Effect of stakeholder’s conflicts on project constraints: a tale of the construction industry

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this research is to quantify the effect of stakeholder conflicts on project constraints in the construction industry using ordinal regression analysis. For this purpose, the most significant project constraints and factors that cause stakeholder conflicts found in the literature are measured. Design/methodology/approach Factors causing stakeholder conflicts and project constraints are extracted through a content analysis of the published literature. Further, a questionnaire survey is conducted involving 170 professionals to assess the effect of conflicts on project constraints. Finally, to obtain a more objective assessment, a statistical model is developed, and to highlight the most severe factors causing conflict and impacting project constraints, ordinal regression analysis is performed. Findings The results show that in the construction industry, all project constraints are affected by stakeholder conflicts. Factors that result in stakeholder conflicts indicated a positive relationship with cost, time and resources. This means that any increase or decrease in the effect of stakeholder conflicts will directly influence these three project constraints. Similarly, a negative relationship was observed between stakeholder conflicts and quality, workforce productivity, protection of environment and safety regulations in the construction industry, indicating that increase in the effect of stakeholder conflicts will decrease these four project constraints and vice versa. The results for cumulative ordinal regression model highlight that lack of communication, poor quality of completed works and change orders and rework have intense effects on project constraints collectively. Originality/value A small number of studies have been undertaken to examine the emergence of project constraints in the developing countries. And even more, its relationship with stakeholder conflicts in the construction industry is limited. This research highlights the most significant project constraints and factors that result in stakeholder conflicts in the construction industry. Therefore, this study adds to the existing body of knowledge by developing an ordinal regression model that will help decision-makers and top management control this enigma of stakeholder conflicts in the construction industry.

Factors Hindering Quality Performance in Construction Projects: An Empirical Study

“…While, 0.668 is the loading of conflicts among team members. This result is in line with the findings of Irfan et al (2019) study which revealed that stakeholder conflicts in construction projects affect quality adversely. At this point, a vital issue stems which is the necessity of studying the root causes of conflicts in construction projects.…”

“…For instance, Singh and Sharma (2020) drew attention to the significant areas in which critical factors are usually identified such as employees and skills, functions, methods, and technologies. A study by Irfan et al (2019) on a random sample from different developing countries revealed a negative relationship between stakeholder conflicts and quality in construction projects. Dorcas et al (2019) found construction mistakes, use of unskillful labors, destitute checking and inspection, destitute motivation system, destitute management commitment and leadership styles, deficiency of good quality construction materials, restriction of finance, and weak timely supervision as the most significant factors that influence projects' quality in Nigeria.…”

The mechanism behind informational fairness and project performance relationship: evidence from Pakistani construction organizations

“…Of note is that literature has a mixed opinion regarding the effect of knowledge sharing on project performance. For instance, a recent study suggests that knowledge sharing lacks potential to improve performance (Ali et al , 2018), whereas some previous researches provide evidence of the positive effect of knowledge sharing on project performance, but in some specific contexts, for example, transnational project performance (Adenfelt, 2010) and IT-enabled projects (Iyer and Jha, 2005). Our finding about knowledge sharing resembles the former.…”

“…Knowledge is context-specific (Marabelli et al , 2013), whereas construction projects are multidisciplinary in nature, as they involve engineers, architects, designers and so forth and thus, these professionals from different fields think and act in different contexts (Iyer and Jha, 2005). Potentially, this can be a reason that in construction projects knowledge sharing is considered less likely to affect project performance, especially in short-term projects.…”

An Empirical Study of Top Management Engagement in Total Quality Management: A Case of Pakistan’s Construction Industry

“…The time is indirectly related to cost. Any interruption in project would cause financial liability (Irfan, Thaheem, Gabriel, Malik, & Nasir, 2019). In the construction industry of Pakistan whether they are clients, consultants or contractors, consideration has always been given to only cost and time over quality.…”