2.1. BIM Technology Use in Architectural Design Companies
As an innovative technology that emphasizes parametric expression and integrated management of relevant information of all stages and organizations in the whole life cycle of a construction project, BIM is defined as a modeling technology and associated set of processes to create, exchange, and analyze building models [
13]. It can be acknowledged as a type of information technology by the majority of the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry [
14]. It has not only brought changes to the AEC industry, but also influenced different firms in the industry [
15]. The technology has been widely regarded as a promising method for solving fundamental problems of industrial production characteristics and improving the performance of the construction project [
16]. The use of BIM technology in construction projects generates positive effects on the projects’ performance [
17], such as accurate cost estimation [
18], quality improvement, and construction cost reduction, which can all benefit from BIM technology application in building projects [
19]. This technology not only has a profound influence on the traditional construction industry [
20] but also has advantages over the whole building lifecycle, especially in the architectural design phase [
7].
Architectural design companies have been profoundly influenced by adopting BIM. As an extension of computer-aided design [
10], BIM can not only influence traditional design processes [
6] and improve the design quality [
21], but also change the design pattern and the way designers work and collaborate because of the information shared [
22]; in turn, these changes result in competitive pressures among the companies [
7] and the designers [
23]. Although the use of BIM has improved design quality in terms of increased efficiency and accuracy, error reduction, better performance, and automatic document generation [
24], the tendency to resist the changes of using BIM still exists [
8]. Particularly, more experienced designers who are used to 2D drafting design often resist the use of BIM, and some designers perhaps underestimate the benefits of BIM and thus refuse to use it [
25].
To improve the benefits of using BIM for architectural design companies, many researchers have investigated BIM use behavior and its influencing factors. For example, Gokuc and Arditib [
7] investigated the influencing factors on adopting BIM in architectural design firms and reported that the fit between BIM and design tasks was more likely to affect the design firm’s performance than the fit between BIM and organizational competence. Son et al. [
6] examined the factors that could drive architects’ adoption of BIM in design organizations, and found that factors such as top management support, subjective norms, and computer self-efficacy were critical in influencing their behavioral intention. In a survey conducted in Shenzhen City, China, Ding et al. [
9] identified the key factors that influenced the architects’ BIM adoption in A-level architectural design firms, and demonstrated that motivation, BIM capability, and technical defects significantly affected the architects’ behavior intention to use BIM. Moreover, the designers with high motivation and BIM capability were more likely to use BIM. Although many studies aim to facilitate the usage of BIM and obtain the remarkable benefits of BIM, empirical evidence for the factors that drive architectural designers’ CUI of BIM is still lacking.
2.2. Theoretical Basis
As depicted in many theories related to individual behavior, such as the theory of rational behavior and TAM, a person’s behavioral intention is the major determinant of his or her usage behavior [
26]. As such, Bhattacherjee [
27] argued that the continued use of information technologies contributed to the final success of their adoption. Similar to other information technologies and systems, the successful promotion and application of BIM require the continuous usage of users. For architectural designers, the CUI of BIM is also a crucial premise of their continuous behavior.
Based on the TRA, the TAM has absorbed a series of theories related to behavior and expectation to study the user’s behavior of accepting information technology and systems [
11]. The TAM consists of four constructs, including user behavior, behavioral intention (BI), perceived usefulness (PU), and perceived ease of use (PEU) [
28]. In this model, a person’s BI is determined by his or her PU and PEU, and PEU is assumed to have a positive and direct effect on PU [
28]. As a classical model for explaining the factors that influence the acceptance of computer systems, the TAM also stands out as an effective model for studying individual usage behavior [
29]. It is widely used not only to explain the individual behavior of adopting and using information technologies or systems, but also to study their continuous use behavior [
30,
31,
32]. Recently, studies have begun to apply the TAM to explain BIM use intention. Park et al. applied the TAM to investigate the factors that determined the on-site construction managers’ intention to use BIM technology [
4]. Qin et al. [
33] also employed the TAM to explore the factors which influenced the intention of using BIM in the construction industry by integrating the technology–organization–environment framework. Nevertheless, encouraging the continuous use of BIM technology by adopting the TAM needs further study.
The ECT proposed by Oliver was initially applied to study consumers’ repeated purchase of products [
34]. This theory determines whether consumers are satisfied or not by comparing their initial expectations about products or services based on their perceived performance after using or consuming them. Thus, a person’s satisfaction becomes a determinate variable that influences the intention of his or her repurchasing behavior [
35]. Bhattacherjee [
27] further extended the ECT to the context of continuous use of information systems, and developed the expectation confirmation model of information system continuance (ECM-ISC), which consisted of four constructs, namely PU, confirmation (CF), satisfaction (ST), and information system’s continuance intention. Since the ECT and ECM-ISC were proposed, they have been widely applied in the studies of continuance intention to use information technologies or systems in different fields. However, the ECT has not been utilized in architectural designers’ continuous use intention of BIM technology.
2.3. Research Model and Hypotheses Development
As a disruptively innovative technology applied in the AEC industry, BIM has a profound influence on architectural design companies. This research on architectural designers’ CUI is helpful to improve the benefits from the continuous use of BIM in the companies and further promote the sustainable development of the industry. Based on the TAM, ECM-ISC, and related BIM research, a conceptual model of the CUI of BIM is depicted in
Figure 1. In the model, PEU and CF affect PU; PU and CF influence ST; and PEU, PU, and ST influence the architectural designer’s CUI of BIM.
According to the TAM [
11], ECT [
34], and ECM-ISC [
27], the designer’s PEU relates to the degree to which a designer believes that the use of BIM can be effortless; CF refers to the designer’s perception of dissonance between the expectation of BIM and its actual application; and PU relates to the perception of benefits and performance improvement of using BIM. According to the TAM, PEU has a positive impact on PU [
26]. The relationship between PEU and PU has also been proven in many previous continuous use studies, such as with users’ intention to continue using a fitness app [
36], students’ continuance intention to use K-MOOCs [
37], and end users’ continuance intention to use cloud ERP [
38]. In the BIM acceptance model [
39], the PEU of BIM also has a positive impact on PU. Based on 114 sample data, Lee et al. [
39] verified that the higher BIM ease of use the users could perceive, the stronger a perception of usefulness they felt. Yuan et al. [
40] conducted empirical research on owners’ BIM adoption behavior, and the result showed that the PEU had a significant and positive impact on the PU of BIM. Therefore, the more designers can perceive the ease of use of BIM, the higher the probability they can perceive its usefulness. We posit that:
Hypothesis 1 (H1). The designer’s PEU is positively associated with the PU of BIM.
In this paper, the CF is used as an antecedent variable to explain the architectural designer’s PU. The CF has a positive effect on PU, which has been proven in the ECT [
34] and ECM-ISC [
27]. In addition, many previous studies have confirmed that the CF has a positive effect on the PU, such as those on users’ continued usage behavior of information technology [
41], students’ continuance intention to use electronic textbooks [
42], and users’ continuous use of mobile banking [
43]. Moreover, Ma et al. [
14] confirmed that the CF had a significant positive impact on the PU of BIM. Thus, the more BIM expectations can be confirmed by the designers, the higher probability they can perceive its usefulness. We posit that:
Hypothesis 2 (H2). The designer’s CF is positively associated with the PU of BIM.
According to the ECT, PU has a positive effect on the ST of designers, which refers to the feelings about prior usage of BIM [
34]. This conclusion has also been verified in many previous studies, such as those on users’ continuance intention to e-learning [
44], users’ continuous usage of smartphone banking services [
45], and customers’ continuous usage of online product recommendations [
46]. As for BIM, the higher PU users can feel, the more likely it is to meet the users’ needs and bring a higher degree of ST. In addition, Ma et al. [
14] also found that high PU increased the ST degree. Therefore, the stronger tendencies to PU of BIM the designers have, the higher degree of ST they can feel. On this basis, we posit that:
Hypothesis 3 (H3). The designer’s PU of BIM is positively associated with ST.
According to the ECT, the ST is determined by the user’s prior expectation and expectation confirmation, and the CF has a positive effect on the ST [
34]. Previous studies have proven the relationship between the CF and ST in terms of continuous usage of information technologies and systems, such as group-buying websites [
47], online library resources [
48], and mobile applications [
49]. Therefore, the more BIM expectations can be confirmed by the designers, the more satisfied they can feel. On this basis, we hypothesize that:
Hypothesis 4 (H4). The designer’s CF of BIM is positively associated with the ST.
A designer’s CUI refers to his or her intention to continue using BIM [
27]. According to the TAM, the PEU has a positive effect on the CUI [
11]. This conclusion has also been proven in previous studies, such as those on users’ continued usage intention of a web-enabled phone service [
50], mobile Internet users’ continued usage behavior [
30], and user’s continuous adoption of WeChat mobile payment [
51]. In addition, Son et al. [
6] found that PEU could have a positive impact on the intention of adopting BIM in design organizations. Thus, the more ease of using BIM the designers can perceive, the stronger intention to continue using it they will have. We hypothesize that:
Hypothesis 5 (H5). The designer’s PEU is positively associated with the CUI of BIM.
According to the ECM-ISC, the PU has a positive effect on the CUI of information systems [
27]. The relationship between PU and CUI has been proven in previous studies, such as those on the continued usage of public e-services [
52], continued intention of using electronic textbooks [
53], and continuance intentions with online learning applications [
54]. The more usefulness of BIM the users can perceive, the stronger intention they will have to continue using it. Lee et al. [
39] also found that the stronger PU of BIM users felt, the more positive adoption intention they would have. This conclusion can also theoretically support the hypothesis that the PU is a positively influencing variable of the intention to continue using BIM. Thus, we hypothesize that:
Hypothesis 6 (H6). The designer’s PU of BIM is positively associated with the CUI.
According to the ECT, the ST, which also has a positive effect on the intention of continuous use [
27], can be regarded as an additive combination of the user’s previous expectation and resulting disconfirmation [
34]. Bhattacherjee [
27] believed that the continuous use of information systems was similar to the repurchase behavior of customers, and the positive effect of ST on continuance intention was tested empirically by using data collected from online brokerage users. As a significant factor of continuous use, the ST’s positive influence on CUI has also been proven in many prior studies, such as the users’ continued intention of e-learning [
55], continuance usage intention of ubiquitous media systems [
56], and students’ intention to continue using the university communication model [
57]. With regard to BIM, the higher ST users feel, the stronger CUI they will have. Wang and Song [
58] believed that BIM users’ ST could be regarded as an important factor that led to its successful usage and positively affected the CUI after its initial adoption. Therefore, the more satisfied the designers are with BIM usage, the more likely they are to continue using it. Based on the aforementioned analysis, we hypothesize that:
Hypothesis 7 (H7). The designer’s ST of BIM is positively associated with the CUI.