A review of dispute avoidance strategies in construction projects.

Abstract

Construction projects are complex and highly uncertain compared to other industries. This complex environment causes many disputes, which are unpleasant, costly, and detrimental to project success. Disputes have become the construction industry's inherent feature, which is unavoidable in building projects, mainly due to the complexity, project size, multiple prime contractors, inadequate preparation or execution of contract documents, insufficient planning, communication issues, and financial issues. Therefore, this paper conducts a comprehensive review to identify the causes, effects of dispute, and dispute avoidance strategies in construction projects. Altogether, thirty-one (31) reviewed papers reveal the cause of the dispute, twenty-one (21) reviewed papers reveal the effect of the dispute, and twenty-seven (27) reviewed papers reveal the dispute avoidance strategies in construction projects. Several prevalent domains of the cause of dispute in construction projects are designer-related disputes, client-related disputes, contractor-related disputes, and contractual disputes were identified. The findings also revealed fifteen (15) effects of construction project disputes and twenty-five (25) types of dispute avoidance strategies in construction projects. The findings could also raise awareness among the construction stakeholders regarding how important to avoid disputes while managing construction projects in the future. Thus, construction stakeholders can enhance the efficiency of construction project management.