Infrastructure asset management is increasingly shifting towards data-driven decision-making, yet many organisations struggle to translate digital tools into improvements in decision-making. This challenge is especially visible in multi-actor environments such as the partnership between Royal Schiphol Group and Royal BAM Group, where digitalisation ambitions remain high but progress is fragmented. This thesis examines how digitalisation can be improved within client-contractor partnerships in infrastructure asset management.

Drawing on literature on digitalisation, absorptive capacity, and strategic interdependence, the research adopts a qualitative single-case study of the Schiphol-BAM partnership. A Design Science Research Method was used to structure the study, and the empirical data consisted of 16 semi-structured interviews, document analysis, and inductive coding using the Gioia Methodology. The resulting propositions were validated and refined in a focus group with practitioners from both organisations.

The findings show that digitalisation develops through the interaction of absorptive capacity, strategic interdependence, and five mechanisms: institutional context, financial alignment, organisational capabilities, relational dynamics, and strategic alignment. Together, these mechanisms form a grounded model that explains how digitalisation develops in infrastructure asset management (IAM) partnerships.

The research results in twelve recommendations: Schiphol should clarify digital expectations, align data requirements and long-term valuation, strengthen governance and expertise, and provide clearer leadership. BAM should scale digital solutions and increase transparency on progress. Jointly, Schiphol and BAM should improve knowledge retention, resolve system and data integration issues, and develop a shared digitalisation roadmap. The research extends existing theory by demonstrating how digitalisation unfolds in practice in IAM partnerships.