Understanding Social Conflict in Indonesian Infrastructure Projects Based on the Causes and Impacts

Abstract

As an archipelagic country with high cultural diversity, development projects in Indonesia are required to involve the community as a stakeholder appropriately. However, community engagement in the project is a dilemma where society can be a good supporter, while on the other side, it can be a risk factor. This research aimed to determine the type of project conflict that affects social conflict between the project and the local community and the impacts arising from social conflict. This study used 40 data on infrastructure projects in Indonesia collected from the questionnaire and analyzed using the Relative Importance Index (RII) method. This research revealed that value conflict was the most influential type causing social conflict, followed by affective, task-related, and rule-related conflicts. A personal relationship is the biggest impact caused by the project's social conflict, followed by the impact of cost, CSR, time, and the local workers' satisfaction. This research indicated that social values and norms still influenced the local community's life. Project managers can use these findings to develop conflict management strategies according to local socio-cultural conditions in order to reduce the potential for project-related conflict to escalate into social conflict. For further research, these results can be used as a reference in developing an appropriate environmental and social framework under the socio-cultural conditions of the Indonesian community; thus, social conflicts can be avoided, and project performance can be achieved according to the specified goals.