Digital platforms for circular construction

Abstract

Digital platforms are increasingly promoted as key enablers of circular construction, yet empirical insight remains limited into incumbent supply chain actors’ needs and experiences with these platforms as emerging intermediaries. Addressing this gap, this study examines the perceptions of supply chain actors operating within the Dutch construction sector, drawing on 18 semi-structured interviews, a focus group workshop, and observations from two national circular digital transition programs. Building on existing research, digital platforms are conceptualized not merely as technical infrastructures, but as intermediaries embedded within existing supply chain practices and coordination arrangements, forming triadic relationships between supply and demand actors. Accordingly, the analysis is structured according to different intermediation needs across material flows, support flows, and systemic coordination. The findings indicate that digital platforms are widely expected to enhance supply-demand visibility and matchmaking, support compliance with evolving circularity-related KPIs, and facilitate cross-sector coordination. However, their adoption and perceived value vary substantially across actors, product types, and supply chain configurations, with persistent challenges in coordinating material logistics, accounting for environmental and social externalities and managing evolving platform power dynamics. The study contributes to construction management and circular supply chain research by advancing the concept of intermediaries for examining how digital platforms shape circular transitions. It further highlights the importance of more context-sensitive platform design and governance arrangements that respond to diverse intermediation needs and underlying platform dynamics in the transition to circular construction.