Causes of Conflicts in Construction Projects in Nigeria: Consultant’s and Contractor’s Perspective

Abstract

Construction projects are prone to conflicts. This is due to the multiplicity of individuals handling different phases of the projects. Empirical evidence from previous studies shows that conflicts affects projects outcomes, if not properly managed. Identification of the significant causes of conflicts is critical to minimizing the likelihood of conflicts occurring in projects. Thus, this study was aimed at identifying and assessing causes of conflicts in Nigeria based on the perception of consultants and contractors. To achieve the study's objectives, a 64-item questionnaire was used to collect information on experiences of construction professionals on the causes of conflicts in Nigerian construction projects. Responses from 69 professionals working for consultants and contractors were analysed. Seven significant causes of conflicts in the Nigerian context were identified. Based on the survey results, poor financial projections on the client's side was identified as the most significant cause of conflicts. Furthermore, it was found that there are no difference in the perception of both groups of respondents. Taken together, these findings support strong recommendations on the need for effective management of finance on the client side, and engagement of experienced consultants in project. Implementation of these recommendations will minimize the likelihood of conflicts occurring in construction projects.

Ambiguity factors in construction contracts entailing conflicts

“…Fifth factor causing claims Ejohwomu et al (2016) Fourth factor causing conflicts Shen et al (2017) Fifth cause of contractors' claims Waldron (2006) First key cause in disputes A3 Fourth Bristow and Vasilopoulos (1995) First primary cause of claims Kumaraswamy (1997) Top five common causes of claims Yiu and Cheung (2007) Main human related source of conflict A2 Fifth Assaf et al (2019) First factor causing claims Cheung and Pang (2013) Sixth conflicting contract incompleteness factor Shen et al (2017) First cause of contractors' claims Note(s): *Rankings were among all factors affecting conflict or claim rather than ambiguity factors Table 5.…”

Administrative risks challenging the adoption of smart contracts in construction projects

“…In the first step, administrative risks in smart contracts were specified through a literature survey, which formed the initial structure of the research, similar to other studies aiming to develop decision framework in the literature (Ejohwomu et al , 2016; Eken et al , 2020; Shah et al , 2019). Scopus search engine was used to gather related studies, as it has been proven to be absolute performance for conducting literature survey compared to other search engines (Hong and Chan, 2014; Yu et al , 2018).…”

“…Three of the experts participated in the pilot study. It was considered to be sufficient as done in earlier studies, which adopted pilot study as an initial phase of their researches (Ejohwomu et al , 2016; Gurgun and Koc, 2020; Hwang et al , 2015; Ng and Skitmore, 2002; Zou and Zhang, 2009).…”

“…These can be summarized as:The experts contributed in the pilot study, fuzzy AHP questionnaire and FGD were all experienced in contract administration in construction projects. The number of experts was proven sufficient in similar studies (Ajayi and Oyedele, 2017; Beltrão and Carvalho, 2019; Chen et al , 2020a; Ejohwomu et al , 2016; Gurgun and Koc, 2020; Koulinas et al , 2019) for evaluations intended for small groups and decrease the quality for large sample size (Darko et al , 2019). Still, the participant number can be increased to enhance the assessments and present common practice better in the industry.This study adopted qualitative research techniques based on expert judgments through pilot study, fuzzy AHP questionnaire and FGD.…”

Identification of the Causes of Conflict among Construction Players in Sarawak, Malaysia

“…Various professional parties work together in a complex environment, and each of them has their own goals with a view to obtaining their benefits. According to Ejohwomu, Oshodi, & Onifade [1], the stakeholders can be classified into internal (e.g., the clients, consultants, and contractors) or external (those that had no inputs in the construction phase such as the end-users). Since construction projects involve different players from various backgrounds having diverse expertise, construction projects are vulnerable to conflicts.…”