Analysis of Barriers to Adoption of Sustainable Practices in Construction Industry in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The aim of this dissertation was to investigate the barriers to adoption of sustainable practices in construction in Saudi Arabia. The literature review employed diffusion of innovation (DOI) and Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) frameworks, along with the findings of prior studies to uncover five relevant variables which can act as barriers: (1) awareness and knowledge, (2) financial resources, (3) qualified workers, (4) availability of relevant technologies and (5) regulatory support and government incentives. Survey questionnaire was conducted with the workers across construction firms in Saudi Arabia to which 96 responses were received. Quantitative data was analysed using regression, Pearson’s correlation and independent sample t-test. Regression confirmed that awareness and knowledge, availability of relevant technologies and regulatory support and government incentives have positive and significant effect on adoption of sustainable practices in construction industry in Saudi Arabia. Independent sample t-test revealed the effect of financial resources and qualified workers was more pronounced in encouraging adoption of sustainable practices in the construction industry among small and medium sized firms (i.e. those which employ less than 250 workers) whereas for larger firms, financial resources and qualified workers were not barriers to adoption of sustainable practices. Larger construction firms have considerable financial resources and are not resource constrained. Therefore, larger construction firms do not view financial resources as an important variable in influencing their adoption of sustainable construction practices.