A Critique of the Importance and Status of the Construction Industry in Iran (Features and Challenges)

In many of the world's developing economies, the construction industry is one of the most important players in this field and is known as one of the largest and most influential industries in the world. These reasons have made the construction industry the basis for many researches in the field of civil and construction project management. As well, the challenges of this vast realm are the reason for the formation of many researches in the field of engineering and construction management. For this aim, it became necessary to analyze and review the published documents and researches in the field of status and importance of the construction industry (especially scientific documents related to the Iran) in a study and library approach. Studies in this area were categorized in four groups. In the first group, the specific characteristics and coordinates of this industry in the international community were evaluated. In the second group, the construction industry in the Iran and in the third group, the housing sector in Iran were specially evaluated. In the fourth group, the common challenges and problems of this industry were analyzed. In summary, the set of construction industry challenges can be classified into 6 sets of challenges including manufacturing industry-specific challenges, socio-cultural challenges, economic challenges, technology-related challenges, legal and regulatory challenges, and ethical challenges. The results of studies and researches conducted in this article, could provide a better perspective and view of this vast field to researchers in the field of engineering and construction management.