Mante, J (2015) Resolving infrastructure-related construction disputes in developing countries: The Ghana experience. In: Raiden, A and Aboagye-Nimo, E (eds.) Proceedings of 31st Annual ARCOM Conference, 7-9 September 2015, Lincoln, UK.
Abstract
The last three decades have witnessed increased investment in infrastructure projects and construction activities in developing countries. Unfortunately, disputes often arise from such projects in developing countries that are resolved by arbitral tribunals in the developed world. Whilst similar projects in the developed world also suffer from the problem of costly disputes, there is a growing trend of resolving them by less costly ADR methods. Available literature on infrastructure-related construction dispute resolution in developing countries provide inadequate information on how such disputes are resolved in practice. The qualitative study, which formed part of a larger study on infrastructure-related construction dispute resolution in developing countries, critically examined construction dispute resolution experiences of Ghana as a typical example of practice in developing countries. The aim was to identify problems with the extant dispute resolution process and explore possible improvements. Ghana was used as a holistic case study. The study relied on interview data. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with forty-five top management employees of five Government Ministries and six public institutions regularly involved in major construction projects. Additionally, eleven individuals from foreign construction firms and adjunct organisations were also interviewed. Data collected were analysed using grounded theory-related analytical methods such as coding, memoing and diagraming to develop themes and patterns from the data. It was found that high dispute resolution cost, low satisfaction with outcomes and suspicious relationships characterised the extant dispute resolution process. An attempt is made to proffer ways to address the challenges identified. The research will enhance foreign contractors' understanding of dispute resolution practices in developing countries and contribute to research by adding to the limited literature on the subject.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | developing countries; dispute resolution; infrastructure development; Ghana |
| Index terms: | construction activity, grounded theory, Ghana, resolution, case study, qualitative study, construction project, construction firm, interview, developing country, top management, foreign contractor, infrastructure project, construction dispute, tribunal, infrastructure development, satisfaction, dispute |
| Subjects: | development economics, management, research design and methodology, theoretical framing, organization, infrastructure and transport systems, data collection methods, project delivery, dispute resolution, business, infrastructure engineering, construction operations, Geography, production management, conflict resolution |
| Topics: | International Construction, Engineering Principles, Stakeholder Management, Site Management, Research Practice, Legal Issues, Project Management, Business Strategy, Organizational Design, Geographical Context |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here