Tennakoon, T M M P; Chileshe, N; Rameezdeen, R; Ochoa Paniagua, J; Samaraweera, A and Statsenko, L (2025) Uncertainties affecting the offsite construction supply chain resilience: A systematic literature review. Construction Innovation, 25(3), pp. 912-930. ISSN 1471-4175
Abstract
Purpose: This paper aims to synthesise the latest literature on supply chain operations of offsite manufacturing in the construction industry to identify and evaluate the uncertainties at each stage of the offsite construction supply chain (OSC-SC) to compile contributions to knowledge and thereby determine the future research directions to improve supply chain resilience (SCR). Design/methodology/approach: The study was conducted as a systematic literature review. In total, 99 peer-reviewed journal papers published between 2015 and mid-2022 were shortlisted and analysed through the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Findings: The bibliometric analysis revealed that the research focusing on supply chain issues and developing best practices in offsite construction adopt case study approaches to investigate the research problems comprehensively. The content analysis revealed the lack of up-to-date knowledge in the construction workforce regarding OSC; low preparedness for the changes brought by the SC uncertainties; the lack of a proper procurement model for OSC; lack of end-to-end visibility of the supply chain to identify uncertainties and lack of national or government standards on OSC-SC, as some of the key problems instigating the identified the uncertainties. Originality/value: This study clarifies the current knowledge by systematically presenting uncertainties at each stage of the OSC-SC. Moreover, it provides a framework and proposes that future research should focus specifically on individual/team, organisational, supply chain/network and sector/national/supranational levels to improve SCR.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | conceptual framework; construction industry; offsite construction supply chain; supply chain resilience; uncertainties |
| Index terms: | meta-analysis, methodology, construction supply chain, case study, bibliometric analysis, content analysis, best practice, conceptual framework, systematic literature review, construction industry, journal, supply chain resilience |
| Subjects: | construction logistics, data analysis and analytics, research methods, business, supply chain resilience, data collection methods, theoretical framing, industry analysis, research evaluation and metrics, research dissemination and communication |
| Topics: | Information Management, Supply Chain Management, Business Strategy, Research Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 CTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here