Social responsibility implementation is crucial for environmental sustainability in the construction industry. However, developing an implementation plan for social responsibility in the construction industry is challenging in developing countries, including Malaysia. Therefore, this paper aims to identify the relationships between the barriers and strategies for implementing social responsibility in construction projects, using Malaysia as a case study. A systematic literature review revealed fifteen barriers and five strategies related to social responsibility in the construction industry. The data were collected through a questionnaire survey and analyzed using normalized mean analysis, Kruskal–Wallis test, overlap analysis, and correlation analysis. The findings indicate that nine barriers and three strategies are critical for implementing social responsibility. Agreement analysis suggests that stakeholders hold consistent views on most barriers and all strategies. Additionally, correlation analysis reveals relationships between some barriers and strategies. The findings can help policymakers address critical barriers and allocate resources to implement essential strategies for social responsibility in the construction industry. By analyzing the relationships, policymakers are informed on the most effective strategies to overcome the barriers to social responsibility implementation in the construction sector. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024.