Benchmarking claim causes against contractors in emerging markets: empirical case study

This study mainly aims to assess the current condition of claim causes against contractors in Vietnam-based construction projects. A questionnaire, which consists of 73 claim causes, is designed for data collection. Project-specific data with regard to the frequency and severity of 73 claim causes are collected from practitioners through conducting direct interviews and using private emails. Together with separate analyses of either frequency or severity, an integrated view of both frequency and severity is presented for 73 claim causes and various groups of claim causes are also proposed for practical applications. In addition, a combined dimension, called as concerning scale, is developed using principal component analysis and, then, a benchmark level for claim management is established. This study could help practitioners to know which claim causes are severe in frequency and/or impact. Hence, practitioners could establish proper strategies to manage claim-related problems of construction projects, in which they are directly involved. Furthermore, this study could provide construction project parties, especially foreign organizations, with a better understanding of claim panorama in the Vietnamese construction market.