A multi analytical assessment of critical technological barriers to digital circular economy practices in construction

Abstract

Technology-related barriers represent a significant set of perceived impediments to digital circular economy (CE) adoption. This study investigates the criticality and prioritisation of technology-related barriers to the digital transformation of CE practices in the Nigerian construction industry (NCI). A structured questionnaire was administered using purposive and snowball sampling techniques to collect data from construction professionals in Nigeria. One hundred and sixty-nine (169) valid responses were gathered, and data were analysed using the fuzzy relative importance index (FRII), fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE), sensitivity analysis, Harman’s single-factor test, Kruskal-Wallis test, coefficient of variation (CV) and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The results reveal that all the assessed technology-related barriers are highly critical to the adoption of digital technologies (DTs) in CE practices, and the most critical barriers are ‘high investment cost and maintenance burden of enabling technologies’, ‘limited access to enabling technologies’, ‘weak research-to-practice translation leading to few digital CE tools fit for organisations’ use’, ‘low digital/CE literacy’, and ‘technology immaturity’. FSE results indicate the four categories of barriers are very critical, and the sensitivity analyses indicate the robustness and stability of the rankings. This study adopted multiple analytical methods to explore the technology-related barriers to adopting DTs in CE transition and practice in the NCI. It is among the first studies to combine FRII, FSE, and sensitivity analysis to advance knowledge in this underexplored area in construction management. The findings provide empirical evidence to support policymakers, regulators, construction organisations and stakeholders in designing effective interventions to achieve industry-wide CE digitalisation.