Ekung, S; Okonkwo, C and Nwosu, E (2021) Claims culture and client-contractors' willingness to engage in future projects: A multivariate analysis. African Journal of Built Environment Research, 5(1), pp. 19-40. ISSN 2414-0236
Abstract
Inter-party relationships in construction contracts are laden with relational problems. The lifecycle of a typical relationship in the traditional procurement framework model is one-off. Stakeholders' willingness to engage in the future, based on past contract exchange characteristics such as contract claims, also vary. Limited research, however, reports on the relationship between the exchanges characteristics in past projects and the parties' willingness to engage in the future. This study determined the influence of claims culture on client-contractors' willingness to engage in future projects. The objectives evaluated the prevalent claims, the relationship ties, and the correlation between claims and clients-contractors' relationships. Survey data from 200 architects, engineers, and quantity surveyors in Southeast, Nigeria was analysed using multivariate approaches. The results showed payments and measurements, variations, errors and omissions, direct changes, and fluctuation claims are frequent. Projects with high claims also developed less interaction, exchange, longevity, relationship atmosphere, mutual orientation, and dependence towards a future relationship. The implication suggests frequent claims weaken client-contractors relationship ties and the willingness to engage in future projects. Lowering claims culture in projects would therefore promote parties' willingness to recreate past relationships in the future. Contracting parties need to increase their level of adaptations to improve exchange satisfaction, and relationship ties to suppress adversarial behaviours by applying relational norms to claims management.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | adversarial behaviour; claims culture; client; contractor; contractual relationship; Nigeria; questionnaire survey |
| Index terms: | adversarial behaviour, claims culture, quantity surveying, multivariate analysis, satisfaction, engineer, survey, adaptation, contracting party, traditional procurement, Nigeria, contractual relationship, variation, architect, contract claim, lifecycle, questionnaire, construction contract, interaction, norms |
| Subjects: | project delivery, contractual arrangements, contract type, contractual relationship, user focus, data collection methods, profession, practitioner, sociology, payment, conflict resolution, behavioral psychology, statistical analysis, Geography, contractual condition |
| Topics: | Research Practice, Project Management, Geographical Context, Procurement, Roles and Professions, Stakeholder Management, Design Practice, Contract Administration |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
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