Table 1 Inclusion and exclusion criteria... | Emerald Publishing

Table 1

Inclusion and exclusion criteria and literature screening procedure

Stage/criterion	Inclusion criteria	Exclusion criteria	Rationale	Outcome
Database selection	Publications indexed in Scopus	Records outside Scopus	Scopus provides broad coverage of engineering, construction, computer science and management literature and consistent metadata suitable for scientometric analysis	Scopus selected
Search fields	Terms appearing in title, abstract or keywords relating to blockchain, supply chains and construction	Records not satisfying all three conceptual components	Combining the three concept groups limits retrieval to studies at the intersection of BT, SCM and construction	493 records identified
Language	English-language publications	Non-English publications	Ensures consistent interpretation and coding of full-text evidence	Applied during initial filtering
Publication type	Peer-reviewed journal articles and conference papers	Books, book chapters, editorials, notes, reports and other non-peer-reviewed sources	Peer-reviewed articles and conference papers provide academically scrutinised evidence while capturing an emerging technological field	Applied during initial filtering
Time period	All publication years up to the search date (27 June 2025)	Publications after the search date	No lower date boundary was imposed because BT research in construction is relatively recent	Applied during initial filtering
Disciplinary/contextual relevance	Studies within construction, built environment, engineering, computer science and relevant management domains	Studies from unrelated sectors with no construction/AEC relevance	Maintains alignment with the construction supply-chain context	264 records retained after initial filtering
Title and abstract screening	Studies substantively addressing BT in construction, CSCM, procurement, logistics, material management or closely related construction supply-chain processes	Studies mentioning BT, construction or supply chains only peripherally or addressing unrelated application domains	Removes false positives generated by the broad search string while retaining the multidisciplinary character of CSCM	145 studies retained for scientometric analysis
Full-text eligibility for qualitative analysis	Studies explicitly examining BT in a construction-specific supply-chain context and providing substantive evidence on adoption motivations, implementation considerations, applications or relevant supply-chain problems	Studies with only incidental discussion of BT; non-construction supply chains; or insufficient substantive evidence from which relevant adoption-related constructs could be extracted	Ensures that qualitative coding is grounded in studies capable of informing the adoption-driver synthesis	40 studies retained for qualitative content analysis
Scientometric analysis	All 145 studies satisfying title/abstract eligibility criteria	Records excluded during preceding screening stages	The broader corpus is appropriate for mapping the intellectual and thematic development of the research domain	145 studies analysed using VOSviewer
Qualitative content analysis	40 studies satisfying full-text eligibility criteria	Studies not meeting full-text criteria	Enables detailed coding and distinction among adoption drivers, BT mechanisms and outcomes	40 studies analysed using NVivo

Stage/criterion	Inclusion criteria	Exclusion criteria	Rationale	Outcome
Database selection	Publications indexed in Scopus	Records outside Scopus	Scopus provides broad coverage of engineering, construction, computer science and management literature and consistent metadata suitable for scientometric analysis	Scopus selected
Search fields	Terms appearing in title, abstract or keywords relating to blockchain, supply chains and construction	Records not satisfying all three conceptual components	Combining the three concept groups limits retrieval to studies at the intersection of BT, SCM and construction	493 records identified
Language	English-language publications	Non-English publications	Ensures consistent interpretation and coding of full-text evidence	Applied during initial filtering
Publication type	Peer-reviewed journal articles and conference papers	Books, book chapters, editorials, notes, reports and other non-peer-reviewed sources	Peer-reviewed articles and conference papers provide academically scrutinised evidence while capturing an emerging technological field	Applied during initial filtering
Time period	All publication years up to the search date (27 June 2025)	Publications after the search date	No lower date boundary was imposed because BT research in construction is relatively recent	Applied during initial filtering
Disciplinary/contextual relevance	Studies within construction, built environment, engineering, computer science and relevant management domains	Studies from unrelated sectors with no construction/AEC relevance	Maintains alignment with the construction supply-chain context	264 records retained after initial filtering
Title and abstract screening	Studies substantively addressing BT in construction, CSCM, procurement, logistics, material management or closely related construction supply-chain processes	Studies mentioning BT, construction or supply chains only peripherally or addressing unrelated application domains	Removes false positives generated by the broad search string while retaining the multidisciplinary character of CSCM	145 studies retained for scientometric analysis
Full-text eligibility for qualitative analysis	Studies explicitly examining BT in a construction-specific supply-chain context and providing substantive evidence on adoption motivations, implementation considerations, applications or relevant supply-chain problems	Studies with only incidental discussion of BT; non-construction supply chains; or insufficient substantive evidence from which relevant adoption-related constructs could be extracted	Ensures that qualitative coding is grounded in studies capable of informing the adoption-driver synthesis	40 studies retained for qualitative content analysis
Scientometric analysis	All 145 studies satisfying title/abstract eligibility criteria	Records excluded during preceding screening stages	The broader corpus is appropriate for mapping the intellectual and thematic development of the research domain	145 studies analysed using VOSviewer
Qualitative content analysis	40 studies satisfying full-text eligibility criteria	Studies not meeting full-text criteria	Enables detailed coding and distinction among adoption drivers, BT mechanisms and outcomes	40 studies analysed using NVivo

Source(s): Table created by the authors