Abstract
Disputes, frequently encountered in construction projects, can substantially affect project success, necessitating a clear understanding of how and why disputes occur. Previous studies on disputes mostly yielded exhaustive lists or hierarchies of possible causes of disputes, which can hardly be used to understand how these causes come together to form a dispute. To address this gap, this study provides an alternative approach to understand the underlying causes of disputes, and their relationship within a specific context, using causal map analysis. This study is conducted using causal mapping approach to understand dispute emergence patterns in practice. Initially, a causal map of construction disputes is developed based on literature. The map is altered and verified through an expert workshop, considering projects contracted through FIDIC Yellow Book. The causal representation of the dispute emergence patterns highlights the importance of pre-construction studies, people factor, and contract terms. It is revealed that significant causes are either result of a chain of preceding factors or are triggers for further ones. This finding reinforces that the occurrence of disputes does not only depend on individual causes; rather, these causes combine with a series of other factors for a dispute to occur.
Highlights
Construction projects involve different work disciplines and various stakeholders having different interests and perspectives, aiming to maximize their own benefits
Since this study aims at providing a comprehensive understanding of construction disputes, the idiographic approach is adopted as part of the research methodology
Such factors are excluded because the underlying causes are aimed to be captured, rather than cost impacts leading to disputes
Summary
Construction projects involve different work disciplines and various stakeholders having different interests and perspectives, aiming to maximize their own benefits. While some of the claims are amicably resolved without causing significant problems, some may have further implications, which result in a substantially prolonged process for resolution if a resolution or an agreement is eventually reached Within this context, disputes can be associated with specific judicial issues that require resolution and are one of the main causes preventing successful completion of a construction project in terms of cost, time, and quality (Fenn et al, 1997). High costs and losses associated with disputes force the construction industry to shift its focus from resolving disputes to avoiding those in the first place with the idea that “prevention is better than cure” (Fisher, 1988) In this sense, dispute prevention (avoidance) can be an utterly promising way of eliminating associated value and revenue losses. Cognitive maps provide researchers and practitioners with a holistic view of the project that can be used to improve understanding of how disputes occur (Ackermann & Alexander, 2016)
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