Findings The top barriers for A/E firms were a lack of client demand, insufficient software skills, poor data quality, reliance on traditional practices, and budget constraints. For contractors, the main challenges included budget limitations, lack of client demand, inadequate software skills, early contractor involvement and project type. The ISM analysis highlighted incomplete adoption across stakeholders as a key dependent variable, driven by fundamental barriers. Practical implications This study points out the main barriers to adopting BIM as a new digital technology for tracking and controlling ongoing construction projects during the construction stage. Originality/value An integrated TOE–RII–ISM approach was proposed for identifying and prioritizing the key barriers to adopting BIM in project tracking and control, from two perspectives (A/E and Contractors). The findings offer valuable insights into current practices by providing a quantitative method that uses advanced models to determine the relationships among key barriers.