Enabling the diffusion of sustainable product innovations in BIM library platforms

Building Information Modelling (BIM) objects represent building products in design, simulation, and procurement processes. This paper explores how BIM objects could be created and exchanged to enable the diffusion of innovative products with enhanced sustainability performance. Two BIM library platforms were examined by taking a new approach that integrates the concepts of sustainable value, diffusion of innovations, information, software usability, and platform ecosystems. The findings show that the diffusion of sustainable products can be inhibited due to problems with the mechanisms for creating and exchanging BIM objects, quality of BIM objects, the usability of BIM library platforms,and participation on the platforms. This study deepens an understanding of the problems by focusing on ventilation products in Sweden. Identified shortcomings in the current practices of BIM platform owners and participants could be reduced by effective platform strategies, certification schemes for BIM objects,and BIM object creation processes integrated with product lifecycle management.