Value Management Implementation in Sustainable Construction Projects: A Systematic and Narrative Review

Value Management (VM) is increasingly regarded as a structured approach that can support more effective and sustainability-focused decision-making in construction. However, the literature remains fragmented in how VM is defined, applied, and assessed in relation to sustainable construction. This study therefore explores how VM has been implemented in sustainable construction and identifies the main outcomes, barriers, enabling conditions, and research gaps reported in the literature. A systematic literature review with narrative synthesis was conducted. Using a PRISMA-guided review process, 105 studies published between 1994 and 2024 were identified, screened, and analysed. The findings reveal that the literature is unevenly distributed across thematic areas, with the strongest focus on VM application in construction projects, followed by broader related aspects of VM, VM and sustainable construction, VM barriers, VM activities, and VM drivers. Overall, the review indicates that VM has the potential to enhance sustainable construction through more structured decision-making, lifecycle thinking, stakeholder engagement, and value-focused evaluation. However, implementation remains constrained by limited awareness, insufficient training, weak policy support, inconsistent methodologies, and uneven organisational readiness. The review also shows that the literature is more robust in identifying barriers than in explaining the drivers of adoption. In response, this paper proposes an eight-phase framework to facilitate more structured VM implementation in sustainable construction and highlights key directions for future research and practice.