Exploring the mechanism of digital transformation empowering green innovation in construction enterprises

Abstract

Amid depleting resources and environmental constraints worldwide, green innovation is being considered key to achieving sustainable development. The construction industry has been resistant to technological change and generating a large amount of wasted energy; green innovation should compensate for these shortcomings. The emergence of new and powerful digital transformations has provided several green innovation opportunities to the construction industry. However, the mechanism by which digital transformation can drive this green innovation has not been thoroughly investigated. This study aims to elucidate the effects of digital transformation on green innovation by surveying construction enterprises. Therefore, a model based on the technology–organization–environment framework was developed to uncover the factors of digital transformation related to green innovation in the construction industry. Subsequently, it reviews the literature and proposes postulates to construct a relevant conceptual model. Data of 257 employees from construction enterprises were analyzed using the partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) and via fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). The PLS-SEM results show that all the nine variables positively affected the green innovation behavior; moreover, these results evidently confirmed the influence of policy environment, market environment, and digital culture on green innovation. fsQCA presented four configurations for promoting the green innovation of construction enterprises under multiple antecedent conditions, wherein digital infrastructure was considered a core factor in all configurations. These conclusions provide beneficial insights for construction enterprises to implement green innovation practices.