Industry 4.0 and Construction Contract Management: A Bibliometric Survey
Mohammadreza Najafzadeh, Hamidreza Abbasianjahromi, Seyedsoroush Zomorodi
Abstract
Contract management, which directly impacts the success of architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) projects, has been affected by the application of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies. This study extensively reviewed the I4.0 application in contract management using a hybrid approach of bibliometrics and a systematic literature review to capture this trend. Scopus and Web of Science were selected as the papers’ databases, and 203 papers were filtered from a total of 2,524 papers from 2011 until the end of 2022. The bibliometric analysis explored and analyzed large volumes of data in six areas: publication year, journal, country, author, methodology, and keyword. The systematic literature review discovered eight key topics regarding I4.0 application and implication areas in the contract management of the AEC industry, including tender/bid phase, cost estimation, BIM contractual requirements, smart contracts, analyzing and monitoring contracts, claim and dispute management, information management and traceability, intellectual property rights; and regarding each topic, relevant I4.0 technologies were identified. Finally, benefits, challenges, and gaps of the literature were identified based on systematic analysis results. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge by identifying and synthesizing the current status of the research subject, and providing the researchers with the study’s theoretical and practical contributions.