Exploring IGLC Literature on Subcontracting

Subcontractors are essential to the delivery of many construction projects.However, current approaches to subcontracting are known to be disjointed, with systemic issues such as misaligned objectives among project stakeholders, fragmented workflows, and transactional relationships often limiting subcontractors' contribution to project success.To support future research in this area, this paper explores how subcontracting has been discussed in selected IGLC literature, grouped into four themes to reflect subcontractors' involvement across project stages: Selection, Engagement, Execution, and Evaluation.Within each theme, the paper offers reflections and poses open-ended questions that may help inform future studies into the role of subcontractors in Lean Construction.While acknowledging that the observations may not capture the full breadth of existing research, this paper offers preliminary insights into how subcontracting has been addressed in the IGLC literature and suggests opportunities for future study.