The role of knowledge management in assisting key stakeholders in making informed decisions in delivering sustainable retrofitted building projects

The global attention given to climate change that led to the clamour for sustainable development in the 21st century is a laudable development. The efforts of different governments worldwide geared towards mitigating climate change effects are widespread. The construction industry has taken centre stage in driving sustainable development through sustainable construction due to its impacts on society. Nevertheless, it is widely accepted that the 80% target reduction of greenhouse gas emissions required in the UK by 2050 can only be realised if the industry recognises the need for sustainable retrofitted building projects and that this represents one of the most critical approaches to achieving sustainable development in the construction industry. However, the challenges of delivering sustainable retrofitted building projects are enormous and complex, mainly due to key stakeholders' lack of knowledge in making informed and appropriate decisions. This has arguably made decision-making difficult for key stakeholders because the lessons learned from sustainable retrofit projects are not captured. This can improve if the industry recognises the need to adopt knowledge management (KM) to enable key stakeholders to make informed decisions in the delivery of sustainable retrofitted building projects. This research conducted a comprehensive investigation of the literature followed by the collection of empirical data using a mixed-method (quantitative and qualitative) approach. An exploratory industry survey of 86 respondents was followed by multiple-case studies involving 12 semistructured interviews, each with a representative of a different construction organisation. The survey data were subjected to descriptive, reliability, factor and correlation analysis using SPSS, while the case study interviews were analysed using NVivo and qualitative content analysis. The mixed-method approach assisted in answering 11 research questions and among the key findings were (1) 9 barriers, and 3 enabling factors to embark upon and delivering sustainable retrofits projects were revealed through factor analysis; (2) 6 critical enablers and barriers to sustainable retrofit project delivery were revealed through case studies; (3) an optimal approach is recommended for knowledge capture in retrofit project delivery as well as criteria for easy and difficult decision-making in retrofit project delivery. The research findings assisted in developing sustainable retrofitted building process (SRBP) to guide key stakeholders on the steps needed. The findings and the SRBP contributed to a proposed sustainable retrofitted building decisionsupport framework (SRBDSF) with knowledge management principles and procedures, and 9 objectives were employed to deliver this aim. The SRBDSF promotes the systematic management of project knowledge, thus enhancing the decision-making capabilities of key stakeholders. Finally, the SRBDSF framework was validated by industry practitioners who found that the SRBDSF was fit for purpose, easy to use and relevant to making informed decisions in the delivery of sustainable retrofit projects. Suggestions and recommendations from the validation contributed to the research recommendations and future work.