Purpose Circular economy (CE) knowledge management (KM) has been identified as a promising solution to enhance CE adoption in construction and demolition (C&D) waste management (WM). Yet designers' low motivation in CE KM limits its effective uptake. This study examines the underlying motivational factors driving designers to manage CE knowledge regarding C&D WM in the Australian building industry. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory sequential mixed-method design was used for data collection. 19 preliminary interviews with design experts in the Australian building industry were first conducted and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis to identify the motivations. A questionnaire survey was next conducted to identify significant motivations and examine underlying motivational factors and 128 completed responses were received. Descriptive statistics, relative importance index and exploratory factor analysis were used to analyse the quantitative data. Findings 20 motivations were identified, with seven new CE KM motivations in the C&D WM sector. All 20 items were scored as significant, with professional commitment to environmental stewardship ranked as the highest motivation. Four underlying factors were derived as professional commitment to CE, ability for strategic marketing, requirements for organisational growth and project performance management, explaining 61.05% of total variance. Practical implications These findings provide novel insights for designers and policymakers in the construction industry to enhance CE KM, empowering motivational factors. By framing motivational factors, this study contributes to sustainable development goals (SDGs) 4, 8, 12 and 13. Originality/value This study provides the first in-depth investigation of motivational factors that can enhance CE KM by design professionals regarding C&D WM.
Nadeetharu et al. (Mon,) studied this question.