Root Causes of Recurring Contractual Conflicts in International Construction Projects: Five Case Studies from Vietnam

Yu Maemura,Eugene Kim,Kazumasa Ozawa

doi:10.1061/(asce)co.1943-7862.0001523

Abstract

AbstractWhile many studies have identified contractual conflicts as a major cause of construction delays in international construction projects, their underlying causes have been rarely explored. T...

Highlights

As developing and newly industrialized countries actively pursue international construction projects, problems associated with managing projects in foreign contexts have long challenged industry stakeholders, as delays and budget overruns have been shown to originate from human and management-related issues (Arditi et al 1985; Assaf and Al-Hejji 2006; Le-Hoai et al 2008; Lo et al 2006; Toor and Ogunlana 2008), in which contractual issues represent a major role
While the current study focuses on the Vietnamese context, a number of studies have investigated the causes of construction delays at project sites in developing countries
The multiple case studies have enabled this study to draw several conclusions concerning the issue of recurring contractual conflicts in international construction projects

Summary

Introduction

As developing and newly industrialized countries actively pursue international construction projects, problems associated with managing projects in foreign contexts have long challenged industry stakeholders, as delays and budget overruns have been shown to originate from human and management-related issues (Arditi et al 1985; Assaf and Al-Hejji 2006; Le-Hoai et al 2008; Lo et al 2006; Toor and Ogunlana 2008), in which contractual issues represent a major role. This figure combines causal factors (categories) mentioned by interview subjects in their detailed descriptions of contractual conflicts, together with those same factors found in the literature The application of this causal fishbone diagram to actual project cases can be used to identify root causes in case studies, while the partial generalizability of the causal factors to other market contexts is supported by existing literature, as the factors mentioned in other studies can be argued to have been observed within the current context of international construction projects in Vietnam. By identifying the factors in the causal diagram (Fig. 2) that initiate causality chains, the case studies are able to identify possible root causes to contractual conflicts observed in Vietnamese international construction projects. A participatory approach to generating checklists and manuals on future procedures may have strengthened procedural justice and a sense of project ownership for all stakeholders

Background

Conclusions

Findings

Research Limitations and Future Work