Reconfiguring power, trust, and identity in early contractor involvement

Purpose Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) has emerged as a pivotal mechanism for improving efficiency, innovation, and risk management in complex construction projects, yet its theoretical and institutional foundations remain unsettled. While ECI has been embedded in national procurement reforms and digital collaboration frameworks, persistent gaps remain in cross-jurisdictional validation, governance modelling, and measurement of long-term value. Design/methodology/approach This study presents the most comprehensive systematic mapping of ECI scholarship to date, integrating an 80-paper corpus across three analytical phases spanning 2009–2025, supported by a 100-paper global construction challenge dataset used for contextual comparison. Using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses-based screening, bibliometric network mapping, and thematic synthesis, the evaluation identifies how ECI research has evolved from descriptive analyses of delivery performance toward deeper theorisation of governance, identity, trust, and procurement. Findings Results reveal that ECI is consistently positioned as a corrective to chronic industry inefficiencies, such as cost overruns, schedule delays, and design fragmentation- but that empirical studies remain regionally concentrated and methodologically fragmented. The analysis exposes four conceptual architectures that structure the field: power dynamics, role identity transformation, relational trust mechanisms, and collaborative procurement models. Originality/value These findings establish a reproducible evidential baseline and a twenty-dimensional theoretical framework for advancing ECI research, reframing early contractor engagement as both a delivery innovation and a collaborative sustainable construction governance paradigm.