In the built environment sector, smart contract technology—an exemplar of blockchain technology—holds significant potential to enhance both pre- and post-contract administration. It can improve transparency, trust, and data transaction security within the sector, which is crucial given the industry’s complexity, proneness to disputes, and the need for sophisticated contract management. However, the adoption of smart contract applications faces notable challenges, particularly in developing countries like Nigeria. A key gap exists in academic literature regarding smart contract use in Nigeria’s construction industry, with limited exploration of its relevance, adoption barriers, and mitigation strategies.

To address this gap, a research team comprising scholars from institutions including the University of Johannesburg, Universiti Sains Malaysia, and the Nigerian Institute of Management conducted a study titled “Smart Contract Applications in the Built Environment: How Prepared are Nigerian Construction Stakeholders?”

This study employed a qualitative research approach, conducting 14 semistructured virtual interviews with Nigerian construction stakeholders—encompassing project management practitioners, senior construction company management, construction dispute resolution experts, construction software professionals, and government construction agency representatives—in Lagos and Abuja (major commercial and construction hubs). Data saturation was achieved, and thematic analysis was used to analyze interview findings. The research identified the relevance of smart contract technology, key barriers to its adoption, and targeted mitigation measures.

Regarding relevance, smart contracts enable decentralization (reducing reliance on intermediaries), automate processes (e.g., payment execution), cut administrative costs, enhance payment security and transparency, and boost productivity and profitability for construction enterprises.

Twelve major barriers to adoption were identified, with recurring issues including identity theft and data leakage (high cybersecurity risks), communication and synchronization challenges, high computational expenses, lack of driving impetus (resistance to change), excessive electricity consumption, complex implementation processes, and the absence of both universally applicable and localized legal frameworks for smart contracts.

To mitigate these barriers, ten measures were proposed, with critical actions including using trusted entity data (to address cybersecurity risks), enhancing understanding of cybersecurity and smart contract code, clarifying implementation complexity and deployment costs, establishing an applicable legal framework for smart contracts, and revising regulations to encourage industry adoption. Additionally, solutions like fog computing (edge computing) to reduce computational and synchronization issues, and promoting Python3 to address programming language limitations, were highlighted.

Extensive validation through stakeholder insights and alignment with existing academic research confirm the study’s findings. As a pioneering empirical investigation into Nigerian construction stakeholders’ preparedness for smart contracts, it fills theoretical gaps and offers practical guidance. It not only underscores smart contracts’ value in the built environment but also provides actionable strategies to overcome adoption hurdles, supporting Nigeria’s construction sector digitalization and productivity improvement.

The paper “Smart Contract Applications in the Built Environment: How Prepared are Nigerian Construction Stakeholders?” is authored by Andrew EBEKOZIEN, Clinton AIGBAVBOA, Samuel Adeniyi ADEKUNLE, Mohamad Shaharudin SAMSURIJAN, John ALIU, Bernard Martins ARTHUR-AIDOO, and Godpower Chinyeru AMADI. Full text of the open access paper: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42524-023-0275-z.