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Purpose This study aims to explore the innovative capabilities of building information modeling (BIM) in construction projects. The objectives are to construct an inclusive conceptual framework of BIM-enabled construction innovation, identify the status and trends of innovation-related research in BIM publications, synthesize research pertaining to BIM-enabled construction innovation and discover core research requirements in the related body of knowledge. Design/methodology/approach This study proposes a comprehensive theoretical framework, named innovation pyramid, comprising context, actor, artifact, process, structure and innovative task for exploring and analyzing the innovative capability of BIM in construction projects. Accordingly, mixed methods were used to perform a systematic review of research on the topic of BIM-enabled construction innovation. Findings The findings reveal that BIM innovation-related articles have predominantly considered BIM as an innovation from a technological standpoint, while the innovative capabilities of BIM have remained under-researched with a fragmented research focus. Fertile grounds for research have emerged and call for research pertaining to entities of “structure” and “innovative task” as well as interaction, interrelations and mutually adjusting effect among the entities. Practical implications The framework proposed may be useful for subsequent research design and for assisting project management practitioners in the use of BIM to achieve innovation more efficiently. Originality/value This research provides an insight into the innovative capabilities of BIM based on the BIM–collaboration–construction innovation logic chain. It contributes to the body of knowledge by devising an inclusive conceptual framework of BIM-enabled construction innovation, synthesizing the state of the art and exposing the research needs in this area.
Liu et al. (Sun,) studied this question.