Evaluating the adoption barriers of circular business models in the Ghanaian construction industry

PurposeTo transition into a green/circular economy (CE), both academics and industrialists have undertaken research into various areas of circular business models (CBM), yet despite numerous studies conducted, the ensuing discourse contains scant information regarding the barriers to CBM adoption in the built environment. Therefore, this present study explores the critical barriers hindering the adoption of CBM in the Ghanaian construction industry (GCI), establishing the criticality of the principal barriers identified.Design/methodology/approachThe mixed philosophies of interpretivism and postpositivism were adopted to deductively analyse primary data collected via a survey questionnaire. A comprehensive literature review was first conducted to identify the barriers of adopting CBM in the construction industry. Data gathered from professionals with knowledge of CBM and the green/CE were then analysed using descriptive statistics and inferential fuzzy synthetic evaluation.FindingsEmergent barriers to CBM adoption in the GCI were identified as institutional barriers (i.e. inadequate technology development and transfer, insufficient green incentives in the industry and lack of institutional framework that promote); proficiency barriers (i.e. lack of understanding of circular business models, inadequacy of expertise amongst construction professionals, unfamiliar techniques associated with circular business models and fear of greater investment cost) and cultural barriers (i.e. cultural reluctancy of clients to embrace circular urbanization, inadequate measurement tool, lack of a culture that encourages community engagement in environmental decision-making, inadequate performance information and database, lack of prior experience of stakeholders, inadequate government policies, low public awareness and lack of manufacturer and supplier support). The fuzzy synthetic analysis confirmed all the principal barriers as critical. These barriers had a respective criticality index of 3.66, 3.59 and 3.39. Evidently, the CBM adoption in the GCI faces major challenges and consequently, sector stakeholders must strategize their organizational undertakings to transition their traditional business models towards innovative circular ones.Originality/valueThis study provides a novel and thorough evaluation on the barriers to CBM adoption and establishes the criticality of the identified barriers. The study's findings offer essential direction to GCI stakeholders and policymakers to facilitate the shift towards a CE in accordance with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).