Identifying factors influencing construction material procurement performance through Latent Dirichlet Allocation analysis

Abstract

Construction material procurement plays a critical role in determining cost efficiency, schedule performance, and overall project success in construction. Although numerous studies have examined procurement practices and supply chain management, the factors influencing procurement performance remain fragmented across the literature. This fragmentation limits a comprehensive understanding of procurement performance and its key dimensions. To address this issue, this study conducts a Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) based literature review to identify major themes and derive procurement performance factors. A dataset of 983 peer-reviewed journal articles was analysed to explore thematic patterns in construction material procurement research. The analysis identified four dominant domains: procurement risk and cost performance, environmental impact of construction materials, supply chain and logistics, and sustainable procurement and circular economy. Based on these themes, procurement-related factors were derived and organised to provide a structured understanding of procurement performance. The findings highlight the multidimensional nature of procurement systems and emphasise the importance of integrating cost management, logistics coordination, supplier performance, and sustainability considerations to improve construction project outcomes.