Citation: Aghimien, D.; Ngcobo, N.; Aigbavboa, C.; Dixit, S.; Vatin, N.I.; Kampani, S.; Khera, G.S. Barriers to Digital Technology Deployment in Value Management Practice. Buildings 2022, 12, 731. https:// doi.org/10.3390/buildings12060731 Academic Editors: S.A. Edalatpanah and Jurgita Antucheviciene Received: 16 April 2022 Accepted: 23 May 2022 Published: 27 May 2022 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). buildings Article Barriers to Digital Technology Deployment in Value Management Practice Douglas Aghimien 1, *, Ntebo Ngcobo 1 , Clinton Aigbavboa 2 , Saurav Dixit 3,4, *, Nikolai Ivanovich Vatin 3 , Shivani Kampani 5 and Gurbir Singh Khera 5 1 Department of Civil Engineering Technology, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2094, South Africa; ntebon@uj.ac.za 2 cidb Centre of Excellence, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2094, South Africa; caigbavboa@uj.ac.za 3 Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, 195251 Saint Petersburg, Russia; vatin@mail.ru 4 Division of Research and Innovation, Uttaranchal University, Dehradun 248007, India 5 School of Management & Commerce, K.R. Mangalam University, Gurugram 122103, India; shivanikampani@yahoo.com (S.K.); thinkkhera@yahoo.com (G.S.K.) * Correspondence: daghimien@uj.ac.za (D.A.); sauravarambol@gmail.com (S.D.) Abstract: In the quest to promote constant value for money, value management (VM) has been proposed and adopted within the construction industry of countries across the world. To improve the VM process for a more effective outcome, pervasive digital technologies can be employed throughout a project and in the VM process. However, developing countries like South Africa are still lagging in using these emerging technologies. Therefore, this study assessed the digital technologies that can improve the VM process and the barriers hindering their usage within the construction industry. The study adopted a postpositivism philosophical stance with a questionnaire used to gather quantitative data from construction professionals that have participated in VM exercises within the South African construction industry. The data gathered were analysed using mean item score, standard deviation, the Kruskal-Wallis H-test, multiple linear regression and exploratory factor analysis. The study found with high predictive accuracy that digital technologies such as computer-based software, BIM, mobile devices, electronic meeting tools, cloud computing, augmented and virtual realities will significantly impact the overall success of VM practices. Furthermore, the barriers to the effective deployment of these technologies in the VM process can be categorised into (1) cost and awareness, (2) complexities of the VM and digital tools, (3) the construction industry’s digital culture, and (4) the availability of technology and expertise. This study provides a theoretical backdrop for future studies exploring the use of digital technologies for VM practices—an aspect that has not gained significant attention in VM discourse in the construction industry. Keywords: construction industry; digital technology; value for money; value management 1. Introduction Technological advancement is rapidly changing the way construction projects are being delivered in countries worldwide. Digital technology like building information technology (BIM) is changing how construction participants collaborate on projects with significant improvement in the performance of the construction projects being delivered [1]. Robotics and automation (R&A) are equally offering cost-effective construction by reducing labour and material costs as well as ensuring safety and improved construction workforce productivity [2]. In the same vein, while big data analytics (BDA) is helping in creating quick decision-making on projects, cloud computing and the internet of things (IoT), in conjunction with BIM, are rapidly improving the communication and collaboration on projects [2–4]. Based on the usefulness of these technologies, it is no surprise that studies have continued to focus on their use in the management of construction works [5–8]. Buildings 2022, 12, 731. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12060731 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings