Mapping procurement configurations and innovation portfolios in construction: a systematic scoping review

Procurement and project delivery arrangements shape the governance conditions under which construction innovation is pursued, yet evidence remains fragmented across delivery models, technologies and policy domains. This study maps procurement configurations across six innovation domains. A systematic scoping review analysed 345 Scopus-indexed publications through structured screening, coding and interpretive synthesis. Publications were multi-coded by procurement configuration and innovation domain. Process innovation dominated most configuration-specific literature clusters. Public–private partnership research showed substantial policy/governance representation, whereas alliancing, relational contracting and delivery arrangements incorporating formal partnering practices showed higher organisational shares. Technological, product and social innovation signals were less frequent, with feasibility linked to information governance, early integration, supplier coordination, life-cycle accountability and collaborative routines. These patterns characterise the reviewed literature rather than evidence quality, causal effects or route-specific probabilities. The study contributes a procurement–innovation mapping matrix and a mechanism-based framework. Collaborative procurement intensity is operationalised through five indicators: early involvement, joint decision rights, shared risk–reward, open-book information governance and formal relational routines. Coordination, incentive alignment, information use, organisational learning and life-cycle value capture are proposed as mediating mechanisms, conditioned by client capability, market readiness, legally admissible procurement options and accountability requirements. Together, these contributions support empirical testing and context-sensitive procurement appraisal.