What Makes an Effective BIM Competition Team Leader? Perspectives from Chinese Students

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a key enabler of digital transformation in the construction industry. BIM competitions cultivate students’ practical skills, and strong team performance is a shared goal of instructors and students. Team leaders are central to competition outcomes, yet evidence on their competency composition is scarce. This study investigates the core capabilities required of leaders in university BIM competition teams. Based on a literature review and semi-structured interviews, and integrating BIM capability theory with team leadership theory, we developed a capability evaluation model with five primary dimensions—personal, organizational, communication, perceptual, and innovative capability—and 25 secondary dimensions. Using a five-point Likert scale, we surveyed Chinese BIM competition participants; 501 questionnaires were returned, and 215 were valid. Factor analysis and structural equation modeling validated the dimensions. Organizational capability emerged as the most critical dimension, and innovative capability was also indispensable. The model can guide team configuration and leader selection, improve BIM competition quality in higher education, and help develop interdisciplinary, high-quality BIM professionals to support sustainable industry development.