The connection between organizational incentive theory and sustainable construction : A qualitative study on how businesses in the construction industry are incentivized with respect to sustainability in Norway

This master thesis aims to identify the main drivers and barriers to incentivize sustainable practices in the construction industry in Norway. In order to do this the thesis presents five research questions than culminates in a five-step model that aims to identifies the stances and attitudes in the industry in regard to sustainability, the internal and external incentives, how these are weighed and lastly, with this knowledge, how to effectively incentivize towards sustainability. In order to obtain the answers to the research questions, we conducted a semistructured interview followed by a questionnaire with ten respondents from medium to large organizations in the construction industry in line with grounded theory. By categorizing incentives internally and externally, we have found customer demand- and purchasing power, interpretation of national and international rules and legislation, implementation of system thinking, information flow between market participants, alignment of incentives, increased competitiveness, influence of top management and organizational culture considerations to some of the most pressing incentive schemes. These results are interesting and a good pointer towards effective measures of increasing degree of focus on sustainability in the construction industry. However, future research is necessary in order to confidently conclude and statistically prove our findings. This thesis contributes to a way to better understand why organizations chooses sustainable solutions, to identify the incentives that affect sustainable decision making, and how to use this information effectively