Construction claim negotiation in international oil and gas projects : empirical evidence from Iranian projects | |
| Author | Fazliani, Hassan |
| Call Number | AIT Diss. no.CM-16-02 |
| Subject(s) | Construction industry--Claims--Iran Oil industries--Iran--Management Gas industry--Iran--Management |
| Note | A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Engineering in Construction Engineering and Infrastructure Management, School of Engineering and Technology |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Dissertation ; no. CM-16-02 |
| Abstract | Claims in construction projects are inevitable. Project risks can transform into conflicts and, subsequently, claims, and if managed poorly, they will become disputes. Disputes, if handledimproperly, may escalate project costs, undermine team spirit, cause project delays, and above all, damage business relations. Therefore, negotiation as a basic method of dispute resolution plays an important role. The negotiation of construction claims can be highly complex, especially in international projects that involve project stakeholders with different cultural backgrounds. Given the high level of investment and technology required, almost all oil and gas projects are implemented by international stakeholders. Therefore, at least one of the stakeholders in an oil and gas project, is often a foreign organization. In this study, initially different aspects of construction claim in Iranian oil and gas projects were investigated. Furthermore, the construction claim negotiations were studied in more detail. This study adopted mixed method (triangulation) which is a combination of qualitative and quantitative for data collection and analysis. The questionnaire survey was chosen as instrument for data collection and experts were units of samples. Although the results of first part affirm previous studies in ranking of claim types, ranking of causations of claims differed significantly. Previous researches proved that the project stage has impact only on bargain power of client and contractor, but in present study, it is verified that project stage has impact on other aspects as well, such as claim likelihood, negotiation tactics, etc.Unique factors that affect negotiations and their importance are identified. Factors are unique either because of their nature or level of impact on claim negotiations in Iran. The results of this part show that factors such as management changes, foreign relation situation, long period of trust building, etc. are unique in nature due to circumstances in Iran. But factors such as national law and regulation; increase bargain power; etc.,are unique because of their level of impact on claim negotiations in Iran. Furthermore, the relation of these factors with length of negotiationsand negotiations tactics is investigated.Finally, personalityof Iranian stakeholders, Iranian organization culture, negotiation tactics, negotiation style, negotiation behavior and negotiation out-come in oil and gas projects were identified. Later, the relations between each of these features of negotiation were investigated. The results reveal following:Personality of Iranian stakeholders involved in oil and gas projects is more Extraversion and Conscientiousness.Culture of Iranian organizationinvolved in oil and gas projectsis more team oriented and; coordinated and integrated.Iranian negotiation style is more integrating and compromising.Iranian negotiation tactic is more integrating. Further detail tactics are options generating, issue focused and progress seeking.Iranian negotiation behaviors are more postponing, compromising and distributive approaches.Negotiation out-comes are mostly conflict reduction and problem solving.Findings of this study can be used as a guideline for better understanding of situations in Iranian oil and gas projects for both, Iranian and non-Iranian stakeholders, by identifying the factors that affect claim and negotiations. In this manner, project stakeholders can be better vequipped to address claim negotiation sessions and settle claim cases within a reasonable amount of time, at reasonable costs and with the least harm to business relations. |
| Year | 2016 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Dissertation ; no. CM-16-02 |
| Type | Dissertation |
| School | School of Engineering and Technology (SET) |
| Department | Department of Civil and Infrastucture Engineering (DCIE) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Construction Engineering and Infrastructure Management (CM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Chotchai Charoenngam; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Hadikusumo, B.H.W. ;Noppadol Phien-wej; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | SCG Foundation,Thailand ;Asian Institute of Technology Fellowship; |
| Degree | Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2016 |