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Blockchain is an emerging digital technology proposed and trialled among different built environment professions. The technology has been proposed to introduce transparency, security and trust in property transactions. Despite this proposition, few studies have analysed the barriers and prospects in property valuation, especially in markets plagued by low transparency and a lack of stakeholder trust. Using Nigeria as a case study, this study assesses the barriers and prospects for adopting blockchain technology in property valuation.

Data was collected from 180 valuers practising in Nigeria through an online survey, and the data was analysed using mean score ranking and the chi-square (χ²) test of independence.

Firstly, there was a low awareness of the application of blockchain technology and an association between the number of valuation jobs executed annually and awareness of the application of blockchain technology. The most important barriers revolved around the knowledge, technical know-how of blockchain and the cost of implementing such technology. The prospects for blockchain are very high as all identified prospects were considered important, with transparency being the most crucial factor for its adoption, followed by the monitoring activities in real time and the permanence in storing records.

This study's implications lie in the potential benefit of transparency identified for blockchain, which could act as a tool to introduce transparency into valuation industries that battle key issues surrounding transparency and trust. Furthermore, this study can be utilised by policymakers and property industry players in mapping strategies to adopt the beneficial use of blockchain as one among the suite of proptech tools disrupting the property valuation scene, in their practice. This also presents an opportunity to draw upon insights from this study to better prepare for using blockchain in property valuation.

This study appears to be the first to empirically assess barriers and prospects for blockchain in property valuation practice. It contributes to the literature by identifying key factors that will deter and/or promote the application of blockchain, an emerging and disruptive digital technology.

Given the significant role played by valuers and the evidence of a lack of independence in some property valuation industries, particularly in emerging markets, this study analyses the issue of client influence in property valuation by providing a valuer-client perspective and measuring the interrelationships between the clients' influence factors to identify causal factors of prominence, which can assist in developing solutions to address the clients' influence issue.

The study used a mixed-method approach. Firstly, interviews were conducted with ten property valuers and five financial institution staff in Nigeria, and the data were subject to thematic analysis using Nvivo 12 software. A matrix questionnaire survey was administered to the valuers, and the responses were analysed using the fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method.

The results indicate that institutional clients, loan-seeking customers, property valuers and the perception of corruption within the Nigerian environment fuelled the issue of clients' influence. Based on the measurement of the interrelationship between the 14 identified client influence factors, the type of company, perception the public has of the industry, size of the firm, relationship with the client, type of client and regulatory framework were the factors of prominence.

The findings of this study bear huge implications for Nigeria and other similar structured property markets facing the issue of clients' influence in property valuation. With the prominent factors bearing root in a mix of client, valuer and environmental factors such as the valuation structure, process and public perception, there is a need for solutions that level the playing field between institutional clients and valuers, reinforce transparency and establish excellent regulatory standards to address the issue of clients' influence.

This study is the first to measure the interrelationships between the clients' influence factors to identify the prominent causal factors. Accordingly, considering the multi-factors, the research is novel as it focusses on those factors that would likely lead to other factors, thereby providing opportunities to develop solutions that focus on those factors of prominence. Secondly, the study deviates from the narrative on clients' influence in property valuation, which pits it as solely a client or valuer factor, by showing how the interplay of the stakeholders' interests and the environment promotes the issue in a non-transparent property market.

The aim of this paper was to delve into the underlying mechanism of the relationship between environmental knowledge and green purchase intentions, using an extended model based on the knowledge-attitude-behaviour (KAB) theory.

The parallel and serial mediation effects of environmental concern, green perceived value and green attitude were examined using PROCESS macro (Models 4 and 6). Data were collected from 395 youth in three different cities in India using a purposive sampling method.

The study’s findings revealed that environmental concern, green perceived value and green attitude act as parallel and sequential mediators between environmental knowledge and green purchase intentions. However, the direct impact of environmental knowledge on green purchase intentions was deemed insignificant. In essence, environmental knowledge, along with environmental concern and green perceived value, significantly contributes to the formation of attitudes conducive to green purchase intentions.

The present study theoretically contributes to green behaviour research by proposing and testing an extended model of KAB theory with parallel and serial mediations in the Indian context. The model explores the underlying mechanism of the relationship between environmental knowledge and green purchase intentions in detail.