A state-of-the-art review of the application of interpretive structural modelling in construction management studies

The tight couplings among construction stages, activities, resources, stakeholders, and outcomes render construction management problems amenable to complexity modelling. The interpretive structural modelling (ISM) and total ISM (T/ISM) technique combines graph theory, systems-thinking philosophy, and graphical procedures to develop hierarchical structural models of the complex relationships between components of construction management problems. As such, the T/ISM technique has gained popularity in the construction management literature. However, studies assessing the quality of the T/ISM models developed in the construction management literature are scarce. Therefore, this study conducted a systematic review of 134 studies to investigate how the tenets and principles of T/ISM have been operationalized in the construction management literature. It is discovered that most of the studies failed to adhere to the tenets of the T/ISM techniques, resulting in models lacking validity. The results further revealed a lack of consensus regarding the optimum number of constructs that should be modelled, who constitutes an expert and optimum sample size, the most appropriate data collection instruments, and how to verify correctness and validity of T/ISM models in construction management research. The study offered resolutions to the identified shortcomings of the literature and thus provides additional clarity on implementing the T/ISM approach in construction management research.