A conceptual green business model for construction companies: An empirical evaluation

PhD studyConstruction companies are being challenged to adopt a greener approach to meet client needs and to gain or sustain business competiveness with the phenomenon like green market growing. However, the relation between environmental performance and economic value creation is often indirect and hard to quantify. Consequently new concepts have been called for to appreciate opportunities offered by environmental sustainability. Of these, the business model concept provides a better understanding on how the green or environmental value is captured and turned into profitable products and services. In previous work, we have formulated a conceptual green business model for construction industry. To verify and gain better understanding of the previously formulated conceptual green business model, seven expert interviews are conducted. The empirical feedback from the interviewees has been used to revise the model, document the greatest benefits associated with environmental sustainability, and identify critical stakeholders of success of green movement in the construction context and the critical organisational capabilities and management practices for green business models to be economically viable

Modelling Organisational Factors Influencing Sustainable Development Implementation Performance in Higher Education Institutions: An Interpretative Structural Modelling (ISM) Approach

open access articleGlobally, higher education institutions (HEIs) have continued to record varied sustainable development (SD) implementation performances. This variance has been attributed to the presence of certain organisational factors. Whereas previous studies have successfully identified the factors influencing the SD implementation performance in HEIs, few studies have attempted to explore the relationship between these factors and the influence of such a relationship on the management of SD implementation in HEIs. This is the objective of this study. Understandably, an understanding of such relationships will facilitate the development of appropriate frameworks for managing SD implementation in HEIs. Relying on a case study of a South African University of Technology (SAUoT), this study elicits data through a focus group discussion session. An interpretative structural modelling (ISM) focus group protocol indicating extant pair-wise relationships between identified organisational factor categories was extensively discussed. The emergent data was recorded, transcribed verbatim and subsequently analysed. The findings suggest that communication was critical to the prevalence of other factors, hence indicating its centrality to the effective management of SD implementation in HEIs. These findings will guide implementing agents in HEIs towards developing appropriate strategies for communicating SD implementation strategies

Sustainable Construction Capabilities: A Local Authority Perspective

PhD studyThe emerging trend of climate change adaptation in the construction industry has raised the need to identify the sustainability requirements of the construction industry. Considering sustainability has the potential to enhance company profiles and improve relationships with stakeholders particularly clients. This paper presents a case study of a Local Authority and sheds light on some major issues, drivers, benefits, and organisational changes associated with sustainable construction. In addition, it identifies the critical factors for successful sustainable practices. The findings reveal that the implementation of sustainable practices often demands significant organisational and management capabilities such as closer collaboration and joint work between internal units, sustainability experts, sustainability targets as well as collaboration between demand and supply sides. It is found that clients awareness and education are vital for successful sustainable construction

Emergence of the business models in the building and construction literature

PhD studyBusiness models play a key role on successful businesses since they describe how an organisation creates and delivers value for its customers and subsequently captures value. A good business model can separate a company from its rivals by creating a competitive edge. However, there is limited research on business models in the building and construction field. This paper aims to contribute to this limited literature by exploring how the business model concept is understood and conceived by the building and construction literature to shed some light on the concept and its associated benefits, establish a common language, and help position future enquiries. Yet, it becomes vital to cover the literature in the business and management field where business models originated. This approach helps gaining thorough understanding and seeing the big picture of business models. The findings suggest that there is a growing interest in the use of business models concept in the building and construction disciplines but most articles refer to business models without explicit definition which can lead to uncertainty on using the concept. Furthermore, recent studies provide explicit definition of business models and seek to develop an understanding of the concept with reference to the construction context. As suggested by the literature, business models concept can be relevant for sustainability studies since it helps companies converting their abstract environmental strategies into viable business concepts thus creating value for customers and capturing this value. Moreover, concentration on the business model can facilitate better evaluation of current construction companies’ business models and assess their future suitability of sustainability aspects and competitiveness. To benefit from business models in the building and construction context, they need to be considered and developed at the level of field of operation with clear explanation on what they mean

Green business models and organisational changes: Lessons from the UK construction sector

PhD studyGreen business models (GBMs) can support green growth because they are based on green value creation and capture with emphasis on clients role. However, GBMs require substantial investment and strong change capabilities. This paper maps organisational changes associated with GBMs transformation. For this purpose, 19 semi-structured interviews are conducted with a heterogeneous sample of academics and managers from the UK construction sector. The interviews then are analysed by a means of thematic analysis with aim to capture any common changes and to form similar patterns of changes which occurred within the sample. Surprisingly, there are a lot of similarities that can be grouped broadly into three major themes: green profile development; structure; and operations. In addition, the change starts from the strategic level (policy) to the operational level but it may be triggered by the people at the operational level. Furthermore, GBMs not only change product/service and process but also catalyse broader systems change of the green value chain. Therefore, construction organisations have to accept that transition to GBMs will bring significant changes to the way they work if these models are to flourish

Business model reconfiguration in green construction: A theoretical perspective

PhD studyBusiness models describe the business logic of a particular company and green business model is when a company changes part(s) of its business model and thereby both captures economic value and reduces the ecological footprint in a life-cycle perspective. In this paper, business model literature is reviewed with the intention of promoting learning to understand the economic complexity of environmental sustainability in the construction context. Although the green construction literature does not explicitly deal with the changes of construction companies business model, there is a considerable research that implicitly investigates features and elements of the business models of green construction. Key features from this literature are: green value propositions should always be related to customer/stakeholder issues. Going green will improve relationships among stakeholders and with particular customers since key activities are performed in a greener manner. Knowledge and partnership are the most important resources needed to go green and moreover green branding is an important resource and can be a source of competitive advantage. To unlock green value proposition opportunities, cost structure and revenue models should be considered from a long-term perspective

Bottle House: Utilising Appreciative Inquiry to develop a user Acceptance model

Purpose: This paper develops a novel user-acceptance model for circular solutions to housing design. The model has been systematically developed from a case study of an upcycled plastic bottle building in a low-income community in Nigeria. It is common practice to use participatory approaches to consult end users in communities, typically after design concepts have been proposed and conceptualised. However, this often leads to critical socio-cultural or usability elements being overlooked and the design being substandard. Therefore, this paper develops a robust model for designers, specialists and activists involved in construction that can be used during all phases of a project. This approach demonstrates that user needs should be considered before building designs and plans are generated, providing a greater frame of reference for practitioners, consultants and end users. Enabling the integration of holistic needs of the community and the development of circular design solution. Design/methodology/approach: A case study methodology has been employed to develop this model, uses appreciative inquiry methodology. This includes multiple methods to capture end users’ perception: focus groups, interactions with the local community and self-recorded comments. This case study is part of a broader research project to develop replicable low-cost self-sufficient homes utilising local capacity using upcycled, locally available materials. Findings: The findings identify the challenges associated with designing circular solution housing without a robust understanding of interrelated factors, which ensure sustainability and user acceptance. The conclusions demonstrate why essential socio-cultural factors, usually unrelated to technical development, should be understood and contextualised when designing sustainable solutions in low/middle-income communities. The authors argue that without this holistic approach, undesirable consequences may arise, often leading to more significant challenges. Instead of referring to multiple frameworks, this distinctive model can be used to evaluate user acceptance for low-cost housing in particular and other dimensions of circular solution design that involve end-user acceptance. The model blends circular solution dimensions with user-acceptance concerns offering a guide that considers essential features that are both user-friendly and pragmatic, such as utility, technological innovation and functionality as well as their intersectionality. Research limitations/implications: The research relied on a single case study, which focussed on end-user engagement of upcycling waste materials as an application of circular solutions. The model will contribute to developing socially accepted circular solutions taking into consideration local context factors. Originality/value: The paper is proposing a model for user acceptance of circular construction materials relevant to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)

Green business models in the UK construction sector: Empirical study

PhD studyA business model is considered to be green when a business changes part(s) of its business model and thereby both captures economic value and provides environmental improvement. The aim of this paper is to explore how managers define the term “green business model” in the UK construction sector. Twelve experienced managers defined green business models differently than what is found in literature and empirical studies, however some of them provided definitions that are partially consistent: they highlighted the relationship between economic benefits and environmental benefits in these models. Nevertheless, their understandings and definitions lacked the view of using green business models as an effective tool to create green value propositions and analyze how this value can be captured in the form of profits and reputation. The results of the interviews suggest that some of the managers do neither understand the concept fully nor utilize any similar value creation analysis in their companies. This thinking may not be limited only to the UK

Barriers to MNEs green business models in the UK construction sector: An ISM analysis

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.The environmental and economic benefits of green business models (GBMs) are considerable if current barriers can be identified and ways of overcoming them developed. In this study, barriers to GBMs are identified by conducting a qualitative study. Nineteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with selected UK construction sector experts from academia and industry and the results were obtained by applying thematic analysis. Five major categories of barriers emerged: government constraints; financial constraints; sector constraints; company constraints; and lack of demand. To understand the collective impact of these barriers, the interpretive structural modelling (ISM) method was used. The ISM-based model showed that government constraints are driving the rest of the barriers followed by financial and construction sector constraints equally then the by company constraints. Surprisingly, lack of demand appeared to have the least significance in hindering GBM transformation compared to the rest of the barriers. The results present a clear picture of the green construction market relevant to multinational enterprises (MNEs) intending to enter the UK. MNEs are therefore influenced by the government on strategic planning and capability building for GBMs. Effective engagement with the government will generate institutional advantages resulting in legitimacy and trust for MNEs in the UK markets

A Review of Sustainable Business Models and Strategic Sustainable Development

This paper summarizes sustainable business models by addressing definitions, archetypes and assessments. It then summarizes the framework for strategic sustainable development to highlight its systematic, scientific and social strengths. The discussion combines both concepts to conclude with a research approach that may scientifically and socially enhance sustainable business models