This Special Issue aims to contribute to the literature on the value of digitalization and digital transformation in the built environment. Value can be understood as benefits for individuals, organizations, and wider socio-technical systems (Oesterreich and Teuteberg, 2016; Anker Jensen, 2010; Vigren and Eriksson, 2025; Ebbesen and Bonke, 2014; Nyoni et al., 2023). It may be assessed quantitatively through efficiency gains, financial indicators, and key performance indicators (KPIs), or qualitatively through perceived improvements in work practices, decision-making, sustainability performance, and service quality. The Special Issue seeks to identify established and emerging use cases and examine their implications for efficiency, effectiveness, sustainability, and value creation. It also explores why actors adopt digital technologies, how value is conceptualized and measured, and what empirically observed impacts these technologies generate.

We invite contributions from a wide range of disciplines, including facility management, architecture, building engineering, environmental sciences, finance, business and organizational studies, ICT, service design, and policy. Submissions may include case studies, comparative pre- and post-adoption analyses, methodological frameworks, and evidence-based evaluations, offering both qualitative and quantitative insights. Collectively, these contributions will provide a coherent, evidence-based overview of the value of digital technologies in the built environment.

Precast concrete element (PCE) reuse is a promising strategy for reducing construction emissions, but its economic feasibility remains a barrier to wider adoption. While technical and value creation aspects are studied, microeconomic conditions remain underexplored. This study identifies economic boundary conditions under which PCE reuse is economically viable. A supply chain-based economic framework is developed to compare demolition, reuse, and virgin material pathways. The analysis draws on 54 academic, industry, and project documents interpreted through economic theories. Reuse is driven by tradeoffs between avoided disposal and material costs and higher deconstruction, logistics, storage, and coordination costs. Economic viability is context-dependent. Wider adoption requires sufficient supply of and demand for reusable elements, and cost management. Future research should focus on cost structures, regulation, technological change, and supply chain dynamics to support investment and policy decisions.

Purpose: This article proposes a Multilayer Network (MLN) model for studying business ecosystems. The model focuses on the flows of products, services and money between buyers and sellers, emphasizing that these flows form both actor-level and emergent system-level ecosystem structures. Design/methodology/approach: The article examines two case studies of real estate owners and their suppliers, using financial transaction data to provide a detailed, data-driven view of business ecosystems. Findings: The study advances real estate theory by deepening research on the digitalization of real estate owners, especially on their enterprise architectures and supplier networks. Despite size differences, both case firms have similar, complex supplier-network structures. The findings may inform enterprise architecture management and procurement practices in the real estate sector. Originality/value: The MLN model defines terminology for ecosystem layers and provides methods for establishing ecosystem boundaries. This aligns with the micro-level critique in management and ecosystems research. We conclude by highlighting that event data, when available, can enhance future business ecosystem analysis by enabling the study of broader ecosystem structures with the MLN model.

Background and aim. The reuse of Precast Concrete Elements (PCEs) offers a promising method to reduce emissions in construction. However, economic feasibility remains a significant barrier to widespread implementation. While technical challenges and value creation within supply chains have been explored, limited research addresses the economic aspects.

Methods and Data. This study constructs a supply chain model to compare standard demolition, PCE reuse, and construction with virgin materials. We investigate economic factors influencing building owners’ decisions to donate or sell PCEs, building buyers’ choices to use reclaimed materials, and the profitability of individual actors and the overall supply chain. Using 54 data sources, we identify cost and profitability drivers and analyze key decisions through economic theory and cost management perspectives.

Findings. Building owners have strong incentives to donate or sell PCEs for reuse, while buyers' decisions are highly context-dependent. Key costs in PCE reuse include deconstruction, refurbishment, storage, and transportation, while cost reduction drivers stem from savings on landfill fees, material costs and production costs. Long-term profitability depends on economies of scale, new markets, and innovation.

Implications. Investments can already focus on the most promising opportunities, but further research on cost structures, regulatory impacts, technological innovations, and supply chain dynamics is essential to guide decisions. Economies of scale, learning curves, and technological advancements offer significant potential to improve economic feasibility.

The report aims to highlight the opportunities and challenges of digitalization in property management and is relevant to both property owners and other actors in the sector. It focuses on three themes: property owners' drivers for digitalization, their organizational capabilities, and their role as clients. By analyzing research, industry reports, and workshops, the report provides a comprehensive mapping of key issues that need to be prioritized in future project phases. The role of property owners is emphasized as central, as their digitalization capacity impacts the entire supply chain, making the report relevant for the sector's continued development.

The lack of affordable housing is a longstanding global challenge. Addressing this issue requires not only technical solutions but also new social practices – social innovation. This article explores the role of social innovation in increasing access to affordable housing through a theory-focused literature review. We find that the concepts often lack clarity and theoretical grounding, making it difficult to measure innovation outcomes or guide practical implementation. We adopt the social innovation ecosystem framework developed by Audretsch et al. (2022) and discuss policy, finance, culture, supports, human capital, and market perspectives. We propose an expanded version of the framework, adapted specifically for affordable housing. It introduces two key additions: explicit identification of the social innovator and the integration of spatial concepts—space and place—to capture the inherently local nature of housing initiatives. This contribution aims to advance both social innovation theory and housing research, while also informing policy and practice.

This paper presents a research agenda for Social Network Analysis (SNA) in Digitalization in Sustainable Built Environment research (DSBE). The paper contains a description of SNA, and reviews the use of SNA in DSBE research. Also, the paper identifies future research challenges that SNA can help resolve. A literature review of DSBE finds that of 506 articles in 36 journals, only 1 article includes SNA. This is surprising, given the growing interest in SNA in digitally related fields. We review the 506 DSBE articles and analyze how SNA can contribute to the field. To understand how SNA can be used in DSBE research, we also analyze how SNA has been applied in Digitalization in Built Environment research that is not focused on sustainability. Findings are that SNA can be a useful and powerful tool, because it can help in analysis of how multiple actors interact, which is a common theme in built environment research. An example is that architects, contractors, and developers are separate actor groups that can improve sustainable solutions through networked cooperation. Another area in which SNA can advance research is in the study of how actor networks of companies or people relate to networks of data or physical buildings or sensors. An example is that actors may change their behavior based on sensor data, and SNA can study sensor data networks and actor behavior networks as interconnected layers. Methodological advances are key to advancing research to meet sustainability challenges. Specifically, SNA can make it possible for the built environment area to advance sustainability and digitalization research, because SNA has a rich array of empirical and conceptual tools for the study of networks.

Purpose: This article focuses on the complex relationship between digital technologies (DTs) and Facility Management (FM), aiming to develop frameworks to systematically integrate DTs into FM organizations and services.

Design/methodology/approach: We conducted workshops with academics and industry representatives, focusing on (i) the classification and conceptualization of DT applications in FM, (ii) the effects of DT on FM, and (iii) the standardization and scaling of DTs within organizations and across the industry.

Findings: This article, classifies DTs from the perspectives of information systems, business development, and the value chain. This article identifies key technology considerations, including positive and negative effects, risks and myths, barriers and enablers, and coping strategies. This article addresses opportunities and challenges related to the standardization and scaling of DTs.

Practical implications: The conceptualizations co-created by industry and academia help establish a relevant research agenda and support the implementation of DTs.

Originality/value: These categorizations advance the understanding of DTs in FM and lay a foundation for further research.

The architecture, engineering and construction sector has long been known for its traditional methods and slow adoption of innovations. However, technologies such as Internet of Things, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and robotics have led to significantly increased development and use of innovative tools and processes in the architecture, engineering and construction sector. This article presents the results of an explorative online survey of the sector's entrepreneurial ecosystem carried out in spring 2023. It aims to identify the most promising technologies, quantify their potential, and investigate the dynamics of startups' collaboration with academia. The results show that most startups focus on addressing the construction phase (76.1%) of the building life cycle, while only 15.9% deal with the end-of-life phase. Developed technologies most commonly include Data analytics and Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. While 64% of startups consider collaboration with academia important, respondents identified several barriers and challenges of collaborating, such as bureaucracy and time-consuming processes. We conclude with a discussion on entrepreneurial ecosystems and academia-startup collaboration.

Digitalization in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) sector is slow due to significant challenges in technology adoption. The study aims to promote technology adoption by advancing the understanding of digital technologies in the AEC sector. This article presents the findings from a quantitative scoping review, encompassing 3950 technology-related abstracts retrieved from the Scopus database, providing a preliminary assessment of literature size, geographic innovation hotspots, research gaps, and key concepts in the AEC field. The results show that Building Information Modelling (1852 studies) dominates the literature, while topics like 3D Printing (311) and Internet of Things (227) are gaining traction. China (687 publications) and the United States (566) produce most research articles. Despite the increasing interest in emerging technologies, their implementation often necessitates acquiring specific skill sets. Academia needs to put a stronger focus on these technologies in education and tighter collaboration with the industry is needed.