Quantification of the impacts of interdependent claim causes in construction

Purpose Causes of construction claims often result in severe impacts on construction projects. However, previous studies have evaluated the impacts of claim causes in isolation, neglecting their interdependence. This study aims to quantify the impacts of claim causes with the consideration of their interdependence in the context of Vietnam. Design/methodology/approach About 13 claim causes are identified from an extensive literature review and further verified by nine experts, each with at least six years of experience in claim management, through two rounds of interviews. Next, using a structured questionnaire, personal interviews with the previous nine experts are conducted to grasp the causal relationships between pairs of claim causes, which are then used to determine the interdependence among claim causes in a hierarchical manner using interpretive structural modeling (ISM). Subsequently, by adopting a purposive sampling strategy in a questionnaire survey, historical data on the 13 claim causes are collected from 112 project personnel to verify the interdependence. The impacts of interdependent claim causes are quantified by aggregating four proposed criteria, namely, the time impact level, the cost impact level, the number of paths and the strength of correlations. Findings This study identifies 13 causes of construction claims and their interdependence in Vietnam. The quantitative analysis reveals that “termination/suspension of works” is the most critical interdependent claim cause, followed by “delivery/completion of works.” Notably, despite being an independent claim cause, “change orders by project owners” is ranked third. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by providing a novel approach to quantifying the impacts of interdependent claim causes in construction. The findings could be a valuable reference for construction practitioners to identify and focus on critical claim causes, thereby reducing their likelihood of occurrence and impacts.