BIM-related organizational capabilities, green construction implementation, and sustainable project performance in the Saudi construction sector using PLS-SEM

The construction industry faces growing pressure to adopt sustainable practices, with building information modeling (BIM) positioned as a potential enabler for advancing green construction practices. This study examines associations between BIM-related organizational capabilities, green construction implementation, and sustainable project performance. Grounded in the resource-based view and dynamic capabilities theory, a quantitative survey-based approach was employed using data collected from 279 construction professionals working in BIM-enabled projects within the Saudi Arabian construction sector. The proposed model was analyzed using partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 4.0 software. The results showed that BIM data security and governance capability is positively associated with BIM-driven green construction implementation (β = 0.359, p < 0.001); BIM-based environmental assessment (β = 0.272, p < 0.001), and sustainable material integration (β = 0.223, p < 0.001) showed similar positive associations. Also, BIM-driven green construction implementation is positively associated with sustainable project performance (β = 0.284, p < 0.001). The model revealed 48.7% of the variance in green construction implementation and 8.1% of the variance in sustainable project performance. All five BIM capabilities examined (data analytics, design optimization, environmental assessment, material integration, and data governance) showed positive associations with green construction implementation, with data governance exhibiting the strongest effect. The findings provide a capability-driven perspective with potential transferability to construction firms operating in Saudi Arabia and other emerging BIM markets with similar institutional and regulatory characteristics.