Dispute Resolution Management in Construction Projects: A Stakeholders Centric Investigation

Abstract

With its complex and project-oriented nature, the construction industry faces multifarious challenges that affect its progress. Among many other challenges, cost-effectiveness and time efficiency are critical to construction projects, and disputes among the stakeholders badly influence these two challenges. Catered to such difficulties, this study investigates the essential factors of dispute and the most effective dispute resolution methods in Pakistan’s construction industry by considering the industrial stakeholders. The study collected data in two phases using a random sampling procedure. In the first phase, the critical dispute factors and essential dispute resolution methods were identified through interviews with a random sample of 40 experts and stakeholders of the construction industry. In the second phase, the study determined the optimal sample size of 400 respondents. For quantitative analysis, the SPSS software and analytical hierarchy process (AHP) were applied to identify the best dispute resolution method, the most critical dispute factor, and the most suitable dispute resolution method for each dispute factor. Empirical findings revealed that arbitration is the most effective dispute resolution method, and the most critical dispute factor is the contractual factor.