Unveiling the social responsibility factors in new infrastructure construction

Abstract

Purpose

Social responsibility (SR) has become critical in facilitating the sustainability of new infrastructure construction (NIC) and is also a nonnegligible aspect in its management. Although studies attempting to explore this issue from various and disparate perspectives have become increasingly popular, no consensus has yet been reached regarding what SR factors affect NIC management. This paper aims to establish an inventory of SR factors for NIC and reveal a comprehensive framework for SR of NIC (NIC-SR) management through an in-depth analysis of the relationships among factors.

Design/methodology/approach

This article proposes a mixed-review method that combines the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses and content analysis methods as a solution.

Findings

From 62 chosen publications on NIC-SR published in peer-reviewed journals between 2010 and 2022, a total of 44 SR factors were found. These 44 SR factors were divided into 4 interconnected categories: political, ethics-environmental, legal and economic. Based on the interactions among SR factors and incorporating the impact of the four categories of SR factors on NIC management, an integrated framework from micro to macro was developed.

Originality/value

This paper educates researchers and practitioners about the SR factors that must be considered to improve the sustainability of NIC management and provides practical implications for architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) practices. Furthermore, it serves as an impetus for governments to improve their programs and policies and fulfill social responsibilities.

Citation

Li, L., Wang, S., Zeng, S., Ma, H. and Zheng, R. (2023), "Unveiling the social responsibility factors in new infrastructure construction", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-03-2023-0305