Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) is a modern multivariate analysis technique with a demonstrated ability to estimate theoretically established cause-effect relationship models. This technique has been increasingly adopted in construction management research over the last two decades. Accordingly, a critical review of studies adopting PLS-SEM appears to be a timely and valuable endeavor. This paper offers a critical review of 139 articles that applied PLS-SEM from 2002 to 2019. Results show that the misuse of PLS-SEM can be avoided. Critical issues related to the application of PLS-SEM, research design, model development, and model evaluation are discussed in detail. This paper is the first to highlight the use and misuse of PLS-SEM in the construction management area and provides recommendations to facilitate the future application of PLS-SEM in this field.

Previous studies revealed that Building Information Modeling (BIM) has the potential to reduce project uncertainties, design errors, change orders, and delays, which might facilitate achieving effective dispute management in the construction industry. However, research into the adoption of BIM to holistically enhance effective dispute management is limited compared with the plentiful BIM research in the construction management field. This study explored whether and how BIM adoption can help minimize the chronic problem of dispute in the industry. A structured critical literature review method was employed in this study which involved 102 papers in the fields of BIM and construction disputes. Nine main common causes of disputes (e.g., change order, design error, site problem, contractual problem, payment problem, and delay) and eight primary benefits of BIM application (e.g., improved visual management, design optimization, improved information management, and enhanced collaboration) were identified. A conceptual framework was developed illustrating the mechanism of adopting BIM to facilitate dispute management in the overall life cycle of construction projects. The framework indicates that design error, delay, and change order can be reduced most significantly by most of the BIM benefits, whereas improved visual management, improved information management, and enhanced collaboration are three of the most frequently adopted BIM benefits that can settle the majority of dispute causes. This study contributes to dispute management with a more holistic view of adopting BIM in the life cycle of construction projects, as illustrated in the conceptual framework. In addition, the identified common causes of disputes and primary benefits of BIM application are valuable for on future research in these two areas. The research findings are valuable for practitioners to obtain a holistic understanding of the two topics of dispute causes and BIM benefits, both independently and integrally. First, the identified common causes of disputes can be used by project managers to develop more-targeted strategies for reducing potential disputes in their projects. Second, the identified BIM benefits provide a comprehensive view of the advantages of BIM application for the clients, which will enable them to use BIM in their projects more proactively. Finally, and more importantly, the research findings indicated that BIM could be used to manage disputes in the global construction industry more effectively. The identified BIM features and other technologies or tools in dispute management present comprehensive results illustrating how to use BIM directly or indirectly for dispute management. In addition, the proposed framework is valuable for practitioners to find better solutions to prevent and control construction disputes via the application of BIM throughout the project life cycle.

Purpose: The unstable labor productivity and periodic planning method cause barriers to improving construction logistics management. This paper aims to explore a demand-driven mechanism for efficient construction logistics planning to record the material consumption, report the real-time demand and trigger material replenishment from off-site to on-site, which is aided by Building Information Modeling (BIM) and the Kanban technique.Design/methodology/approach: This paper follows the design science research (DSR) principles to propose a system of designing and applying Kanban batch with 4D BIM for construction logistics planning and monitoring. Prototype development with comparative simulation experiments of a river remediation project is conducted to analyze the conventional and Kanban-triggered supply. Two-staged industrial interviews are conducted to guide and evaluate the system design.Findings: The proposed BIM-enabled Kanban system enables construction managers and suppliers to better set integrated on- and off-site targets, report real-time demands and conduct collaborative planning and monitoring. The simulation results present significant site storage and schedule savings applying the BIM-enabled Kanban system. Feedback and constructive suggestions from practitioners are collected via interviews and analyzed for further development.Originality/value: This paper brings to the limelight the benefits of implementing BIM-enabled demand-driven replenishment to remove waste from the material flow. This paper combines lean production theory with advanced information technology to solve construction logistics management problems.