Exploring the field of public construction clients by a graphical network analysis

Because public construction clients form the majority of construction clients and procure over 40% of the construction output in most countries, they are important actors in the construction industry. Yet, the field of research on clients is still underdeveloped. In order to identify the research gaps in this field, a graphical network analysis of existing literature is performed. The analysis is based on a query executed in the scientific database Scopus resulting in around 3,300 publications. By connecting the papers and their references as nodes in a network, an overview is created of the most important topics as previously studies by academic scholars. Collaboration, innovation and sociology are the most studied subjects found. Research methods, public sector and project management are other issues that have attracted scholars to perform research on public clients. Most of the topics are, however, not limited to public clients and based on a relatively low number of specific contribution from the perspective of the public client itself, it can be concluded that especially the public aspect of the construction field is neglected. This opens up interesting opportunities for future research.