Modeling the principal success factors for attaining systemic circularity in the building construction industry: An international survey of circular economy experts

To achieve zero waste and cumber the acute environmental effect of the building construction industry (BCI), circular economy (CE) implementation is pertinent. Such implementation requires the incorporation of certain actionable factors that are critical to its success. However, investigating these factors considering the individualistic variations of developed and developing economies is rarely conducted in the literature. Therefore, this study evaluated the critical success factors (CSFs) for attaining systemic circularity in the BCI of both developed and developing economies. The methodological framework adopted comprises a literature review and a questionnaire survey of 140 CE experts across 39 developed and developing economies. The data collected was analyzed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), rank agreement analysis (RAA), and fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE) techniques. The EFA analysis revealed four principal success factors (PSFs): data-driven digital tools and circularity plan, capacity building and pre-demolition auditing, systemic circularity guidelines and commitment, and circular metric and secondary market development. The RAA results showed that consensus and non-consensus exist between the two groups (developed and developing economies) on the PSFs. The FSE method revealed that all the PSFs are paramount in achieving a successful CE implementation in the two economies. However, the top two in developed economies are systemic circularity guidelines and commitment, and circular metric and secondary market development, while data-driven digital tools and circularity plans, and capacity building and demolition monitoring are the top two in developing economies. The RAA findings underscore the need to be context conscious while adopting the CSFs for CE implementation in the BCI. The FSE findings and the PSF models developed would guide the government and management teams in resource allocation during CE implementation. This study contributes to existing knowledge by providing essential insights into the CSFs that would promote systemic circularity attainment in the BCI of developed and developing economies.