Acharya, N K; Dai Lee, Y and Man im, H (2006) Conflicting factors in construction projects: Korean perspective. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 13(6), pp. 543-566. ISSN 0969-9988
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this article is to identify and explore pertinent conflicting factors in construction projects; which would be helpful for project planners and implementers in assessing and taking proactive measures for reducing the adverse effect of conflict. Design/methodology/approach – To achieve the study objectives, a 43-item questionnaire survey in a five-point Likert scale was carried out to collect professionals' experience on conflicting activities in Korean construction projects. Responses from 124 professionals working for owners, consultants and contractors were analyzed. Furthermore, ten face-to face interviews were also carried out to ratify the findings from the field survey. Later, analytical hierarchical process method was employed to find out the importance weighting as well as responsible party for the perceived conflicts. Findings – This study has found out six critical construction conflicting factors pertinent in Korean context. These factors with importance weighting are: differing site condition (24.1 percent), public interruption (22.5 percent), differences in change order evaluation (21 percent), design errors (17.1 percent), excessive contract quantities variation (8.2) and double meaning of specifications (7.1 percent). The study has revealed that owner (35.6 percent) and consultant (34.18 percent) are mostly responsible parties for conflicts in construction projects. Originality/value – As the previous researches have been indicating increase in conflicts in construction field, this paper is very topical at the moment. This work has tried to explore the underlying problems of the construction field. The study provides field level experiences from which the inexperience construction site professionals could learn the instances of conflicts and not repeat the mistakes in their projects.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | conflict; conflict management; construction operations; South Korea |
| Index terms: | construction project, variation, methodology, questionnaire, Likert scale, conflict management, interview, specification, construction site, face, meaning, survey, planner, design error, South Korea, owner, change order, construction operation |
| Subjects: | data collection methods, profession, work location, psychology, professional practice, construction operations, research methods, production management, Geography, contractual condition, sociology, conflict resolution |
| Topics: | Geographical Context, Project Management, Research Practice, Roles and Professions, Stakeholder Management, Design Practice, Site Management, Organizational Design, Contract Administration |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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