ProjeĐt MaŶageŵeŶt IŶstitute ResearĐh aŶd aĐadeŵiĐ ĐoŶfereŶĐe, ϭϯ‐ϭ5th Feď ϮϬϭ5, NITIE    Role of BIM in Reducing Information Asymmetry in Construction Projects – Evaluation of Australian and Indian Perspectives Professor Perry Forsythe School of the Built Environment University of Technology Sydney Sydney, Australia perry.forsythe@uts.edu.au Professor Shankar Sankaran School of the Built Environment University of Technology Sydney Sydney, Australia shankar.sankaran@uts.edu.au Dr Hariharan Subramanyan L&T Institute of Project Management Larsen and Toubro Limited) Vadodra, India Hsubramanyan@Lntipm.org Dr Christopher Biesenthal School of the Built Environment University of Technology Sydney Sydney, Australia christopher.biesenthal@uts.edu.au Abstract-The purpose of the paper is to bring out the impact of Building Information Modelling (BIM) systems in addressing Information Asymmetry (IA) issues in construction projects and develop a comparative analysis of the extent to which construction firms in Australia and India are looking at BIM as a solution provider to IA in projects. Information Asymmetry is a common concern in contracting relationships during the procurement of construction projects. While the agent (contractor) opportunistically take advantage of the Principal (Client), the Principal is continually exploring means to manage information in projects. The question needs to be answered is “To what extent in real time scenarios, BIM can help reducing the imbalance in information between the two contracting parties.” Principal agency theory proposes three issues due to IA including: Adverse Selection, Moral Hazard and Hold Up which are all typical ways in which an information imbalance can be used opportunistically to exploit the Principal. This paper discusses the manifestation of IA in construction procurement and project delivery, impact of contractual controls to manage IA and potential of BIM to control IA. Contractor, Developer and constants in India and Australia were interviewed and the responses are presented in the paper. Among the three areas of information asymmetry, respondents are of the opinion that BIM can help to a greater extent in overcoming Hold up and Moral hazards. While the client in Australian context is more keen and oriented towards BIM implementation, clients in India except large developers do not insist on BIM. In other words the level of penetration of BIM in Indian context is comparatively low. Surprisingly while the contractors in Australia do not see significant benefits by adopting BIM, many contracting firms in India have gone ahead with BIM as they consider BIM can provide a better cover under material variation. While developing high technical capability in terms of BIM utilisation is the immediate challenge in both the countries, one can be sure that there is a good potential for BIM in the years to come in both these countries. Key words: Building Information Modelling, Information Asymmetry, Adverse Selection, Moral Hazard, Hold Up