Contract Enforcement for Claimants’ Satisfaction with Construction Dispute Resolution: Moderating Role of Shadow of the Future, Fairness Perception, and Trust
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 147, Issue 2
Abstract
This study pivots around the relationship between claimants’ contract enforcement (i.e., the degree of pursuing contractual rights when resolving construction disputes) and their satisfaction with the resolution outcome. Little is known about how this relationship is contingent upon informal elements that may replenish contracts—such as the shadow of the future, fairness perception, and trust. To answer these questions, the authors collected data from contractors as claimants. The results show that claimants’ satisfaction is positively associated with rigid contract enforcement, with fairness perception, and with trust strengthening this relationship (but trust merely functions in cross-border interorganizational relationships). Flexible contract enforcement regarding obliging behaviors undermines claimants’ satisfaction, and this relationship is negatively moderated by the shadow of the future. Hence, fairness perception and trust play a complementary role in the effectiveness of rigid contract enforcement, while the shadow of the future exacerbates the detrimental impact of flexible contract enforcement. This study not only advances our understanding of contractual governance from the reactive perspective and construction dispute management but also enhances practitioners’ capability of coping with disputes regarding how to enforce formal contracts and proactively alter informal elements.
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Data Availability Statement
Data generated or analyzed during the study are available from the corresponding author by request. Information about the Journal’s data-sharing policy can be found at http://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0001263.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful for the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 72001067 and 71772135) and Hebei University of Technology.
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Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 147 • Issue 2 • February 2021
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© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Mar 16, 2020
Accepted: Aug 29, 2020
Published online: Dec 2, 2020
Published in print: Feb 1, 2021
Discussion open until: May 2, 2021
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