Identifying and Assessing Sustainability Implementation Barriers for Residential Building Project: A Case of Ghana

Abstract

Sustainable construction practices should be integrated at every stage of the development process for optimum benefit, without compromising the structure’s intended use. Incorporating green building principles into home construction projects requires substantial investments, which may represent a barrier to overcome. When trying to fix a problem in a developing country such as Ghana (where resources are limited), it is important to first focus on eliminating the impediments. Thus, this article will attempt to identify and assess sustainability implementation barriers of residential building projects in Ghana. Consequently, the barriers to sustainability implementation were identified in previous studies. After that, a questionnaire survey was conducted among construction firms in Ghana. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) results showed that the barriers to implementing sustainability could be categorized under four main groups (management, standards, society and knowledge). Additionally, partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed to assess the linkages between each categorization barrier and sustainability implementation. The results from PLS-SEM showed that management-related barriers are the most significant barriers affecting substantiality implementation. The findings of this study will serve as a roadmap for policymakers in Ghana’s construction sector as they work to implement sustainability parameters to save costs and improve the environmental ecosystem and social cohesion in residential buildings.

1. Introduction

One of the most telling indicators of a country’s citizens’ health and happiness is the state of its residential building industry [1]. In developed and developing countries, residential structures account for around 40% of total energy consumption and 30% of total greenhouse gas emissions [2]. However, in today’s rapidly evolving and urbanizing world, the housing supply cannot keep up with demand [3]. As a result, growing urbanization makes it harder for low-income people in both emerging and developed nations to find suitable accommodation at a reasonable price [4]. It has been estimated that 828 million impoverished people in developing countries reside in slums and other inadequate housing. According to projections, this number may have reached 1.4 billion by 2020 [3,5,6]. The importance of the house in preserving a modest standard of living in these rapidly developing areas is readily apparent [7]. Accordingly, all governments have made affordable housing construction a top priority by enacting numerous legislation [1]. Nevertheless, there is debate about whether low-income people can afford apartment structures [3].

The construction project manager must use sustainability planning for economic growth and ecological and biological preservation [8]. Despite the widespread presence of sustainability theory and practice in the existing literature, its application to project management practices in developing countries has received little scholarly attention [9]. Nonetheless, some researchers have made progress in introducing sustainability objectives into the management of construction projects [10]. Given that the building sector consumes around 41% of the world’s energy and produces 40% of its total carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, this knowledge gap is cause for worry [11].

To successfully implement green building techniques, key participants in project management must first recognize and remove any obstacles to widespread implementation [10,12]. This is because project management plays a pivotal part in building projects’ conceptualization, planning, and execution [13]. While some progress has been achieved in prior research on incorporating sustainability into construction project management, there are still several important gaps [9]. As a first point, the perspectives of construction professionals have been the most extensively studied when analyzing stakeholders’ attitudes regarding sustainability adoption [14,15]. Second, research is often conducted assuming that the industry is willing to adopt sustainability goals without considering the factors that might cause this assumption to fail [16]. This goes against what we know about construction professionals and their infamous ambivalence and inbuilt resistance to change [17]. Finally, a more holistic, complete approach is sometimes disregarded in favour of an emphasis on a single dimension or phenomenon (such as the project manager’s function [10] or the project planning stage [18]). This study is warranted by the paucity of interdisciplinary literature on sustainability in construction project management, especially in a developing nation such as Ghana. Therefore, it has been emphasized in the literature that “sustainable buildings” must be constructed in a way that is both environmentally benign and resource efficient [19]. Building on this, Wolstenholme, et al. [20] argue for a paradigm shift in the construction industry toward more efficient and environmentally friendly construction methods. Construction professionals cannot accurately measure the environmental impacts of structures during development [21].

We propose the following research topic for this empirical investigation based on these justifications. Why is it so difficult to implement environmentally friendly practices in the construction sector? This work is the first attempt to catalogue these barriers. The findings will benefit academics since they will shed light on the nature of the obstacles, paving the way for more study in this area. Having this list of barriers available can help practitioners and policymakers focus their efforts where they will have the most significant impact, improving their ability to overcome obstacles and problems and zeroing in on the areas that require the most attention to make their practices sustainable.

2. Sustainability in the Building Sector

The “global” necessity of incorporating sustainability into construction project management to ensure long-term economic prosperity has been emphasized in scholarly works worldwide [22,23,24,25]. The current research suggests that the major negative environmental impact of the construction industry is linked to the economic and social status of people, their unquenchable desire for modernity driven by consumerism [25,26], a booming population growth [27], and unrestrained urban sprawl [28]. A sustainable macroeconomic environment is one in which environmental, economic, and social goals are pursued without jeopardizing one another [25,29,30].

Sustainability in the microeconomic context of construction project management is striking a balance between responsible stewardship of a built environment throughout an asset’s life cycle and environmental compatibility [8]. International industry players (i.e., governments, building specialists, scientific communities, businesspeople, and clientele) have taken notice of recent study results on the cumulative impact of construction operations on the environment [25,31]. This industry has a disproportionately large environmental effect because it contributes to and benefits from producing and consuming raw materials and finished goods in the supply chain [32].

More than 111 million people are employed in the construction industry worldwide [33]; the sector is responsible for nearly 40% of all energy consumption and 40% of total greenhouse gas output worldwide [33,34], and waste generated during the building process accounts for roughly 30–35% of construction expenditures [35,36]. While governments in the developed world have made sustainable building a top priority, their counterparts in the developing world continue to prioritize economic expansion above all else [14]. Environmental issues have been pushed to the background as the need for construction has risen in developing countries due to the rising importance of economic development for achieving social fairness [14,37].

A slew of research has attempted to integrate sustainable activities into construction operations [18,38] or has investigated the methodologies used to implement sustainable development activities [39,40]. In both situations, the question of whether a successful transition is possible was overlooked [37]. As a result, the current study hypothesizes that a more realistic way to implement sustainability in building projects for developing nations is to thoroughly identify, prioritize and assess the existing impediments [14]. The method of delivering a project at each step of the project life cycle may be heavily affected by sustainability considerations [10]. As a result, thoroughly adopting and embedding the sustainability mindset into current practice necessitates considering the whole project life cycle.

Barriers to Adopting Sustainability in the Building Industry

Sustainability is one of the most pressing issues confronting modern enterprises [23], and the necessity for long-term growth has been well established [22]. In this regard, research literature reveals that the construction sector substantially influences the environment and social and economic life, which has become an increasing issue [25]. The release of data on the environmental effect of building has piqued the interest of legislators, administrative authorities, policymakers, construction professionals, the scientific community, and consumers worldwide [25,31]. Concerns about sustainability in the delivery of construction projects have been high on the agenda in industrialized economies [41]. Nonetheless, emerging nations have prioritized economic expansion above satisfying ecological standards. Because emerging countries’ quest for economic growth has generated a great demand for construction projects, environmental concerns have been eclipsed [14]. Applying sustainability practices to construction project management has various dimensions based on multiple approaches, from raw material extraction to building and infrastructure planning, design, and construction, and their final deconstruction and waste management [25]; a description follows.

Despite many potential benefits and strong academic support, sustainable building approaches have not been broadly embraced across the construction sector owing to various hurdles [42]. These obstacles are a genuine issue in the building set. Few studies in the sector focus on the hurdles to incorporating sustainability into building projects. Studies that have tackled the problem from the standpoint of key success factors (CSF) affecting the integration of sustainability into construction projects have the most in common with this goal [14,25]. Sfakianaki [25] reviews the most relevant publications from three publishers, Emerald, Elsevier, and Wiley, to consolidate and assess the extant research on key success factors (CSFs) for sustainable building. Banihashemi et al. [14] presented a list of CSFs. They tailored it to the context of developing countries by conducting interviews and presenting the results in a conceptual model, which was then validated using data from 101 completed questionnaires and partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) as the method of analysis. This study attempted to gain a different viewpoint by concentrating on hurdles to incorporating sustainability into building projects. The hurdles were taken from papers and reports that addressed the sustainability problem and presented impediments or drives to it. Some review papers are also accessible in this field of study [12,15,25,43,44,45,46]. However, they do not go beyond investigating the drivers and success criteria for incorporating sustainability into building projects [14,25].

Table 1. List of sustainable implementation barriers.

Code	Barriers	References
B1	The substantial economic costs associated with unsustainable activities are often underestimated, and there is a general lack of awareness of the possible advantages of one’s actions.	[47,48]
B2	Inadequate collaboration among businesses, universities, and environmental groups.	[48,49,50,51]
B3	Disorganization in making plans and taking actions to achieve sustainability.	[49,50]
B4	Neglect from government officials.	[51,52,53]
B5	Economic instability.	[50,52,54,55,56]
B6	Inability to obtain internal support.	[53,56,57,58]
B7	Internal capital allocation choices do not place a premium on increased environmental or social sustainability.	[49,51,52]
B8	Inconsistency between an organization’s stated goals and its actual behaviors.	[48,51,53,54]
B9	Societal limitations include a lack of interest or knowledge on the part of the general public.	[47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,58,59,60]
B10	Corruption in the building trades.	[51]
B11	Lack of demonstrated return on investment.	[51,56,59]
B12	Environmental and social fairness problems are given less emphasis.	[48,55,58]
B13	Project managers lack the necessary KSAs (knowledge, skill, ability).	[49,51,60]
B14	Regulations that are ineffective.	[50,51,54,55]
B15	Companies hire professionals without sustainability expertise.	[49,51,56,58]
B16	Lack of communication, openness, and data collection between building companies and their suppliers.	[50,55,56,58,59,60]
B17	Lack of research and training in green building project delivery.	[47,48,51,53]
B18	Political restraints, insufficient government laws, and lax law enforcement.	[51,52,55]
B19	Poor early involvement of stakeholders.	[50,51,54]
B20	Problematic interactions with government entities.	[51,55,57]
B21	Disinterestedness in making investments.	[51,53,57]
B22	Low demand in the market for environmentally friendly building supplies.	[48,49,51]
B23	Businesses in emerging nations will only adopt more sustainable procedures if doing so would increase profits.	[51,56,59]
B24	Poor data management due to outdated systems.	[51,55,59]
B25	Lack of studies examining the issue and the role of enablers in aiding the successful adoption of green procurement in local building sectors.	[51,58,60]
B26	Failure to provide adequate formal instruction on sustainability.	[48,51,56]
B27	The slow adoption of new ideas.	[48,58]
B28	Not enough eco-friendly options are available to choose from on the market.	[47,51,57]
B29	Insufficient availability of skilled laborers educated in environmental responsibility and committed to promoting green building methods.	[48,51,60]
B30	Many areas of sustainability are left unaddressed in current project management guidelines.	[47,51,52]

lists 30 barriers to implementing sustainability into building projects.

3. Model Development and Research Methodology

This research aims to identify and assess sustainability implementation barriers for the residential building project in Ghana’s construction sector. As indicated in Table 1, 30 barriers to sustainable implementation were determined based on a literature review. The questionnaire survey was carried out by mailing a list of barriers to residential building experts with relevant industrial expertise. The survey was carried out in this way to ensure the completeness and clarity of the barriers to sustainability implementation, in conjunction with the exploratory factor examination (EFA) analysis of these variables and their categories. As a result, the suggested model was created using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). PLS-SEM has attracted great interest in various sectors, including business research and social sciences [61]. Several studies focusing on the PLS-SEM technique have recently been published in prestigious SSCI publications [14,62,63]. The most recent software edition, SMART-PLS 3.2.7, was used to analyze the obtained data to predict the importance of the sustainability implementation hurdles. Although the differences between the two methodologies are minor, PLS-SEM was originally recognized for its superior forecasting capabilities over covariance-based structural equation modelling (CB-SEM) [64]. This study’s statistical analysis used measurement and structural model evaluation techniques.

4. Data Collection

To investigate the barriers to sustainability implementation, a broad group of possible residential building industry players in Ghana were recruited as questionnaire survey assets. This survey was divided into two sections: the respondent’s demographic profile and the barriers to sustainability implementation (Table 1). The questionnaire was designed with an open-ended questions option (to add any barriers that the participants considered essential). Contractors, consultants, and clients were all contacted. Architects, electrical engineers, quantity surveyors, and structural and mechanical engineers are among those that fall under this category. Respondents rated these obstacles based on their knowledge and experience on a 5-point scale, with 5 being extremely high, 4 being high, 3 being normal, 2 being little, and 1 being nil or very tiny. This scale has been utilized in prior investigations [65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72]. In addition, The main objective of having a research sample is to estimate and predict a particular phenomenon or result among the target population [73]. This sampling method is related to how a specific population is selected as a sample [74]. Even though sustainability in Ghana is relatively new, stratified samples are used for specific sub-populations [75]. This approach aimed to assist the authors in acquiring the most accurate and reliable results in sustainability. The benefits of stratified sampling as highlighted by Sharma [76] are as follows: (i) It decreases bias in sample case selection. This also implies that perhaps the sample will represent a substantial portion of the surveyed populations. (ii) It allows the sample to be generalized to the population. The population difference is considered by stratification, along with all three sectors (client, contractor, and consultant) and the five most important subsectors in Ghana [77]. Furthermore, the methodological purpose analysis determined the sample size employed in this study [78]. According to Yin [79], a small sample size is appropriate for performing PLS-SEM; hence, 33 out of 70 persons were approached, resulting in a response rate of around 50%. This amount of return was deemed adequate for this research [80,81].

Table 2. Demographic characteristic frequency distribution.

Variable	Characteristics	(%)
Work experience (Years)	Below five	18.7
	6–11	16.0
	12–15	27.3
	16–20	22.7
	More than 20	15.3
Professional field	Architect	26.8
	Civil Engineer	29.6
	Electrical Engineer	19.7
	Mechanical Engineer	15.0
	Quantity surveying	9.0
Education	Diploma	6.0
	Bachelor’s degree	10.7
	M.Sc.	47.3
	Ph.D.	23.3
	Others	18.7
Organization function	Owner	37.0
	Contractor	30.7
	Consultant	32.3

also reveals that 18.7% of respondents had worked for one year to less than five years. Respondents with employment experience ranging from 5 to 10 years, 11 to 15 years, and more than 25 years were roughly 16.0%, 27.3%, and 15.3% of the total respondents, respectively. This suggests that the participants in this study are knowledgeable and may extract information from it.

5. Data Analysis and Results

5.1. EFA for Sustainability Implementation Barriers

EFA was used to assess the factor structure across the 30 sustainability implementation barriers. Several notable characteristics regarding a connection’s factorability were employed. KMO is a factor homogeneity metric commonly used to determine if the partial correlations between variables are minimal [82]. The KMO index ranges from 0 to 1, with a minimum value of 0.6 indicating successful factor analysis [83]. The Bartlett sphericity test also determines if the correlation matrix is an identity matrix. Pallant [84] advised that the sphericity analysis by Bartlett (p < 0.05) should be significant for the factor analysis to be deemed appropriate [85].

Table 3. Findings of KMO and Bartlett’s tests on sustainability obstacles.

KMO and Bartlett’s Test
Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy.		0.61
Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity	Approx. Chi-Square	1473.556
	df	435
	Sig.	0.000

shows that the Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin sample adequacy measure was 0.61, which was higher than the required value of 0.6, and that Bartlett’s test sphericity test was significant (x² (435) = 1473.556, p < 0.05).

The diagonals of the anti-image correlation matrix were all greater than 0.5, indicating that each element may be included in the factor analysis. The variance in each variable examined by all components is assessed initially, and tiny values (<0.3) indicate variables that do not fit the factor solution. In the current investigation, all of the founding communities exceeded the criterion. All loading factors exceeded 0.5. (

Table 4. Communalities of 30 items related to sustainability barriers.

Item	Communalities	Item	Communalities
B1	0.811	B16	0.870
B2	0.850	B17	0.845
B3	0.902	B18	0.858
B4	0.764	B19	0.769
B5	0.799	B20	0.819
B6	0.853	B21	0.844
B7	0.909	B22	0.875
B8	0.826	B23	0.864
B9	0.725	B24	0.863
B10	0.795	B25	0.737
B11	0.920	B26	0.818
B12	0.746	B27	0.865
B13	0.587	B28	0.870
B14	0.824	B29	0.886
B15	0.749	B30	0.829

).

The EFA findings for all 30 barriers yielded four factors with eigenvalues greater than one. The four components’ eigenvalues and total variance were both 82.2%. The results of Varimax rotation revealed that the first component linked to management-related obstacles explained 23.336% of the variance, while the second explained 20.55% of the variance (standards-related barriers). The third component included another subscale (termed social), which explained 19.2% of the variation, and the fourth component (knowledge-related obstacles) explained 19.1% of the overall variance. As a result, four extraction components are appropriate (

Table 5. Factor loadings based principal component analysis with Varimax rotation.

Barriers	Components
	1	2	3	4
B1		0.576
B2				0.743
B3				0.761
B4			0.588
B5		0.802
B6		0.807
B7				0.801
B8				0.782
B9				0.535
B10		0.678
B11	0.745
B12		0.607
B13			0.508
B14	0.824
B15	0.668
B16			0.589
B17			0.618
B18			0.690
B19				0.592
B20		0.630
B21	0.549
B22			0.601
B23			0.636
B24		0.724
B25	0.649
B26	0.821
B27	0.629
B28	0.656
B29			0.640
B30	0.534
% of variance	23.336	20.550	19.200	19.100

).

Pallant [84] advocated that the screen plot and matrix be objectively assessed to assess the components (factors) that are retrieved and determined. When studying the screen plot, a shift (or elbow) in the plot form is identified, and only parts above this level are maintained. Figure 1 also shows that the four aspects have been altered.

For the factors produced from the EFA, reliability statistics are created. The variables for each phase of the factor were chosen based on the variable with the highest loading in the structural matrix. According to Nunnally [86], an alpha value of Cronbach larger than 0.6 is suitable for newly created measures. When the normal value is 0.7, values greater than 0.75 are considered extremely accurate. Consequently, the alpha Cronbach values are adequate because they are more than 0.75 (0.90). For all objects, the set average correlations are more than 0.75, indicating stable internal variables [87].

5.2. PLS-SEM Development

5.2.1. Measurement Model

Internal reliability, convergent validity, and discriminative validity must all be assessed while evaluating reflective measurement models (barriers) in PLS-SEM. The structural model will be examined once the measurement model’s reliability and validity have been established [88]. As shown in

Table 6. The results of convergent validity.

Constructs	Cronbach’s Alpha	Composite Reliability	AVE
Management	0.964	0.969	0.776
Standards	0.949	0.958	0.765
Social	0.957	0.964	0.771
Knowledge	0.941	0.954	0.774

, all constructs in the model fulfil the α and ${\rho }_c$ > 0.70 criteria are permissible [89].

Furthermore, Table 4 shows that all structures passed the AVE test. The appropriate amount of the AVE should be more than 0.5 [90]. The AVE value (Table 5) estimations of all the constructs in this investigation, using the PLS algorithm 3.0, are greater than 50%. These data demonstrate that the measurement model is internally convergent and consistent. This means that the measurement parts for each construct (group) are adequately measured and do not assess any other construct inside the study model. High outer loads on a build suggest that the relevant components for each construct have a close link. Items with extremely low outer loadings (less than 0.4) must be taken off the scale regularly [91]. The outer loadings of the initial and amended measurement models for all items are shown in Table 5. As a result, all external loads are tolerated.

Discriminant Validity

When the concept is distinguishable from other constructs in accordance with the criteria used to make the distinction, we have established discriminant validity. Therefore, the construct’s original discriminatory validity indicates that it is unique and covers occurrences poorly characterized by other constructs in the model [92]. The Fornell and Larcker [90] criterion, the HTMT (heterotrait–monotrait ratio of correlations), and the criterion are all ways to evaluate discriminant validity.

Evaluation of discriminant validity may be performed by comparing the correlations between one construct and all other constructs to the square root of the AVE for that construct. Fornell and Larcker [90] stipulate that the AVE’s square root must be larger than the correlation between the latent variables.

Table 7. Discriminant validity.

Constructs	Management	Social	Standards	Knowledge
Management	0.881
Social	0.894	0.878
Standards	0.821	0.836	0.875
Knowledge	0.778	0.813	0.807	0.88

demonstrates that the outcome verifies the measurement model’s discriminant validity [93].

The second approach has also employed the cross-loading criteria to establish discriminatory validity in the present investigation. Indicator loading on a certain latent construct is expected to be larger than loading on all other latent constructs by row, as determined by this approach. In other words, their construct indicators should have a loading greater than any competing construct loading.

Table 8. Cross-loadings of measured items.

Barriers	Management	Social	Standards	Knowledge
B15	0.804	0.707	0.611	0.702
B14	0.842	0.608	0.649	0.57
B11	0.943	0.808	0.826	0.748
B21	0.904	0.849	0.829	0.74
B25	0.858	0.78	0.714	0.638
B26	0.861	0.68	0.579	0.553
B27	0.894	0.865	0.7	0.707
B28	0.931	0.859	0.736	0.698
B30	0.885	0.884	0.819	0.778
B13	0.703	0.788	0.621	0.55
B16	0.784	0.903	0.824	0.834
B17	0.783	0.864	0.607	0.747
B18	0.754	0.878	0.715	0.803
B22	0.884	0.935	0.784	0.677
B23	0.781	0.882	0.83	0.65
B29	0.89	0.906	0.724	0.692
B4	0.687	0.86	0.751	0.742
B12	0.704	0.779	0.855	0.71
B10	0.711	0.667	0.85	0.717
B20	0.778	0.797	0.891	0.759
B24	0.753	0.791	0.901	0.653
B5	0.622	0.655	0.859	0.634
B6	0.696	0.688	0.913	0.641
B1	0.748	0.728	0.852	0.814
B19	0.812	0.732	0.706	0.861
B2	0.563	0.685	0.749	0.863
B3	0.771	0.777	0.699	0.921
B7	0.72	0.693	0.653	0.907
B8	0.576	0.685	0.694	0.896
B9	0.639	0.709	0.761	0.827

shows that the allocated latent construct has a larger loading than any cross-loading construct (by row). The results demonstrated that each build was very uni-dimensional.

Path Model Validation

After confirming that the obstacles to sustainability adoption constitute a formative construct, we investigate collinearity among the construct’s formative objects by calculating the variable inflation factor (VIF). Given that no VIF is over 3.5, each subdomain contributes uniquely to the higher-order structures. The importance of the route coefficients is also predicted using a bootstrapping method. As can be seen in Figure 2 and Figure 3, all of the pathways are significantly different from zero [94].

6. Discussion

There is an urgent need to move toward sustainability in all facets of business, including construction projects, if we want to realize long-term economic rewards while protecting the built environment [8]. Much focus in recent years has been placed on incorporating sustainability into a wide range of fields and methods. However, a survey of existing research reveals a dearth of coverage of construction projects, especially residential facilities. This is a serious issue because the building sector accounts for close to 40% of world CO₂ emissions and 41% of global energy consumption [11]. Regardless of these realities, however, incorporating sustainability into construction project management methods has been extremely gradual, with results that are far from satisfying [12]. This reflects the effects of impediments, which have hampered efforts to make sustainable construction project practices the norm.

Effective implementation of sustainable parameters will go a long way to improve the general well-being of society. Thus, the current study indicates that knowledge, social standards and management factors strongly influence the implementation of sustainability. As noted in previous studies [47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60], these serve as barriers. Regarding barriers, management factors strongly impacted sustainable implementation with an impact factor of 0.328. This study serves as a basis for management to critically set the pace for the implementation in residential buildings. Thus, management’s role in sustainability implementation reigns supreme in the current studies, among other factors.

The second significant construct was social issues, which also impact the implementation of sustainability in residential building projects. Thus, integrating social measures remains imperative for successfully implementing sustainable parameters in residential buildings. Social norms and beliefs cannot be underestimated if meaningful gains are to be made in this direction. It is worth noting that the lack of sustainable innovation in residential buildings is subject to societal concepts and values. Therefore, society has its way of life and standards regarding cultural values, which must be considered in implementing innovative ideas. Thus, it will be necessary to engage the majority of people in the society.

More so, knowledge and standards have become the primary basis for implementing sustainability measures in any field or sector. Therefore, it is unsurprising that two primary constructs were also barriers to the implementation of sustainable building practices in residential housing. Thus, local knowledge and low-level knowledge are the banes of sustainable practice implementation. Societal resistance to new things has been experienced in most fields. There is a need to embrace sustainability measures through training professionals and relating the benefits to potential clients in the industry. Furthermore, the lack of proper standards will make the implementation of sustainable practices difficult. Hence, policymakers need to develop the necessary strategies or legislation for its integration into residential and other buildings.

6.1. Managerial Consequences

Rearranging the obstacles to the adoption of sustainable measures can help produce a “roadmap” that stakeholders such as project owners and contractors can follow to overcome the barriers and embrace sustainability in the construction sector. Additionally, a standard for a practical framework for the effective transformation of construction participants through sustainable phases and activities may be established due to this reorganisation. The research results will help Ghana get closer to its goal of creating a prosperous, environmentally sustainable economy that can compete successfully in global markets. This research’s findings can also inspire the implementation of sustainable practices in construction projects in other developing countries [95]. Since developing nations have many more obstacles to overcome, such as paying for expensive environmental solutions, this is especially important there [96]. These nations may have the chance to incorporate performance into the design methods of construction projects if they follow sustainable practices [97,98]. However, this research makes a substantial contribution that has significant consequences for the construction sector in the following ways:

• It provides a database of connected aspects with sustainability criteria to help businesses determine how to remain competitive and successful in a global market.
• It helps owners, consultants, and contractors evaluate and decide on sustainable practices to improve construction projects’ consistency, efficiency, and effectiveness.
• It presents empirical evidence that might help Ghana and other developing countries adopt sustainability by lowering the hurdles.
• The United Kingdom, the United States, Hong Kong, Australia, and other countries, including Malaysia, China, and Saudi Arabia, have been the primary foci of sustainability and sustainability research in the building industry. As a result, there is a dearth of literature on sustainability in developing countries and no studies focusing on its application in the Ghanaian construction sector. Consequently, our study has effectively established a bridge between sustainability and the Ghanaian construction sector. This paves the way for a robust conversation on sustainability as a tool for improving the safety of local construction projects and closing a knowledge gap.
• The results of this study can help improve the sustainability of future construction in Ghana. Our research explains why sustainability initiatives are implemented to reduce wasteful spending and ensure that resources are allocated fairly amongst different projects. This way, everyone involved in the project can concentrate on its budget, schedule, and efficacy to achieve its goals. Achieving a high level of success in a project has a beneficial effect in the long run.
• The findings of this study may also be used as a standard by which future projects can be measured, as well as a roadmap for minimising the difficulties inherent in their implementation. Things such as budget overruns, finishing projects on time, and vague requirements all made the list. In addition, business owners and managers may use this study’s findings to understand better how incorporating sustainable practices might contribute to the success of their initiatives.

6.2. Implications for Theory

While sustainable concept creation is not new [99], it appears to play an increasingly important role in many businesses [100]. One way to overcome obstacles to implementing sustainable concepts is the recommended prioritization research. In order to overcome these obstacles, this research proposes a new approach to implementing sustainability policies. Understanding these obstacles will help resolve the existing challenges of introducing sustainable practices into the Ghanaian construction sector. Similarly, our research will help bridge the gap between sustainable theory and practice. To the best of our knowledge, however, no studies have examined the obstacles to implementing sustainability practices in the Ghanaian building sector. As a first step, this research uses empirical methods to pinpoint the main obstacles to sustainability, which may be used to understand better how to introduce these principles into the building sector. Researchers, especially those in construction management, might use this data to investigate the sustainability challenges in third-world nations. This analysis’s theoretical components provide a quantitative basis for locating the sustainability hurdles that may be used in Ghana and other developing countries.

7. Conclusions

Sustainable building principles should be included at every step of the planning process for maximum benefit without compromising the structure’s intended function. Significant expenditures and in-depth knowledge are required to overcome the difficulties of incorporating sustainable concepts into housing construction projects. In a developing nation such as Ghana (where resources are few), it is crucial to concentrate on removing the largest barriers. There are a lot of possible barriers. In order to prioritize the areas to be addressed, this article ranked them in order of significance. To explore further, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to categorize these barriers into four groups (management, standards, society and knowledge). Following this, PLS-SEM was used to confirm how they relate to one another as barriers to sustainability in residential building projects.

Therefore, this study has contributed significantly to the growing knowledge of sustainable construction practices. Understanding of this nature will go a long way to improving sustainable practices in developing nations. Thus, findings from the current study will serve as the basis for further studies in sustainable residential buildings, which appears to be neglected in the body of knowledge. Additionally, this study triggers the call on policymakers in Ghana’s construction industry to formulate necessary regulations to implement sustainability, to reduce costs and increase sustainability.

8. Limitation and Future Direction

Despite the fact that this study greatly advances knowledge and practice, it still has many areas that need further investigation. Despite these restrictions, the research achieved its goals and went above and beyond what was anticipated. In total, 33 people answered, and their responses were used in the data analysis. Another significant impact may be demonstrated with a larger sample. However, the problem with smaller samples may be solved by employing the PLS measurement technique. In this analysis, the three types of respondents (owner, consultants, and contractor) were referred to as a homogeneous group. Future studies should strive to simulate the relationships between the various user groups in the business. Future research is advised to forecast the effect on other performance facets. The following concepts have been proposed to establish an effective and practical application of sustainable construction to produce successful projects in light of the study’s findings:

• The study’s findings will give owners or employers a better understanding of the significant obstacles to adoption of sustainability. It is crucial to inform construction stakeholders on the concepts, theories, and models used in the adoption phase of the safety program.
• The technical building organizations in Ghana should plan frequent sustainability implementation learning programs for its members and include them in their individualized training exams.
• Additionally, the government is crucial in the creation and upkeep of laws and regulations for the many industries that make up the nation. Therefore, by developing rules, laws, and policies that would support the country’s employment of safety programs in building projects, the government may aid in promoting their acceptance.
• At the corporate level, construction companies cannot adopt sustainability implementation without the guidance of senior management, nor can their employees be taught about it. Furthermore, in order to ensure full compliance, appropriate implementation processes outlined in this report for standards must be developed.
• Notwithstanding the clear contributions of this study, the current study did not address the issues with drivers that can curb the identified barriers. Hence further studies can look at critical drivers of sustainability in residential building projects. Although the current studies also concentrated on Ghana, it is worth noting that findings can be generally applied in other developing nations with similar economic conditions.