Analyzing Barriers to Sustainable Enterprise Risk Management in the Construction Sector: A Delphi Method and Interpretive Structural Modeling Approach

Although sustainability has become a central concern in project management research, its integration into enterprise risk practices in construction remains limited. This study investigates the complex set of barriers preventing effective implementation of Sustainable Enterprise Risk Management (SERM) within the construction industry of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). SERM focuses on maintaining the system’s long-term effectiveness, adaptability, and resilience. As projects across the region expand in scale and complexity, the need for resilient and sustainability-aligned risk practices has become increasingly urgent. To address this gap, a structured four-stage methodology was adopted. A Systematic Literature Review identified 28 potential barriers, which were refined through a Delphi process to 16 validated barriers. Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) and MICMAC analysis were then used to explore their hierarchical relationships and mutual influence. The ISM–MICMAC results showed that weak governance and limited organizational awareness reinforce communication and procedural challenges, while technology-related constraints remain highly dependent within the hierarchy. The sixteen barriers were categorized under four dimensions: leadership, culture, resources, and technology to clarify their structural relationships and dominant influence levels. Among these, the lack of senior management commitment (C01) emerged as the most influential barrier, exerting the strongest driving power (16) and lowest dependence (1), positioning it as the root cause affecting the rest. These findings highlight the need for leadership-driven strategies to embed long-term sustainability within organizational risk governance. The study offers practical direction for policymakers, contractors, and project leaders seeking to strengthen resilience and sustainable risk practices in the UAE construction sector.