Research in the field of construction management (CM)
has made more use of system dynamics modelling (SDM)
to delve into intricate causal links across many tiers of the
management and construction processes, all brought
about by the rising complexity of the construction
industry. A comprehensive analysis is required to
determine the current status and future directions of SDM
applications due to the exponential expansion of the field
over the last 20 years. The findings of a systematic review
and meta-analysis of 103 articles published in 41 journals
from 1997 to 2016 are presented in this study. We begin
by organising and formulating the studies' contributions
according to publication year, software used, approaches
integrated, and study design. First, sustainability; second,
project planning and control; third, performance and
effectiveness; fourth, strategic management; fifth, site and
resource management; sixth, risk analysis and
management; seventh, knowledge management; and
eighth, organization and stakeholder management are the
eight research topics that were identified with the help of
a keyword co-occurrence network analysis. These topics
involve varying degrees of internal and external
complexity. The results show that SDM is crucial for
simplifying various complex casual relationships across
all eight topics and levels of activity, project, and
industry. It also has great potential for revealing how
complex contextual conditions affect project planning and
control, performance and effectiveness, strategic
management, and sustainability. Finally, suggestions for
future CM research and trends in SDM applications are
presented. This article summarises current research on
SDM as it pertains to CM applications, as well as future
prospects, helpful references, and insights.