Critical Factors Influencing Early Contract Termination in Public Design–Build Projects in Developing and Emerging Economies

Public projects continually face multiple difficulties for their satisfactory completion. One of the most complex challenges is early contract termination (ECT), which delays social goods delivery and exhausts public resources. This study aimed to determine the root causes of the critical factors th...

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Main Authors: Claudia Riveros, Angie L. Ruiz, Harrison A. Mesa, Jose A. Guevara
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-05-01
Series:Buildings
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/12/5/614
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author Claudia Riveros
Angie L. Ruiz
Harrison A. Mesa
Jose A. Guevara
author_facet Claudia Riveros
Angie L. Ruiz
Harrison A. Mesa
Jose A. Guevara
author_sort Claudia Riveros
collection DOAJ
description Public projects continually face multiple difficulties for their satisfactory completion. One of the most complex challenges is early contract termination (ECT), which delays social goods delivery and exhausts public resources. This study aimed to determine the root causes of the critical factors that lead to ECT in public building projects. We studied 20 kindergarten construction projects in Chile through a multi-case study. It addressed a pattern-matching analysis of symptoms associated with risks of design–build (DB) contracts and a five whys analysis to determine the root causes of the symptoms identified in the units of analysis. The results show that ECT projects’ most common symptoms are labor force shortage, materials shortage, and non-payment claims. In addition, the root-cause analysis exposed that the main causes of ECT’s symptoms were deficiencies in the bidding evaluation process, which led to an inadequate selection of the general contractor, lack of experience of the owner, and regulatory limitations of the legal framework for public projects. The construction projects faced ECT and cost and time overruns associated with poor risk management due to the owner’s and general contractor’s lack of experience in DB contracts.
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spelling doaj.art-b4f6785561b546ba9e7ffc0bad6bc43e2023-11-23T10:20:37ZengMDPI AGBuildings2075-53092022-05-0112561410.3390/buildings12050614Critical Factors Influencing Early Contract Termination in Public Design–Build Projects in Developing and Emerging EconomiesClaudia Riveros0Angie L. Ruiz1Harrison A. Mesa2Jose A. Guevara3School of Civil Construction, Faculty of Engineering, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 7820436, ChileDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota 111711, ColombiaSchool of Civil Construction, Faculty of Engineering, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 7820436, ChileDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota 111711, ColombiaPublic projects continually face multiple difficulties for their satisfactory completion. One of the most complex challenges is early contract termination (ECT), which delays social goods delivery and exhausts public resources. This study aimed to determine the root causes of the critical factors that lead to ECT in public building projects. We studied 20 kindergarten construction projects in Chile through a multi-case study. It addressed a pattern-matching analysis of symptoms associated with risks of design–build (DB) contracts and a five whys analysis to determine the root causes of the symptoms identified in the units of analysis. The results show that ECT projects’ most common symptoms are labor force shortage, materials shortage, and non-payment claims. In addition, the root-cause analysis exposed that the main causes of ECT’s symptoms were deficiencies in the bidding evaluation process, which led to an inadequate selection of the general contractor, lack of experience of the owner, and regulatory limitations of the legal framework for public projects. The construction projects faced ECT and cost and time overruns associated with poor risk management due to the owner’s and general contractor’s lack of experience in DB contracts.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/12/5/614early contract terminationDB contractsrisk management
spellingShingle Claudia Riveros
Angie L. Ruiz
Harrison A. Mesa
Jose A. Guevara
Critical Factors Influencing Early Contract Termination in Public Design–Build Projects in Developing and Emerging Economies
Buildings
early contract termination
DB contracts
risk management
title Critical Factors Influencing Early Contract Termination in Public Design–Build Projects in Developing and Emerging Economies
title_full Critical Factors Influencing Early Contract Termination in Public Design–Build Projects in Developing and Emerging Economies
title_fullStr Critical Factors Influencing Early Contract Termination in Public Design–Build Projects in Developing and Emerging Economies
title_full_unstemmed Critical Factors Influencing Early Contract Termination in Public Design–Build Projects in Developing and Emerging Economies
title_short Critical Factors Influencing Early Contract Termination in Public Design–Build Projects in Developing and Emerging Economies
title_sort critical factors influencing early contract termination in public design build projects in developing and emerging economies
topic early contract termination
DB contracts
risk management
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/12/5/614
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