Building Information Modeling

1Disruptive Technology and Economic Issues

Régine TEULIER^1,2 and Marie BAGIEU³

¹CNRS, CRG, Institut polytechnique, Paris, France

²Projet MINnD, Paris, France

³ESITC Caen, France

1.1. BIM as a disruptive technology

In order to be able to state that building information modeling (BIM) is a disruptive technology, we will first examine what constitutes a disruptive technology, then analyze how it can be qualified as such, and finally suggest the specific characteristics of BIM that make it a disruptive technology.

A disruptive technology, or disruptive innovation, is a technological innovation that involves a product or service that ultimately replaces a technology that was dominant in the market (Bower and Christensen 1995; Christensen et al. 2015). Disruptive technologies, in contrast to usual technology evolution, impact markets and create many discontinuities, both in client segments, new channel organizations and organizational components. Discontinuous technologies are not always disruptive technologies; they do not necessarily immediately replace the previous service. For example, automobiles did not immediately replace horses. The disruptive technology came about with the introduction of the Model T Ford, which truly transformed the market. Few technologies are intrinsically disruptive; it is often their use that is strategic and that has this effect.

1.1.1. The concept of disruptive technology

Disruptive technologies occur differently within the market environment, depending ...