Application of complexity theory in construction industry: a review

Complexity theory considers objects as systems. A system is understood as a set of elements linked together by a common objective. In this way, construction is a system composed of a numerous element that originate an emergent behavior that cannot be explained in these elements taken in isolation. Currently, there has not been studied and identified the application of complexity in construction industry. Therefore, in this paper, the attempt is to provide a systematic review of application of complexity theory in construction industry. On this subject, the Scopus database has been chosen to select 567 papers from 1971 to 2021. Articles were analyzed according to various aspects: co-occurrence, keywords and timeline, and with the help of the softwares tools VOS viewer and Cite Space, it was built the visualizing network of keywords and co-occurrence. Five areas involving different applications of complexity theory in construction are identified, including: (1) safety risk, (2) project management, (3) building contractor, (4) cac system, (5) construction waste management. The analysis results reveal that the most cited papers related to complexity theory and construction are in safety risk. Lastly, trends and results investigation of the areas identified of application are shown.