Identification of Key Causes of Disputes in Construction Projects and Preventive Strategies: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Construction disputes affect costs, timelines, and relationships among stakeholders. Therefore, the purpose of this study to collate the latest strategies for construction dispute resolution from various primary sources, using a systematic literature review method. The author conducted a structured query on Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar for literature published for the years 2023-2026. Overall, the query returned 518 records, which after multiple iterations, were narrowed to 12 studies, which formed the basis of this review. The study identifies five predominant categories of dispute management strategies: preventive strategies, contractual and management strategies, alternative dispute resolution (ADR), technological strategies, and risk and context components. The findings suggest that the literature is moving from a focus on reactive dispute resolution to a focus on proactive dispute prevention, especially in the pre-contract and early phases of a project. The ability to reduce disputes was linked to communication, documentation, and a clearly defined scope. Concern around standardization and contractual risk allocation remains valid given that contractual issues continue to be a source of conflict. In addition, this study validates the increased use of negotiation and adjudication as alternative methods of dispute resolution that provide varying degrees of flexibility and legal certainty. Emerging technologies, including smart contracts and artificial intelligence, have the potential to improve transparency, automate parts of contracts, and address the issues of payment delays and unclear contractual obligations. Additionally, macro-level factors such as regional legal risks and technical uncertainties, particularly ground conditions, were found to significantly influence dispute occurrence.