Research on Sustainability and Construction Firms: Current Status and Future Agenda

The rising significance of sustainable development in both international policy debate and the construction industry has triggered the emergence of increasing number of studies related to sustainability and construction corporations. How construction corporations respond to sustainability is of vital importance to enable sustainability transition of construction industries. However, there is lack of a systematic review of these studies. This paper critically reviews the existing body of knowledge on sustainability and construction corporations. Four common research themes are identified, namely corporate sustainability of construction firms, corporate social responsibility in construction firms, drivers of sustainability in construction firms, and barriers of sustainability in construction firms. It is found that the existing studies predominantly focus on providing description or explanation of the implementation situation of sustainability practices of construction firms, while largely overlook the strategies of promoting sustainability in construction firms. Future research opportunities are identified such as the relationships between sustainability and competitiveness of construction firms, and strategies of promoting sustainability in construction firms based on academic theories.