Case Study Research

Within this subchapter, two important components are discussed. The first one is the justification of the case study, which seeks to justify the suitability of selecting multiple case studies as a research method, while the other one is to discuss the criteria that was defined in selecting companies for case studies.

3.3.3.1.1 Justification of Case Study Research

To justify the selection of case studies as the research method, Fellows & Liu (2007) suggest that specifically for construction, there are five methods that can be considered, and they are action research, ethnographic research, surveys, case studies, and experiments. The critical consideration is the logic that links the data collection and analysis to yield results and thence conclusions to the main research question being investigated. Therefore, it was suggested that the research design must take into account the research questions, determine what data is required and how the data is to be

61 analysed (Creswell, 2009). As the research is positioned within a qualitative approach based on the research questions posed, the options that were available are action research, ethnographic research, and case studies. This research however, opted to choose case study as a research method.

Table 3.2: Justification of selecting research method (Yin, 2009, p.8)

By referring to the guide as given by Yin (2009) which can be referred to in Table 3.2, the selection of case study as the research method was strengthened by the following justification:

a) The type of research question posed.

As discussed previously in the research approach, this research poses the question of „what‟ and „how‟ in an exploratory way. The questions posed deal with operational links needing to be traced over time rather than mere frequencies or incidence (Yin, 2009). Aimed at developing a readiness framework based on theoretical framework, it explored and modified the framework once the data was collected.

b) The extent of control an investigator has over actual behavioural events.

Describes the degree to which the researcher can manipulate the behaviour of the subject, for example by giving or withholding motivators (Yin, 2009). Within this context, the options available were reduced to histories and case studies since the researcher had no control over the implementation of BIM by the organisation, condition of respondents during data collection, or any policy engaged within the organisations that were investigated.

c) Focuses on contemporary events.

In this justification, the only difference between history and case study is that histories are dealing with data of dead past where no relevant persons are alive to report, even retrospectively, what occurred (Yin, 2009). Therefore it requires an investigator to rely on primary documents, secondary documents, and cultural and physical artefacts as the main source of evidence. Case studies, on the other hand, besides utilising the same evidence, add two more sources of evidence: direct observation of the events,

METHOD Form of Research

Question

Requires Control of Behavioural Events

Focuses on

contemporary Events

Experiment How, why? Yes Yes

Survey Who, what, where, how many, how much

No Yes

Archival Analysis

Who, what, where, how many, how much

no Yes/no

History How, why? No No

62 and interviews of the persons involved in the events. Therefore, it justified the need of selecting case studies as the research method for data collection as the researcher managed to utilise the two sources of evidences.

In addition, according to Saleh & Alshawi (2005) a case study is the most appropriate investigation method for determining the criteria for readiness assessment model of ICT implementation as compared to the survey. Case studies present the information in the context of a particular organisation, inclusive of the characteristics of the organisation and give actual data. Experimentation and surveys are ineffectual because the implementation of a new system has variables and factors that cannot be extracted out of the original context. Furthermore, in determining the readiness criteria for IT implementation, it involves the understanding of the organisations‟ business process, perception of people and unique work environment subjective to the organisation.

3.3.3.1.2 Selection Criteria for Each Case

As for the number of cases for selecting case studies, according to Tzortzopoulos (2004) there is no consensus in the appropriate number of cases which need to be developed when engaging in a multiple case study approach. According to Yin (2003), a selection of cases should be dictated by the replication of logic. Each case should be considered as an experiment in itself, and subsequent cases will be used either to confirm or refute previous findings, and as a consequence, according to Saunders et al. (2007), direct the need to generalise from these findings. Therefore, the decision on the number of studies is intuitive and depends on what new information or insights that can be collected by studying further cases (Dyer et al., 1991). The case studies in this particular research are selected for the researcher‟s expectation on yield similarity results (literal replication). This is also supported by Eisenhardt (1989), as the cases may be chosen to replicate previous cases or extent emergent theory, to fill theoretical categories and to provide examples of polar types of result. Careful but rigid selection of cases is also important to ensure enough information is obtained by the researcher in order to generate the final conclusion at the end of the study.

The selection of cases is based on the aim and objectives of the research and the research context and simplified as following:

a) The type of organisation is a Malaysian design consultant. Therefore, the organisation must have registered with Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB)‟s registration scheme, or Association of Consulting Engineer Malaysia or Malaysian Institute of Architect.

63 c) The primary BIM technology used by the organisation should be the 3D parametric

authoring tools.

d) The organisation must also be willing to cooperate and provide access to the researcher to acquire data.

As BIM is currently becoming the buzz word among the construction industry, an assumption was made prior to the research investigations that a few organisations are taking BIM as potential business marketing, which led to the claims of implementing BIM, although their statuses were arguable. Many publications recognise the use of 3D parametric tools as the primary technology for BIM (Eastman et al., 2008; Smith &Tardif 2009; Elvin 2007; Construction Project Information, 2009; National Institute of Building Science, 2007). Therefore, the selection of the organisations were made based on the use of 3D parametric tools applications, to avoid the marketing claim issues in addition to limit the research scope. To identify the company which at least, has started implementing BIM, a few techniques were engaged:

a. The local jobs advertisement on the webpage or newspaper that offer a BIM related post such as BIM manager, Revit Designer, etc.

b. Direct communication with BIM tools providers such as Tekla and Revit to request a list of their clients.

c. Attending a local BIM seminar and directly approaching the speaker and participants.

d. Attachment and collaboration with Construction Research Institute of Malaysia (CREAM), for Construction Industry Development Board of Malaysia (CIDB). In the informal collaboration, the researcher was allowed to use their resource and networking. In the informal collaboration with CREAM, the researcher was given a workstation to conduct the research during the time spent at Kuala Lumpur. In addition, the researcher was also granted permission to use their letterhead for correspondence matters. The letterhead was so important to penetrate access to the organisation, justifying the authority and image CIDB has in Malaysia.

Ten companies were identified and through the company‟s webpage, internal contact, and CREAM networking database, contact numbers and email addresses were obtained. Applications for conducting preliminary interviews were then requested via phone calling, emails, and formal application letters. Out of ten companies, six positively responded to the request. A preliminary interview is a process where the researcher attempts to get a brief picture regarding the current

64 implementation of BIM within the company. The same question set for data collection was used but with different purposes, which are:

a. As part of screening process: To make sure the company has fully/partially implemented BIM within their business.

b. As part of refining the interview question: To get a brief picture of the company. This information helps to identify related questions that suit the company level of BIM implementation.

c. As part of research strategy: To develop trust and credibility so that the researcher could gain access to carry data collection.

Based on the interviews that have been conducted, there were only 5 companies currently using BIM or starting the implementation process. One of the companies however gave a low level of willingness to share information, thus reducing the number of companies to four, as following:

Company P: Company P is the pilot case used for this research. The company is a

BIM management consultant providing bespoke and value added solutions to the client. The services include consultation regarding the use of BIM, service as a BIM manager, delivering 3D process and deliverable for multidisciplinary professionals such as 3D architect models, Structural Model, MEP services model and coordinating clash detection and resolution. BIM has been used within the company since 2009 by delivering a pilot project and utilising Autodesk product line namely Revit Architecture, Revit Structure, and Naviswork.

Company A: Company A is an oil and gas engineering consultant providing a complete design service to the oil and gas and petrochemical industry. The company was selected due to the fact that it has been implementing BIM successfully since 1995. In this way, it provided richer evidence on identifying the readiness criteria over a long period of time. The company‟s services cover primarily the area of design engineering of offshore oil and gas production and processing facilities, design engineering of onshore receiving facilities and loading terminals and deliver turnkey Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Commissioning (EPCC) projects of facilities. The company is a one stop design engineering consultancy where the technical area consists of seven departments which are Project Management, Process, Instrument, Pipeline, Electrical, Mechanical and Structural. The use of BIM within the business process has commenced since 1995 through the use of Aveva Plant Design Management System (PDMS) and BOCAD within the Mechanical and Structural departments respectively.

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Company B: Company B is an Industrialised Building System (IBS) Specialist delivering design and construction for precast building and facilities. The company provides a one stop service centre for precast projects where it has internal departments for delivering precast design engineering, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, manufacturing and also project management and building assembly. The use of BIM is not yet fully implemented but has just started the pilot implementation on one project.

Company C: Company C is an integrated property development company involved

in property development, asset management, hospitality, and leisure. The company has finished a BIM pilot project. The project aims at testing the BIM technology and process during the design stage and producing BIM standards and manuals to be imposed on every consultant involved in their future projects. As part of the effort, the company has set up a temporary design division which consists of architect, structural engineer, and mechanical engineer.