Seventy years of construction management research (1954–2026): a global scientometric and bibliometric review of trends, gaps and future directions

This article presents a comprehensive scientometric–bibliometric review of construction management (CM) research published between 1954 and 2026. A total of 9748 Web of Science-indexed publications were analysed using VOSviewer, integrating text mining, co-authorship, citation, bibliographic coupling and co-citation analyses, supported by qualitative synthesis. The findings show rapid growth in CM research after 2010, reflecting increasing academic recognition of the field. Six dominant research themes are identified: education and workforce issues, health and training, digitalization and risk, environmental management, sustainable materials and structural performance. Project management and building information modelling remain core intellectual foundations, while emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain and virtual reality signal a shift toward data-driven construction ecosystems. Collaboration networks reveal strong Asia–Pacific leadership, particularly from China and Australia, alongside growing contributions from developing economies. Despite these advances, gaps remain in digital integration, sustainability assessment, geographical representation and interdisciplinary approaches. This review provides a long-term research roadmap aligned with global sustainability and digital transformation agendas. The analysis is based on the single search term ‘construction management’, which ensures conceptual consistency but may exclude adjacent domains, suggesting opportunities for broader keyword strategies in future studies.