Digital technologies and sustainability barriers in heavy construction: A structural equation modeling study on triple-bottom-line outcomes

This study explores sustainability barriers in heavy construction and the role of digital technologies in overcoming them within Saudi Arabia’s sector. It focuses on three digital domains: Data Acquisition and Sensing (DTS), Information Management and Integration (DTIM), and Automation and Analytics (DTA). Their influence on internal barriers, economic, technical, and leadership/management is assessed, along with how these barriers affect Triple Bottom Line (TBL) outcomes: economic, environmental, and social. Using PLS-SEM on survey data ( n = 85), barriers were identified through literature review and expert validation. The research applies Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to analyze the relationships between digital adoption, barriers, and sustainability outcomes. Data were collected from professionals engaged in heavy construction projects across Saudi Arabia. In total, 19 barriers were identified. Results show technical barriers significantly affect economic outcomes (β = 0.439, p = 0.015) and environmental outcomes (β = 0.480, p = 0.011). However, digital technologies did not exhibit a statistically significant impact on reducing these barriers (e.g., DTA → TE, β = 0.205, p = 0.229; DTIM → TE, β = -0.210, p = 0.234). The model explained 43.2 % variance in economic outcomes, 42.3 % in environmental, and 33.0 % in social outcomes. Predictive assessment (PLSpredict) showed medium out-of-sample predictive power. Findings indicate that digital adoption alone cannot overcome sustainability barriers.