The causes of disputes that would lead to binding dispute resolution methods. A perspective of the Quebec construction industry.

Abstract

There are numerous causes of dispute that exist in almost every aspect of the project, and setting up a strategy to eliminate disputes from taking place in the project means literally and simply doing everything right. However, not all disputes would have the same impact on the project and the project parties, and not all dispute resolution methods (DRMs) have the same level of consequences. There is a widespread argument claim that the binding dispute resolution methods, such as arbitration, and litigation (judicial process) are the most painful dispute resolution methods in terms of the cost, time-consuming effort and the sustainability of the business relationship between the disputing parties, especially when comparing it with the softer methods such as mediation, dispute review board and negotiation (non binding DRMs). This study focuses on the causes that lead to the more hostile types of disputes among the general dispute cases, which usually produce disputes that cannot be resolved through non-binding methods and require involvement in the binding stages, such as arbitration and litigation (judicial processes), which would help the construction project parties better address such types of risks and prioritize their prevention techniques to face those threats. To meet the objectives of this study, three research questions were investigated: are disputes inevitable in construction projects?; are binding DRMs more harmful to the sustainability of business relationships and project progress than non-binding DRMs?; and what are the causes of disputes that lead to the binding DRMs stage? This study was carried out using the mixed method—exploratory sequential design, where firstly, qualitative data obtained through interviews have been collected from experts in the construction field to explore the possibility of connecting certain causes of disputes with reaching the binding stages. Then, in the second phase, quantitative data obtained through surveys have been collected in order to generalize the findings within the Quebec construction industry. The results showed that there is no statistical evidence supporting the claim that disputes are inevitable within construction projects, despite the fact that the participants in the interviews phase and the descriptive statistics of the survey results support this claim. In regard of the impact on the business relationship, the results showed that there is statistically significant evidence supporting the belief that the chances of maintaining the business relationships are high in the case of non-binding DRMs, and are low in the case of binding DRMs. With regard to the impact on the project’s work progress, the results showed that arbitration and litigation (judicial processes) are considered to be the methods with the most negative impact, while the non-binding DRMs were considered the methods with the least negative impact. With regard to the causes of dispute that are most associated with reaching binding DRMs, among 10 groups that contained 38 causes of disputes, unforeseen changes, lack of communication, ambiguities in contract documents, design errors, and delays in work progress were ones chosen as the methods connecting most with binding DRMs.

Date	1 Nov 2020
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	École de technologie supérieure
Supervisor	Christiane Papineau (Supervisor)