Advancing Sustainable Building Construction Through Immersive Digital Technologies: Towards Digital Transformation in the Nigerian Context

Rapid urbanisation and resource constraints necessitate the adoption of sustainable construction practices in developing economies, yet empirical evidence on the effectiveness of digital technologies remains limited. This study develops and validates an integrated framework to evaluate the contribution of immersive digital technologies to sustainable construction performance in Nigeria. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire survey of 353 construction professionals across Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt. Key constructs—immersive technologies (Building Information Modelling, Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality), sustainability outcomes, and adoption barriers were measured using multi-item Likert-scale indicators adapted from prior studies. The data were analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), which was selected for its suitability in handling complex models and for prediction-oriented analysis. The measurement model demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity, with average variance extracted (AVE) and composite reliability (CR) values ranging from 0.62 to 0.88. The structural model explained a substantial proportion of variance in sustainable construction outcomes (R2 = 0.89), with all hypothesised relationships statistically significant (p < 0.01). Immersive technologies showed strong positive effects (β = 0.63–0.82), while barriers such as high costs, limited technical expertise, and inadequate infrastructure constrained adoption. This study’s findings indicate the significant potential of immersive technologies to support sustainable construction in developing economies.