Exploring Key Factors and Driving Mechanisms of Construction Waste Recycling Development in China: Combination of PEST Model and Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis

Abstract

The construction waste recycling (CWR) industry in China is still in the primary stage. Thus, exploring the driving mechanisms of its development has significant theoretical worth and practical significance. Existing studies mainly focused on identifying individual key factors, while paying limited attention to the synergistic effects of multiple factors. The aim of this study is to systematically identify the primary drivers of China’s CWR industry from a macro perspective and explore their conjunctional effect on the development of the CWR industry in China. Firstly, based on the PEST model, the key factors driving the development of the CWR industry were identified from political, economic, social, and technological aspects. Secondly, the fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) approach was used to explore the causal relationship between the conjunction of these factors and the development level of the CWR industry. This study yields two interesting conclusions. The first is that none of the political, economic, social, and technological factors is a necessary condition. It means that the absence of any single factor will not restrict the development of the CWR industry. The second reveals two causal paths for the high-level development of the CWR industry, namely, the configuration of policy and social factors and the individual effect of economic factors. High-level development in the CWR industry can drive the sustainable development of the construction sector.