Barriers to living walls implementation in Saudi Arabian sustainable construction projects: A PLS-SEM approach

To maximize financial benefits and sustainability throughout a project’s lifecycle, the construction industry must move beyond the partial implementation of living wall (LW). While the existing literature has focused on LW drivers, there is a lack of comprehensive evidence regarding implementation barriers. This study prioritizes and assesses the LW implementation barriers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) building industry. Data were collected via an expert survey and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The model demonstrated robust internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability meeting the required thresholds, and average variance extracted values exceeding the 0.50 (50%) requirement. Based on the second-order analysis, the identified LW barriers were found to be formative, but collinearity was assessed and found to be within the acceptable thresholds (VIF < 3.5), ensuring the distinct contribution of each formative indicator. The path model results showed that awareness and economic barriers ( β = 0.278), integration and complexity barriers (β = 0.303), operational and behavioral barriers (β = 0.380), and resource and structural barriers (β = 0.372) significantly impede LW implementation (all p ≤ 0.001). Conversely, maintenance and technical barriers (β = 0.097) were not significant ( p = 0.227), indicating their minimal impact compared with the other model constructs. These findings provide policy guidance concerning LW adoption in the KSA and other Gulf nations, facilitating the completion of projects by removing the barriers to LW implementation and enhancing their overall success.