Sustainability meets innovation: unlocking opportunities through emerging technologies in construction

Sustainability and innovation are increasingly shaping the future of the construction industry, with emerging technologies offering new opportunities to enhance environmental, economic, and social performance. This study aims to explore the role of emerging technologies in promoting sustainability in construction projects, identifying key advancements and their practical impact. Adopting a pragmatic paradigm with a quantitative research approach, the study employs a comprehensive literature review to deductively identify relevant technologies and sustainability potentials, forming the basis for a structured questionnaire. A field survey was conducted among experienced construction professionals with a total of 120 respondents including clients, contractors and consultants in Malaysia to gather perceptions of the relevancy and effectiveness of smart technologies in sustainability management. The collected data is analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics to derive meaningful insights. The key findings highlight the key drivers: regulatory and market influences, economic and competitive factors, technological advancements and innovation, environmental and resource considerations as well as competitive and strategic motivations. Also, the exploratory factor analysis uncovered four underlying factors influencing technology adoption: regulatory and environmental factors, technological and innovation factors, economic and market factors, social and sustainability factors, offering empirical evidence on industry readiness. The study bridges the knowledge gap between technological advancements and practical sustainability implementation by leveraging industry expertise while uncovering the underlying factors. Its novelty is providing a data-driven perspective on how smart technologies can be strategically integrated to optimise sustainability outcomes in construction project management. By aligning industry perceptions with emerging innovations, this study offers valuable insights for practitioners and policymakers, supporting the transition towards a more resilient and eco-friendlier built environment.