1 Introduction

Notable transformations that occurred in different industries and lifestyles prove that the world is accepting Industry 4.0 faster. Irani (2002) mentioned that investment in information systems is a crucial decision, and a compelling investment through logical evaluation provides cutthroat advantages. The fourth revolution has provided better and latest ways of handling the challenges of business. Changes incorporated in the product life cycle, performance rate, production process, and risk management are numerous benefits provided by techniques of “Industry 4.0”. Khoumbati et al. (2006) examined the possibilities of “Industry 4.0” in logistics in the context of economy, human resources, and business operations.

Modern technologies such as “Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, 3D printing, Internet of Things, Augmented reality, sensors, and intelligent objects” have provided the most efficient business solutions to complex problems and challenges in different industries (Rahimian et al. 2021; Chauhan et al. 2021; Kumar et al. 2022; Rajput and Singh 2019). Therefore, developing nations focus on learning through innovative technologies instead of borrowing from developed nations, i.e., using ‘borrowed’ technology (Matos Camarinha et al. 2022).

Technologies of Industry 4.0 have created values by providing additional benefits like low manpower cost, modernized business operations, low inventory instability, and high transparency in logistic operations. Flexibility, quality standards, efficiency, and other benefits can all be seen as outcomes of Industry 4.0. As a result, businesses can fulfill client requests while also creating value. Targets of maximizing profit have attracted industries to implement technologies of Industry 4.0. Therefore, industries have started transforming their processes using the “Industry 4.0” techniques to develop high power, problem-solving and rationalized organization operations. However, the greed for optimizing cost has resulted in ignoring the impacts on the triple bottom line, an aspect of sustainability.

Triple Bottom Line was stamped by Elkington (1994) to present his idea of sustainability in an advanced way. He wrote: “Sustainable development involves the simultaneous pursuit of economic prosperity, environmental quality, and social equity”. Elkington elaborated his statement by saying that corporations must prioritize sustainable development and include methods to promote social development and environmental standards along with financial enrichment. Davenport (1994) concluded that infrastructures should be designed to support broad business operations and technical advancements considering organizational goals. Therefore, advancements in technologies, with the rise of the 4th Industrial Revolution, have provided extremely logical models for developing solutions for operations and supply chains (MacDougall 2014). The construction industry, in the integration of the latest technologies of the fourth industrial revolution with intelligent business models, is coined “Construction-4.0”. Therefore, construction 4.0 acts as a skeleton to digitally design complex models, developing the latest models for recycling, reconstructing, and creating contemporary attractions.

The article offers a platform to systematically understand various elements linked with sustainable application of “Industry 4.0” in construction. It would help researchers to suggest compatible models and stakeholders to develop effective strategies in improvising business processes.

2 Literature review

A literature review is a valid approach for reviewing thoroughly and structuring a research area. A literature study directs the development of the theory and aids in determining the conceptual substance of the research field (Meredith 1993). Researchers and stakeholders are focusing on modern methods to meet sustainability targets. Maqbool et al. (2023) investigated modern methods of construction for the United Kingdom’s construction industry and revealed that the technologies of Industry 4.0 support the most for greenhouse emissions and achieving international trade targets. Robayo-Salazar et al. (2023) also showcased the benefits and possibilities of 3D printing in the construction industry. However, the study is limited only to the United States, Europe, and Asia. El Hajj et al. (2023) highlighted that “technological and financial factors are the main barriers to implementing BIM in the UAE”. According to Kurniawan et al. (2023), the rise of digital technologies has helped in empowering and transforming construction waste, however, lots of possibilities are still unexplored in the Industry. Demirkesen and Tezel (2022) identified “Resistance to change, unclear benefits and gains and cost of implementation” as significant hurdles in the acceptance of Industry 4.0 adoption in the construction industry. Navaratnam et al. (2022) underlined the “economic, technical, practical, cultural and sustainability aspects” of prefabricated methods of construction. Newman et al. (2021) presented a case study of the United Kingdom reviving the potential of upcoming technologies like “Building Information Modeling (BIM)” in the construction industry, and findings mentioned that limited application of these digital technologies is due to ineffective managerial strategies. According to Fathalizadeh et al. (2022), “Lack of understanding of the potential benefits, insufficient cooperation among practitioners, research institutions and environmental organizations and lack of a systematic approach to pursuing sustainability goals” are the most dominating barriers in achieving sustainable goals in the construction industry. Papa (2021) conducted a study on a real-life Municipal Solid Waste Management System (MSWMS) in India using IOT. Application of modern technologies like “data analytics and artificial intelligence, robotics and automation, building information management, sensors, and wearable, digital twin, and industrial connectivity” is showcased by Turner et al. (2020), and outlined a research proposal for effective application of digital techniques in the construction industry. Müller et al. (2018), also proposed a research model for the effective implementation of Industry 4.0 in the construction industry, and “partial least square structural equation modeling” was undertaken to validate the model. Findings revealed that strategic, social, and environmental are primary drivers, whereas Industrial aggression and potentiality can be major challenges for the implementation of Industry 4.0 along with sustainability. Nowotarski and Paslawski (2017) performed an analysis that shows that major examination is still required in different areas of the construction industry. Findings revealed that no such modernized approach is available to effectively adopt Industry 4.0. Oesterreich and Teuteberg (2016) studied political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal implications and proposed the “PESTEL framework and a value chain model” in the acceptance of Industry 4.0 in the construction industry. However, contemporary work related to research in the application of Industry 4.0 technologies in the construction industry is shown in Table 1.

Table 1 Contemporary work of Industry 4.0 technologies in construction industry
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3 Research methodology

The study is structured using four methodological conduct recommended by Kitchenham (2004), namely “Data collection, descriptive analysis, category selection, and Data evaluation”. Research flow model considered for the study illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1
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Research methodology framework

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3.1 Data collection

Research articles from more than 27 publications (including journals, conference reports, and books) are sorted to understand the perspective of Industry 4.0 and the triple bottom line. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis method is adopted for reviewing and systematic analyses of articles. It is classified into four stages wherein first Phase, different databases like “Google Scholar, web of Science, Science Direct, and SCOPUS” are established. In the second Phase, scrutiny of 228 articles is performed based on title and abstract and by applying query and Boolean operators. Keywords like “CONSTRUCTION 4.0” OR “INTELLIGENT CONSTRUCTION,” “INDUSTRIES 4.0” OR “TECHNOLOGIES 4.0”, “SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT” OR “SUSTAINABILITY” are selected based on visualization of VOS viewer software (Fig. 4). Moreover, in the visualization, nodes with more surrounding keywords and higher frequencies appear in a deeper color, which signifies the integration of advanced digital technologies with long-term sustainability goals within the construction industry.

In the third Phase, after applying inclusion criteria such as journal, document type, and language, a sample of 197 articles is obtained. The 4th Phase involves screening of eligible research articles to obtain final samples. After eliminating 11 duplicates and 30 articles related to other industries like manufacturing, energy and agriculture etc. based on title, abstract and findings, 156 articles were recognized as most relevant in terms of Industry 4.0 technologies considering sustainability parameters. Figure 2 demonstrates the schema of the literature review.

Fig. 2
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Schema of literature review

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3.2 Descriptive analysis

The distribution of research contributions for the last few years over the map of the world is shown in Fig. 3. Most of the dominant research in the area of “Industry 4.0” and “sustainability” in the construction industry can be seen from countries in South east like Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore, while second, most research is available from countries of Western Asia like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, and Kuwait. North Eastern European Countries and South American countries, however, also have significant contributions, followed by continents of Eastern Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand. Distribution patterns also depict that developing countries from the continents of South Asia, North Africa, West Asia, Central America, and Middle Africa are also putting hard efforts into sustainably developing their construction industry using the digital technologies of “Industry 4.0”.

Fig. 3
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Research contribution of different nations in last few years

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Using VOS viewer software, 156 fully reviewed eligible articles are obtained to plot keyword co-occurrence density map. A higher number of keywords around the node signifies their finer frequency, represented by the intense yellow color shown in Fig. 4. The most prominent and reoccurring keywords used by researchers are “Industry 4.0, sustainability, sustainable development, construction 4.0”. Examination and analysis reveal that researchers and stakeholders are aiming to prioritize sustainability goals in the construction industry along with the implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies.

Fig. 4
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Co-occurrence density map of keywords

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3.3 Category selection

Content-based analysis helps in the systematically examination of qualitative data, which allows to formulate concepts per the researcher’s needs and interests (Haggarty 1996). Therefore, content based examination of the article emphasizes on detail analyses of categories like “enablers, barriers, challenges, opportunities and impact on triple bottom line” and outline the characteristics of same. The article targets on examination of different digital technologies of Industry 4.0 in construction industry and analyzed the various gaps based on above categories.

3.4 Material evaluation

Three researchers carried out validation tests simultaneously using logical and instinctive approaches. Three researchers review data banks and literature reviews to ensure the reliability and originality of the study. To analyze the reliability of the study, Krippendorff (2018) considered the inter-coder-reliability test as “the most general agreement measure with appropriate reliability interpretations” to analyze the reliability of the study. Neuendorf (2017) examined the findings of various researchers and concluded that alpha values of 0.80 or above are acceptable. Hence, the author and two independent observers forwarded the study using SPSS 22.0 along with the aid of Hayes and Krippendorff routines (2007). Reliabilities inter-coder values were obtained as αrc = 0.95 and αrg = 0.90, which significantly exceed 0.8. Therefore, the consistency and dependability of the study are reflected.

4 Detailed analyses of the literature

In this section literature review of selected articles are considered by analysis and their comprehensive view is presented to establish the current research gaps and future opportunities of research.

4.1 Industry 4.0 enablers

The construction industry plays a crucial role in blooming economy of the nation, especially in developing nations like India. Technologies of Industry 4.0 contribute in controlling environmental problems, increasing the performance of operations, and ethically improving in a sustainable manner. Therefore, based on an analysis of different research articles, Table 3 enlists the most efficacious enablers of Industry 4.0 that contribute to integrating construction with technologies of Industry 4.0 considering ethical, sustainable development.

4.2 Barriers in industry 4.0 adoption

The 4th Industrial Revolution majorly focuses on technologies that aid in making business operations more efficient and simultaneously achieving sustainability. Industries are making hard efforts to revolutionize their business processes in terms of digitalization and sustainability; however, they are not able to take advantage of globalization at the national and international levels due to the absence of elementary standards of Industry 4.0 and sustainability or the triple-bottom-line. Table 4 represents the view of previous studies that focused on a detailed study of barriers to accepting “Industry 4.0” along with sustainable operations.

4.3 Challenges and opportunities

The construction industry still exists as an industry with limited and minimum technological innovations due to numerous challenges. Therefore, it is very much essential to understand those demanding situations that resist the development of the construction industry in terms of technological advancements and sustainability parameters impacting the triple bottom line. The acceptance of Industry 4.0 technical innovations overcoming these challenges can generate wide opportunities to meet sustainability standards. Table 5 presents analyses of various challenges of different techniques of Industry 4.0 hired in the construction industry and also a view of wide opportunities associated with different technologies of “Industry 4.0” in the construction industry.

4.4 Impacts of “industry 4.0” technologies

Therefore, discussions have summarized Enablers, Barriers, Challenges, and Opportunities in the Context of Industry 4.0 Technologies. However, the study of the impact of these technologies on social, economic, and environmental pillars becomes critical for further expansion and development of Industry 4.0 in the context of Triple Bottom Line. Table 4 illustrates social, economic and environment impacts of Industry 4.0 technologies for further intense research.

5 Findings and research gap analysis

The study is based on an examination of previous research articles and a systematic literature review for the effective implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies in the construction industry in the integration of sustainability. Therefore, 156 research articles from 2015 to 2023 are investigated following the approach of Tranfield et al. (2003) and Kitchenham (2004) to offer knowledge and research opportunities for future scope. With regard to the literature review conducted on analyzing the potentials of Industry 4.0 in the construction industry meeting the objectives of triple bottom line an aspect of sustainability, the following findings and research gaps are identified:-

  • Table 2 illustrates two types of enablers i.e. technological enablers like Big data, block chain, additive manufacturing etc. whereas managerial enablers like rewards and incentives, corporate trainings, security and privacy etc. are most significant in major literature studies. But efforts to create sustainable and smart built environment by ranking these variables is still scrimpy.

  • As illustrated in Table 3, unemployment, Implementation cost, Insufficient support, lack of knowledge, absence of standards and norms, etc., are primary barriers. Factors like stakeholders' resistance and customer feedback are not discussed significantly.

  • Table 4 summarizes challenges like security, safety, environmental issues, etc., and opportunities like job opportunities, ease of work, improved living standards, etc., but literature studies lack in providing a relationship of opportunities with challenges for creating a smart, sustainable construction environment.

  • Table 5 outlines the social, economic, and environmental impacts of Industry 4.0 technologies to understand and develop a smart and sustainable construction environment, but no model/framework is available to analyze the degree of impact of Industry 4.0 technologies on the triple bottom line.

  • No stable framework has been proposed that can motivate companies to integrate their business processes with Industry 4.0 technologies for smart and cleaner construction.

Table 2 Most efficacious industry 4.0 enablers
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Table 3 Barriers in industry 4.0 technology adoption
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Table 4 Challenges and opportunities of industry 4.0 techniques
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Table 5 Impacts-industry 4.0 technologies
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Based on above findings and research gaps the study exposes future directions for effective research towards integrated innovative business processes.

6 Implications and future scope

Information technology plays a significant role in reengineering business operations (Gunasekaran and Nath 1997). The study focuses on integrating and abridging the gaps through unmarked opportunities of Industry 4.0 technologies in the construction industry, especially considering their impact on the triple bottom line. Therefore, findings contemplated in scholarly articles point fresh directions for an investigation into the potential research gaps considering sustainable technologies in the primary role. Based on the analysis of research gaps quoted above major implications are clear as follows:

  • The study offers integrations between Construction and Industry 4.0 Technologies to achieve better operational and environmental organizational results.

  • The study helps to integrate Industry 4.0 technologies in creating a smart and sustainable construction environment.

  • The study expands the potential to ensure good construction practices for health and productivity, preserving the environment and economic growth.

  • The study exposes research gaps from current research needed to accommodate for creating construction industry as smart and sustainable.

  • The study offers information to empirically test enablers, barriers, challenges, and opportunities. This can identify significant variables that influence adoption of Industry 4.0 along with triple bottom line an aspect of sustainability.

  • The study helps companies to develop efficient operational and marketing strategies for smart and green designs.

  • The study helps in proposing a framework model for performing smart and sustainable construction activities using Industry 4.0 technologies.

The knowledge shared in this article in form of reference tables will offer great opportunities in theoretical and practical application. It also helps in understanding real world challenges and opportunities. This comprehensive study will open routes for developing sustainable innovative strategies for construction businesses.

7 Limitations of the study

Research Gaps analysis revealed that technologies of the fourth revolution are in the preliminary stages of development, but the articles investigated in the study are limited to the time period of 2015 to 2023. This time period is considered on the basis of understanding the most recent challenges and Impacts. This signifies that no study before 2015 can correlate in this regard. Moreover, inclusion and exclusion criteria adopted to review articles have further reduced the count. Therefore, the possibility of missing some relevant articles may exist. It becomes an opportunity for researchers to consider an extended time period in the literature for future scope. Moreover, no framework or model has been presented to provide a significant understanding of the real-world situations of Industry 4.0 and the triple bottom line.

However, the aim of this research article is not to answer specific issues. The goal is to present various elements of Industry 4.0 in the context of the triple bottom line for integrating business processes and creating smart and sustainable construction. Despite its limitations, the paper successfully opens future directions of scope for theoretical and practical implications.