Wuni, I Y and Abankwa, D A (2025) Understanding the key risks in circular construction projects: from systematic review to conceptual framework. Construction Innovation, 25(4), pp. 1085-1107. ISSN 1471-4175
Abstract
Purpose: Circular construction offers sustainable solutions and opportunities to disentangle a project’s life cycle, including demolition, deconstruction and repurposing of architectural, civil engineering and infrastructure projects from the extraction of natural resources and their wasteful usage. However, it introduces additional layers of novel risks and uncertainties in the delivery of projects. The purpose of this study is to review the relevant literature to discover, classify and theorize the critical risk factors for circular construction projects. Design/methodology/approach: The paper conducted a systematic literature review to investigate the risks of circular construction projects. It deployed a multistage approach, including literature search and assessment, metadata extraction, citation frequency analysis, Pareto analysis and total interpretive structural modeling. Findings: Sixty-eight critical risk factors were identified and categorized into nine broad taxonomies: material risks, organizational risks, supply chain risks, technological risks, financial risks, design risks, health and safety risks, regulatory risks and stakeholder risks. Using the Pareto analysis, a conceptual map of 47 key critical risk factors was generated for circular construction projects. A hierarchical model was further developed to hypothesize the multiple possible connections and interdependencies of the taxonomies, leading to chain reactions and push effects of the key risks impacting circular construction projects. Originality/value: This study constitutes the first systematic review of the literature, consolidating and theorizing the chain reactions of the critical risk factors for circular construction projects. Thus, it provides a better understanding of risks in circular construction projects.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | circular construction; circular economy; critical risk factors; Pareto analysis; risks; systematic review |
| Index terms: | pareto analysis, health and safety, infrastructure project, methodology, taxonomies, natural resource, design risk, construction project, risk factor, material risk, circular economy, theorizing, life cycle, systematic literature review, interpretive structural modelling, conceptual framework |
| Subjects: | knowledge organization and systems, data science, production management, infrastructure and transport systems, research evaluation and metrics, health safety and environment, financial risk, theoretical framing, environmental hazards, quality control, environmental resource management, sustainable design, research methods, data analysis and analytics, value management |
| Topics: | Health and Safety, Project Management, Research Practice, Cost Management, Engineering Principles, Sustainability, Quality Management, Information Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here