Explaining the BIM-Based Life Cycle Value Management Framework for Building Assets: A Grounded Theory Approach

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to develop an integrated framework for BIM-based life cycle value management of building assets and address the theoretical gap concerning the integration of technical, process-oriented, organizational, and managerial dimensions across the asset life cycle.

Methodology: This qualitative study employed the systematic grounded theory approach of Strauss and Corbin. The study population consisted of experts with executive and research experience in building asset management, Building Information Modeling (BIM), and life cycle value management. Seventeen participants were selected through purposive and snowball sampling until theoretical saturation was achieved. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews and analyzed through open, axial, and selective coding using MAXQDA 2020. Trustworthiness was assessed through re-coding, expert feedback, and inter-coder agreement, with an agreement coefficient of 88%.

Findings: Data analysis yielded 31 main categories and 128 final concepts organized within an integrated paradigmatic model. The framework comprised four causal-condition categories, four contextual-condition categories, six intervening-condition categories, one core phenomenon with six dimensions, seven strategic categories, and eight consequence categories. The core phenomenon encompassed integrated asset information management, economic and environmental performance optimization, strategic maintenance planning, life cycle value and risk transparency, data-driven infrastructure and smartization, and stakeholder integration and information governance. The principal strategies included information governance and standardization, human-capital empowerment, technical and data integration, circular economy and sustainability, life cycle process optimization, stakeholder participation, and technological innovation. The resulting consequences included economic efficiency, environmental sustainability, operational productivity, improved stakeholder coordination, enhanced decision quality and risk management, digital innovation, increased stakeholder value, and greater information transparency.

Conclusion: BIM-based life cycle value management should be regarded as an integrated managerial ecosystem rather than merely a technological solution. Its successful implementation requires national information standards, contractual reform, human-capital development, data governance, and integration with emerging technologies such as digital twins and artificial intelligence. The proposed framework provides a systematic basis for value-oriented decision-making and long-term economic and environmental sustainability of building assets.