Investigating social risks of construction projects in historic tourism sites in urban districts of developing countries: social network analysis approach

Purpose Social risk management has recently come to the fore as a significant feature of project management. This prominence is particularly evident in urban construction projects that take place in cultural heritage and tourism historic sites. Accordingly, this study aims to adopt social network analysis (SNA) to investigate social risks in construction projects occurring in urban districts rife with historically and culturally significant tourism sites. Design/methodology/approach The present study analyzed a real case study in Iran as an emergent economy and a developing country. Primarily, the study reviewed previous literature on social risks and relevant stakeholders. Next, the judgments of experts through the content validity ratio analysis confirmed 12 social risks and 9 key stakeholders. Finally, SNA is used to determine the relations between the social risks and stakeholders as well as the significance of each risk. Findings The investigation demonstrated that the most important social risks in the construction projects of the case study are “Psychological disorders”, “Environmental pollution” and “Cultural conflicts”. Practical implications The findings could help policymakers, urban planners and project managers in developing countries with a rich cultural heritage to reduce social risks and improve the efficiency of their projects. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the present study is one of the first instances to investigate construction projects implemented in densely populated urban areas hosting cultural heritage and historic tourism sites.