Construction project manager “dark” personality traits: current research, trends and future themes

Purpose The personality traits of construction project managers can significantly influence project outcomes. Research has typically focused on the impact of construction project managers’ prosocial personality traits on project outcomes. However, less explored are the impact of malevolent, that is, “dark”, personality traits on project outcomes. A bibliometric analysis is conducted to understand the present state of this research, justifying the need for future exploration in this area. Design/methodology/approach A bibliometric analysis and visualisation of 36 articles on construction project managers’ dark personality traits (1989–2024) were conducted using data from the SCOPUS database. VOSviewer was used to visualise clusters, networks and trends. A Delphi exercise identified potential future research directions. Findings This study reveals two research phases: a period of inactivity (1989–2020) and exponential growth (2021–present). Key findings show the International Journal of Project Management and Project Management Journal as primary sources of relevant published research. The UK leads in research, with Narcissism being the most identified dark personality trait. Most studies used questionnaire surveys. The Delphi exercise suggests four themes (“Dark triad sub-scales”, “Use of self-reports”, “Trait iterations, the Dark triad” and “Big tent” and “Lifecycle variations”) for future research in this field. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the study is one of the first to conduct a bibliometric analysis of the literature on “dark” personality traits of construction project managers. This study equips construction project managers with a template to facilitate understanding of the literature surrounding these traits.