A multi-actor perspective on barriers to sustainable innovation in the asphalt paving sector

Despite global initiatives promoting sustainability in road construction, the asphalt paving sector encounters challenges in adopting innovative solutions. To better understand which and how barriers hinder the implementation of sustainable innovation, this study perceives the sector as a connected system. To understand how barriers are embedded in a connected system and how this is perceived differently across actor groups, we apply Total Interpretive Structural Modeling (TISM) from a Multi-Actor Perspective (MaP). Using TISM, we develop a hierarchical structure of sustainable innovation barriers and cluster them, first for the entire sector, and then for different actor groups: government, market and third-sector. This approach allows for a more nuanced examination of how barriers are perceived by different actor groups in the innovation system. The analysis reveals that a lack of trust and information exchange are high-level barriers hindering the implementation of sustainable engineering solutions. Addressing linking barriers, such as a lack of knowledge, system monitoring, and access to testing locations, can simultaneously alleviate multiple hurdles because of the barriers’ interconnectedness. By combining TISM with MaP, this study moves beyond traditional innovation analyses to reveal how barriers are embedded within a broader system and how actor-specific perceptions shape the implementation landscape. In doing so, it offers a more comprehensive understanding of systemic misalignments and identifies entry points for coordinated action toward sustainable innovation.