Automation in Construction 140 (2022) 104379 0926-5805/© 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Review Blockchain in construction management: Applications, advantages and limitations Dena Mahmudnia a , Mehrdad Arashpour b, * , Rebecca Yang c a Civil Engineering Department, Sadjad University of Technology, Mashhad, Iran b Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia c School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Artifcial intelligence (AI) Blockchain technologies Building information modeling Construction and infrastructure Contractual disputes Project stakeholders Review article Smart contracts ABSTRACT Blockchain technology (BCT) has been implemented in different industries, including healthcare, manufacturing and construction. Integrating recent technologies such as the internet of things (IoT), building information modeling (BIM), and artifcial intelligence with BCT creates the potential for overcoming many limitations within the construction industry. Blockchain smart contracts, for example, can solve problems related to tradi- tional contract forms. In construction projects, smart contracts based on BCT can enhance payment transparency, protect transaction histories, and provide secure access to information. Since BCT platforms are decentralized, reducing unnecessary bureaucracy will improve open communications, and BCT application can prevent disputes rooted in communication issues, inaccurate documentation, and payment problems. This study focuses on reviewing BCT characteristics to evaluate impacts on mitigating disputes. Based on a systematic review of the publications, a comprehensive classifcation of blockchain-enabled applications in managing construction dis- putes is presented. This review identifes gaps in research and opportunities for future studies in the construction domain. 1. Introduction Technological developments such as building information modeling (BIM), cloud computing, and IoT have changed processes for storing, exchanging, and analyzing data [1]. Such developments facilitate structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data management in the manufacturing, construction, and energy industries [2]. Project-based industries have adopted modern approaches to over- come different planning and execution barriers. As an example, pro- ductivity within the construction industry is adversely affected by traditional contracting arrangements [3], with frequent suspicion and mistrust among collaborative partners and stakeholders [4]. These challenges faced by the construction industry lead to low productivity, disputes, payments failure, and less information sharing. The novel approach that promises to handle these issues is combining a blockchain with other technologies to reduce project costs and time, strengthen security and improve operational effciency [5]. Researchers have extensively studied various aspects of the BCT application [6]. Recent studies have indicated that BCT can address hacking and cybersecurity risks in IoT systems and BIM [7]. Limited studies have reviewed the potential of “Blockchain” to mitigate disputes in the construction industry. The current paper explores different characteristics of BCT and the ability to solve the root causes of contractual conficts. In this study, an integrated review of “Blockchain” and “dispute” concepts has been carried out to investigate the BCT’s ability to resolute disputes. Reviewed studies were explored to discover the status of research on blockchain applications in problem-solving. This review suggests that blockchain can solve the problems rooted in payment systems, collab- oration, documents in the construction industry. Three scopes of blockchain applications have been classifed from the literature (Fig. 1). The application of BCT in managing information represents a large part of the three domains of applications, followed by payment and collab- oration. Payment-oriented applications also get much attention from scientifc BCT studies. Previous studies have not presented a systematic review of block- chain applications to manage construction disputes, a gap that was the main driver of conducting the current study. In particular, it is tried to fll the gap by answering these questions: (i) What are the overall roots of construction disputes? (ii) How can blockchain-based applications * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: mehrdad.arashpour@monash.edu (M. Arashpour), rebecca.yang@rmit.edu.au (R. Yang). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Automation in Construction journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/autcon https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2022.104379 Received 29 September 2021; Received in revised form 13 May 2022; Accepted 21 May 2022