Towards Complexity and Dynamics: A Bibliometric-Qualitative Review of Network Research in Construction

Abstract

Social network analysis (SNA) has gained increasing academic attention in the construction domain over the past two decades due to its capability to characterize the complexity and dynamics of interindividual and interorganizational interactions. To date, however, scant attempt has been made to develop an integrated framework to systematically review the diversified network research at different levels in this domain and to quantitatively characterize the evolution of related research interests and research instruments. This study aims to fill this gap by conducting a bibliometric-qualitative review based on 106 papers published from 1997 to 2020. Keyword cooccurrence analysis is employed to reveal the research foci, identify the research trends, and develop a comprehensive categorization framework, which classifies related research based on two interrelated dimensions: the type of network node (individual and organization) and the levelof network analysis (project level, corporate level, and industry level). The framework then facilitates further content analysis in terms of research topics, research designs, and research instruments. The results provide evidence that the research foci in this domain are generally moving towards addressing the complexity and dynamics of project-related relations at more diversified levels, in terms of not only research topics but also research instruments. Future research can be enriched by investigating the multiple types of dynamic interproject relationships, adopting state-of-the-art methodologies for network data collection and triangulation, and employing multiple SNA constructs and inferential statistical methods to reveal how complex networks coevolve and interact with actors’ behaviors as well as project and organizational outcomes.

Engaging Stakeholders in Extraction Problems of the Chilean Mining Industry through a Combined Social Network Analysis‐Analytic Network Process Approach

“…e joint analysis, using the SNA-ANP approach, classifies the actors according to the weaknesses and strengths derived from their position in the network. is new approach could be applied in other complex networks with complex structural relations among stakeholders, e.g., at corporate or industrial level, since these levels have not received much attention in network research [14].…”

“…e research on social networks has proved that a complex network is more suitable to the characteristics of the real network and that this complex network is composed of several subnetworks [13]. Many SNA-based methods, especially corporate-level and industry-level research, do not fully use SNA constructs to unravel the underlying complexity of the networks [14].…”

Polymer 3D printing: global research trends

“…it consists of actors and relations between them (Wasserman and Faust, 1994). Bibliometric analysis and social network analysis are often used together because they complement each other in understanding and visualizing the relationships and structures within scientific literature or academic research (Cao and Shao, 2020). While bibliometrics can identify key publications, authors and journals based on citation counts and other metrics, social network analysis can reveal how these key actors are linked and furthermore provide insights into the nature and strength of collaborative networks.…”

Information seeking and collaborative decision-making behaviour in consultancy project teams: a network theoretic viewpoint

“…SNA has grown in popularity in project management research over the last 20 years due to its capacity to analyse and visualise the complex dynamics of interactions among groups and organisations (Herrera et al , 2020; Pryke et al , 2017, 2018; Cao and Shao, 2020). SNA continues to be used by researchers to tackle a wide range of project management issues, such as project communication (Badi et al , 2016; Radziszewska-Zielina et al , 2019; Herrera et al , 2020); project risks (Nunes and Abreu, 2020), relationship risks (Xie et al , 2019); stakeholder collaboration and engagement (Doloi et al , 2016; Qiang et al , 2021); technology-induced relationship changes, as in the case of building information modelling (BIM; Badi and Diamantidou, 2017; Li et al , 2019); and digital transformation (Bonanomi et al , 2019).…”