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Cost and time are the targeted outcomes of any successful construction project, and disputes over these two key factors constitute a major obstacle to successful project outcomes. As escalated levels of dispute are becoming increasingly unavoidable, the construction industry is aiming to develop dispute identification strategies to reduce and elimi...
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Citations
... has defined a dispute as a "situation in which a claim or assertion made by one party is rejected by the other party and the rejection is not accepted in return". Disputes in construction projects hinder the project's success as they largely impact the time, cost and quality objectives of its parties (Naji et al., 2020). ...
The construction industry in New Zealand (NZ) plays a significant role in the country's economy. Similar to many other countries around the world, the construction industry in NZ is also prone to many disputes, which sometimes end up in courts. To investigate comprehensively about the disputes in the construction industry, several researchers have analysed court cases internationally. There is only a limited number of studies in NZ construction industry that followed court case analysis. This study has been carried out in search of quantitative aspects of 35 construction industry-related court cases in NZ. Based on the studied 35 court cases in NZ, majority of them has fallen into the area of payment issues, quality of works and variation entitlements. Poor contract understanding and administration, contractor's quality of work and poor contract arrangement have been identified as the most recurring primary causes of disputes. Further, the majority of cases that were heard before NZ courts had followed lumpsum contracts and traditional procurement route. The findings of this study is beneficial to the construction industry practitioners to avoid disputes by early identification of common issues in the industry.
... Using the explanatory structural model (ISM) as their basis, Kumar Viswanathan et al. [1] developed a dispute causation model that depicts six levels of hierarchy among the identifed factors. Similarly, Naji et al. [2] proposed an improved hybrid fuzzy structural equation model for quantifying the probability of the occurrence of disputes in construction projects, thus enabling project stakeholders to predict, identify, and correctly manage the occurrence of disputes prior to the start of construction. Te prototype proposed by Kassab et al. [3] successfully simulates and predicts the sequence of decisions that occur in case study disputes in the presence of uncertainty. ...
... In equation (2), the engineering quality risk behavior harm degree domain refers to the existing degree of harm resulting from the risk behavior engaged in by a subject. It is the degree of fault of the corresponding implementation subject, which is composed of (X 1 , X 2 , ..., X m ). ...
In order to solve the problem of the quantitative division of multisubject quality responsibility in construction project quality disputes, this article proposes a quantitative model of multisubject quality responsibility division in construction projects based on an improved particle swarm optimization (IPSO). First, this article proposes a set of classification guidelines for quality risk behaviors based on the theory of organizational behavior. Through these, the interconnections between different types of risk behaviors and quality defects were explored. Following this, this article explored potential laws among 84 practical judicial cases from China using the IPSO. The category coefficients of the three types of quality risk behaviors, namely, technical defects, management violations, and irregularities, were obtained in this analysis. This article also deduced the mathematical expression of the division of engineering quality responsibility using fuzzy mathematical theory and established a multisubject quality responsibility quantitative model. It was then simulated and applied in four practical judicial cases. The simulation results revealed that the multisubject quality responsibility quantitative model based on quality risk behavior has good applicability.
... Poor use of resources is another critical consequence that occurs in the absence of extra allocation of the construction budget, but the client nevertheless demands timely completion of the project. Most responded that productivity was negatively affected, which was attributed to several reasons including, uncertainty regarding productive discussions between contractors and clients, as well as considerable time and mental pressures that are tiresome and demoralizing that may lead to serious construction errors after the conflict is resolved [9,24]. ...
The aim of this study was to examine how conflicts influence the construction industry in Norway and create an unhealthy environment that minimizes contractor engagement in future projects. To achieve this, for the first time, we performed a reversed Ishikawa cause and effect analysis using data obtained from interviews conducted with key personnel in the construction industry in Norway. Data gathered from the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, the Norwegian Association of Heavy Equipment Contractors, and court proceedings were included in the analysis. Most interviewees responded that productivity was negatively affected, which had a significant impact on infrastructure construction projects. However, none of the factors that result in conflicts in the construction industry showed statistically significant within- or between- group differences. Significant costs associated with conflicts affected all stakeholders in the construction industry resulting in untoward effects on entrepreneurial operations.
... On the one hand, the time and expenses spent on resolution and supporting the arguments increase the project quality, but on the other hand, the higher the dispute occurrence, the higher the overrun in time and cost, and even project failure. Resolving disputes, which are known as a major hindrance against the successful execution of projects [2], is a tedious, complex, and costly process that 'cause[s] long-term damage to the commercial relationship between the parties' [3]. More recent worldwide attention has focused on categorizing the fundamental aspects of conflicts, claims, and disputes, as well as their growing frequency, whereas disputes are almost predictable [2]. ...
... Resolving disputes, which are known as a major hindrance against the successful execution of projects [2], is a tedious, complex, and costly process that 'cause[s] long-term damage to the commercial relationship between the parties' [3]. More recent worldwide attention has focused on categorizing the fundamental aspects of conflicts, claims, and disputes, as well as their growing frequency, whereas disputes are almost predictable [2]. Managers who hesitate to predict and take a precautionary attitude towards disputes are most likely to suffer from the undesirable consequences of inevitable disputes. ...
... The most available research on construction disputes focuses on resolving disputes rather than avoiding conflict and preventing disputes [2]. A large and growing body of literature has investigated extensive lists or hierarchies of potential causes. ...
Project claim management is the central pillar of the overlapping areas of contract administration, contract law and building regulations. Delays caused by inefficiency of the procedures designed to avoid disputes emerge at the pre-project phase and continue during construction. The quantum of research addressing this issue is not immediately transferrable between jurisdictions, mainly due to local specificity of construction practices, contract and construction laws, as well as clients’ preferences. The primary aim of this study is to identify the underlying causes of disputes that have arisen in the NSW construction industry in the past two decades and to analyze the inter-relationships between the causes. To achieve this purpose, PLS-SEM quantitative models were utilized to study different factors influencing disputes. Through a detailed quantitative analysis of 230 cases, based on dispute frequencies, causes and effect analysis and the resultant loop cause diagrams, the dispute triggers, types, and root causes have been analyzed as the basis for developing a model to predict the future likelihood of disputes. Finally, 13 causes of disputes have been recognized as the main causal factors in the construction projects in NSW. This study also has shown that payment and reimbursement-related disputes are the most frequent in NSW construction, except for the last two years.
... The majority of previous research on claims/disputes have gone much beyond the discovery of claim causes (Kumaraswamy, 1997;Enshassi et al., 2009;Sibanyama et al., 2012;Stamatiou et al., 2018;Parikh et al., 2019;Jalal et al., 2019;Le-Hoai et al., 2019;Illankoon et al., 2019;Saseendran et al., 2020;Tanriverdi et al., 2021), outcomes of construction claims (Chaphalkar et al., 2015), causes and effects of claims/disputes (Aryal and Dahal, 2018;Zaneldin, 2020). Especially, there are many support models to solve claim and dispute issues in construction, such as a proposed system for avoiding construction disputable claims (Mitropoulus and Howell, 2001;Mohamed et al., 2014), the decision-making governance platforms for the progression of construction claims and disputes (Abdul-Malak et al., 2020), a causal model of disputes (Kumar Viswanathan et al., 2020) and a hybrid fuzzy logic-SEM model for dispute probability evaluation (Naji et al., 2020). ...
Purpose
This study aims to examine the mutual influence of causes of variation orders (VOs), claims/disputes (CDs) on project performance (PP) and stakeholder performance (SP).
Design/methodology/approach
Firstly, this study identifies the VOs, the CDs, criteria for measuring the PP and criteria for measuring the SP. Then, a survey questionnaire is created to collect data from stakeholders in construction projects. Using the factor analysis method, this study discovers the constructs of the VOs, CDs, PP and SP. The relationships among the constructs are then uncovered using a structural equation model.
Findings
The research findings confirm that the VOs and CDs have a direct effect on the PP, as well as the PP’s effect on SP, whereas the VOs and CDs have no effect on the SP. It is strongly recommended that critical factors such as poor management, construction method change, design/scope problems, uncontrollable objective problems, impediment problems, lack of commitment among parties and lack of experience and competence of parties should be given special attention to improve the SP.
Originality/value
The results of the study fill the gap in knowledge by examining the mutual influence of the VOs, the CDs, the PP and the SP. Discovering the mutual influence will assist managers in improving the PP and the SP.
... Although several researchers have attempted to analyse the issue of the construction disputes; however, it is not addressing identifying, evaluating, and addressing the conflicts comprehensively [5]. Furthermore, previous studies' disputes were mainly discovered and managed during the construction phase and not appropriately identified during the pre-construction phase [5]. ...
... Although several researchers have attempted to analyse the issue of the construction disputes; however, it is not addressing identifying, evaluating, and addressing the conflicts comprehensively [5]. Furthermore, previous studies' disputes were mainly discovered and managed during the construction phase and not appropriately identified during the pre-construction phase [5]. Hence, this paper aims to produce a conceptual framework of a construction dispute based on the synthesis of literature reviews and existing studies and theories. ...
... Various approaches, such as Fuzzy and SEM modelling, have been modified for use in construction dispute management [5]. Furthermore, as it models and establishes an acceptable framework for dispute modelling and evaluation, fuzzy logic combined with structural equation modelling (SEM) findings have shown to be a recognised and valid modelling method in construction projects. ...
Construction disputes are a typical occurrence in the construction industry. Moreover, construction projects are increasingly complex to suit the current requirement and design, resulting in a complicated contract document between stakeholders. Thus, complex construction projects leads to a complex dispute arising from the complexity of the work, multiple prime contracting parties’ involvement, poor execution of contract documents, inadequate planning, financial issues, and communication issue. Hence, this research thoroughly analyses the literature in construction disputes and identifies the relationship between construction disputes and standard forms of contract. It defines the research field and makes a recommendation for additional research. Future research is expected to validate the interrelation of the construction dispute in mitigating the construction dispute in Malaysia through the Malaysian Standard Form of Contract.
... If a contract is not clear and complete (Rameezdeen and Rajapakse, 2007;Youssef et al., 2018), then the chances of misinterpretations and opportunistic behaviour would get higher during the contract administration in the projects. Therefore, conflict avoidance and dispute prevention should be adopted as a more effective strategy to resolve potential conflicts prior to the project execution process (Charkhakan and Heravi, 2019;Naji et al., 2020). ...
... According to Cheung and Pang (2013), incompleteness of a contract is the primary cause of construction disputes and encapsulates ambiguity, deficiency, inconsistency, and defectiveness. Risks are common in construction projects and can be regarded as preliminary nodes in dispute occurrence if they are not clearly and fairly allocated to the parties in contract documents (Naji et al., 2020). Risks entail conflicts when they are consolidated with triggering events, mainly related to non-performance, payment, and/or delay (Cheung and Yiu, 2006). ...
Purpose
Contract incompleteness with deficiency, inconsistency, defectiveness, and ambiguity in contract clauses, which can cause misunderstandings and misinterpretations, may result with disputes in projects. This study aims to investigate contract incompleteness factors with a hybrid fuzzy multi-criteria decision approach.
Design/methodology/approach
Contract incompleteness factors were ranked by fuzzy VIKOR (Visekriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje) method, and the most significant factors were subjected to fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) to examine their causal relationships. The study is not limited to ranking the identified factors solely, since their cause-effect interactions are also essential for proper risk management in construction projects.
Findings
Hybrid use of multi-criteria analysis reveals that ambiguity in enforceability including excessive demands and significant amendments in the scope of works are the top two causal contract incompleteness factors, while lack of implementation details and focus of focal point, and insufficient supporting and technical documents are the most affected ones.
Originality/value
Contractual causes of disputes due to contract incompleteness factors other than requirements of the contracts have been rarely investigated in the literature. The research is one of the first studies in the literature investigating the causal relationship among factors in construction contracts, which might lead to project disputes. Findings are expected to improve contract drafting, eventually contributing to effective risk management in construction projects.
... Delays caused by the employer: Prolonged implementation of construction projects by the employer is very common. As some of the factors of external delays are related to the employer, such as not having a building permit or inconsistency in the use of the building based on the municipal permit or lack of trusted supervision according to urban planning instructions and laws, start the project with difficulty and cause compensation to the contractor and ultimately terminates the contract [11,12]. ...
... These managers consider postponing statements and confusing contractor claims as part of their managerial capabilities. They cause projects that have to be completed within a certain time to be completed later and at a higher cost [12]. ...
There are several problems facing the construction industry in Iraq. Delays in construction projects affect one of the most important factors in project success, namely time. This delay causes many problems such as increasing the cost of the project, lack of timely operation, and on a larger scale, economic and social impact on the country. As being one of the metropolises of Iraq, the city of Najaf needs a lot of development projects in the development path. Public school construction projects are an example of projects needed in the city, and delays in these projects in recent years have sometimes caused the city’s schools to operate on a mixed basis. This study deals with studies and researches related to the delay of construction projects in other countries, and after interviews and surveys of construction industry stakeholders in Iraq, new factors have been obtained and finally, using the opinions of the mentioned experts, prioritizing the factors extracted from both identified the source and the five main causes of project delays, including late payment to the contractor, design errors, construction length errors, problems with neighbors, and inexperience of contractors. In the next step, the amount of delay due to the main factors identified in the projects was analyzed using the official documents of 30 sample projects from the statistical population of completed school construction projects in Najaf city. Statistics on the amount of delay caused by factors and comparing it with some indicators, the need to use contractors with better ratings, skilled manpower, experienced project managers, and the number of sufficient engineers at the project site were presented.
... Nevertheless, available literature on construction disputes tends to give more attention to dispute resolution than dispute avoidance (Naji et al., 2020). Furthermore, the growth of complexity and competitiveness in the construction industry has gained a reputation for disputes in the last few years (Elhag et al., 2020) and different types of procurement methods have also developed with the evolvement of construction procurement (Oyegoke et al., 2009). ...
... Disputes can be considered as a major factor obstructing the successful completion of a construction project due to its high cost and time consumption (Naji et al., 2020). Moreover, disputes are unavoidable because of the complexity, involvement of multiparties in a project (Abeynayake and Weddikkara, 2013), poor preparation of contract documents, inadequate planning, financial issues and communication issues (Farooqui et al., 2012). ...
... The disputes must be investigated thoroughly and as soon as possible to determine the causes of disputes and relate them to the pre-construction phase to reduce or eliminate them before the commencement of the construction (Naji et al., 2020). De Alwis et al. ...
Disputes are unavoidable in construction projects due to their complex characteristics and involvement of different parties, which can interrupt the smooth construction process. Hence, proper dispute avoidance strategies need to be implemented to avoid disputes beforehand. On the other hand, the previous researchers suggested that there is a link between disputes and procurement methods. Therefore, the current research investigates the disputes in the construction industry from the perspective of different procurement methods. A systematic literature review was carried out to identify the available procurement methods in the construction industry, disputes and dispute avoidance strategies and the features of the procurement methods from the perspective of disputes. Firstly, a total of fifty-two key research papers on the research area were employed to review. The literature findings revealed that the industry has moved towards collaborative approaches from the traditional procurement method with higher dispute frequency because as per the findings the likelihood of disputes seems less in the projects procured under collaboration. It further revealed that the inherent features of collaborative approach such as teamwork, relationships and mutual understanding give less prosper towards disputes. Therefore, the findings of the review conclude that the selection of collaborative procurement method at the early stages of a project can reduce the possibilities of disputes from the perspective of procurement methods.
Disputes are inevitable in construction projects, and cost and time impacts are higher on a project's performance and successful completion. Therefore, it is essential to prevent disputes from arising or resolve them efficiently once arise. Other than litigation, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) strategies receive more attention from organizations due to efficiency in dispute settlement. However, when using ADR strategies for dispute resolution, it is vital to select the most suitable technique based on the dispute type and other goals of disputant parties. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify the factors that impact selecting the most appropriate alternative dispute resolution strategy for construction disputes. By analyzing existing research published from 2019 to 2023, this study revealed three main factor categories that influence ADR selection decisions. Those factor categories are financial factors, organizational factors, and legal factors. This study further identified research gaps that need attention in future research.
