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Open research questions in Construction Project Management and Performance

507 gap statements mined from Construction Project Management and Performance papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 3,336 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

Choosing where to publish on Construction Project Management and Performance? See the ranked Social Science journals.

What the literature leaves open

  • The lack of a relational reconceptualization of sustainability maturity in project management.

    Mature Enough to Measure? Practitioners’ Accounts of Organizational Maturity and Impact Measurement for Sustainability in Project Management · 2026 · DOI

  • The concept of Sustainable Project Management remains relatively uncharted. There is a lack of representation of quantitative research in this domain.

    Sustainability in Project Management Practices · 2024 · DOI

  • While prior research has focused on statewide cost indices, limited attention has been given to regional disparities and their underlying drivers, leaving a gap in understanding cost variability and the differences in relative cost fluctuations over time at finer geographic scales.

    Regional Highway Construction Cost Index Variation: Structural Disparities, Temporal Drivers, and Mechanistic Insights across the Pandemic Period · 2026 · DOI

  • However, the evolution of these cooperation networks over time remains insufficiently understood.

    Evolutionary Dynamics of Cross-Regional Cooperation Networks in Construction Projects: Case of the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area · 2026 · DOI

  • This study uniquely integrates social exchange theory (SET), social learning theory (SLT) and organizational learning (OL) theory to explore the under-researched role of SL, OL and PS in multinational projects involving diverse stakeholders and high complexity.

    Impact of servant leadership on project success: a study on the mediating effects of organizational learning and moderating effects of project nature · 2026 · DOI

  • While the literature has extensively documented the contractual and structural antecedents of such conflict, the micro-foundational behavioral antecedents embedded in inter-organizational interactions remain underexplored.

    Different suggestions, different conflicts and differential effects on construction project performance: evidence from China · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research could explore how these findings evolve throughout the project's lifecycle.

    Challenges and opportunities in international joint ventures between architecture/engineering consultants: the case study of Kuwait · 2026 · DOI

  • Despite the importance of opportunity management, academic literature on this subject remains sparse across all sectors.

    Investigating the bright side of risk in oil and gas projects: a literature review and taxonomy · 2026 · DOI

  • It highlights how digitally mediated communication practices shape exchange relationships and visibility of work, and it encourages further research into how digital tools can be leveraged to optimize teamwork and COO in project-based industries.

    Examining the impact of social media use on team performance: evidence from construction projects in Australia · 2026 · DOI

  • While previous prediction models have frequently relied on project-specific variables and geographically limited datasets, their applicability across different regions remains uncertain.

    A generalized artificial neural network (ANN) model for predicting construction project durations based on cost and geolocation data · 2026 · DOI

  • Project complexity research has established that structural, socio-political, and emergent complexities require different response capabilities, yet little is known about how project leaders enact these responses in practice.

    From complexity responses to enacted practice: Mindfulness as a multi-level metacognitive capability in project leadership · 2026 · DOI

  • Although value co-creation is often considered as achieving planned project outcomes, the impact of conflicting values-as-beliefs on those outcomes remains underexplored.

    Robust delivery, fragile legitimacy: How beliefs-rooted value conflict shapes project outcomes over time in an energy transition project · 2026 · DOI

  • However, what drives project owners’ adoption of quality management behavior remains unclear, which is not conducive to effective construction quality management.

    What drives the adoption of quality management behavior? Evidence from owners in China’s construction industry · 2026 · DOI

  • Existing research on construction labor productivity (CLP) within specific trades has produced inconsistent findings due to differences in the factors analyzed.

    Labor Productivity Losses across Construction Trades: A Machine Learning Approach · 2025 · DOI

  • Although traditional leadership styles suit conventional construction projects, their applicability to the BIM context remains underexplored.

    Impact of Project Managers’ Contingent Reward Leadership Style on Performance of BIM Construction Projects · 2025 · DOI

  • Despite the growing dual emphasis on VL and SL in the contemporary construction practice, little is known about whether and how these two mutually exclusive sources of leadership synergistically function.

    Resolving the Tension between Vertical and Shared Leadership in Construction Project Teams: A Congruence Perspective · 2025 · DOI

  • However, their interaction within digital, collaborative BIM environments remains understudied.

    Influence of Project Managers’ Inspirational Motivation Leadership Style on Coordination and Performance of BIM Construction Projects · 2025 · DOI

  • Despite extensive research to identify internal factors influencing highway infrastructure improvement projects’ contract time determination (CTD), definitive information regarding the comprehensive factors affecting urban highway rehabilitation projects remains lacking.

    Examining Critical Factors Affecting Urban Highway Construction Contract Times · 2025 · DOI

  • The number of responses falls below the minimum sample size required for generalization, - The sample size is limited to 107 responses, - The study used a mono-method quantitative research…

    Sustainability in Project Management Practices · 2024 · DOI

  • The literature does not distinguish between delays and cost overruns or refers only to delays, with the cost overrun being a consequence of the failure to meet the deadline - There are broad geographical areas in which no research papers or reports related to EPC projects have been…

    Analysis of Causes of Delays and Cost Overruns as Well as Mitigation Measures to Improve Profitability and Sustainability in Turnkey Industrial Projects · 2024 · DOI

  • Addressing an underexplored area, it integrates sustainability principles into project management frameworks, specifically in the context of public sector operations in underdeveloped countries.

    Assessing how project management knowledge drives project sustainability in Ghana · 2026 · DOI

  • By doing so, it uncovers previously underexplored factors such as team composition, procurement practices and work ethic.

    Through the client's lens: factors impacting project document quality in the South African construction industry · 2026 · DOI

  • This study fills a gap in the literature by providing a qualitative analysis of collaborative risk management practices across multiple project delivery methods.

    Differences and challenges in collaborative risk management across different project delivery methods · 2026 · DOI

  • The study presents understudied context of complex terrain railway project risks and utilizes an integrated model combining FMEA, FSWARA and FWASPAS to assessing risk factors.

    Risk identification and prioritization of railway construction project under complex terrain · 2026 · DOI

  • Finally, it extends the contingency theory of BIM project management by investigating the underexplored contextual factors, such as company control over projects and the project’s BIM maturity in IM, besides project complexity, project ownership, and country context.

    Impact of Project Managers’ Contingent Reward Leadership Style on Performance of BIM Construction Projects · 2025 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Construction Project Management and Performance

Most recent work

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Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) The lack of a relational reconceptualization of sustainability maturity in project management (“Mature Enough to Measure? Practitioners’ Accounts of Organizational Maturity…”, 2026); (2) The evolution of these cooperation networks over time remains insufficiently understood (“Evolutionary Dynamics of Cross-Regional Cooperation Networks in Construction…”, 2026); (3) While the literature has extensively documented the contractual and structural antecedents of such conflict, the micro-foundational behavioral antecedents embedded in inter-organizational interactions remain underexplored (“Different suggestions, different conflicts and differential effects on…”, 2026); (4) Future research could explore how these findings evolve throughout the project's lifecycle (“Challenges and opportunities in international joint ventures between…”, 2026); (5) Project complexity research has established that structural, socio-political, and emergent complexities require different response capabilities, yet little is known about how project leaders enact these responses in practice (“From complexity responses to enacted practice: Mindfulness as a multi-level…”, 2026). 507 gap statements have been mined from Construction Project Management and Performance papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 3,336 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

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