Than'a Alsaoudi, Adolf Acquaye
The construction industry is a major contributor to resource consumption and construction and demolition waste (CDW), increasing pressure to transition from linear delivery models toward circular economy (CE) practices. Digital technologies are widely promoted as key enablers of this transition. However, empirical understanding of how digital–circular integration is implemented in practice remains limited, particularly across project lifecycles and within rapidly developing contexts. This study addresses this gap by empirically examining digital–circular integration in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) construction industry. Adopting a qualitative research design, the study draws on semi-structured interviews with 18 construction professionals who are involved in digitalization, sustainability, project delivery, and governance. The findings indicate that digital technologies such as building information modeling, digital twins, and data-driven technologies enable circular practices by enhancing material visibility. They also support waste recovery and facilitate lifecycle-oriented decision-making. At the same time, digital–circular integration is contingent on socio-technical conditions, including leadership commitment, early stakeholder engagement, data governance, and procurement practices. Fragmented digital systems and cost-driven decision-making were found to constrain circular outcomes. The study further identifies intentional, emergent, and hybrid digital–circular integration pathways through which practices evolve across construction project lifecycles. Building on these insights, an empirically grounded roadmap is developed to support practitioners and policymakers in operationalizing digital–circular integration in the construction industry. The study advances a socio-technical understanding of digital–circular integration and provides context-specific empirical insights relevant to the UAE and similar construction markets.