Contract flexibility for dispute resolution based on governance theory in China

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Tang, Bingsong^{; *} | Li, Nan

Affiliations: College of Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, China

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author. Bingsong Tang, College of Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, China. E-mail: tangbingsogn@nuaa.edu.cn.

Abstract: Disputes are inevitable in construction. Tremendous losses caused by dispute are so amazing that professionals try to figure out how to manage it. It is a practical way to study the dispute problem from the perspective of governance theory. In this study, the paper intends to investigate the characteristics of contractual governance for disputes. Based on governance theory, the framework of contractual governance for dispute is constituted of governance structure (GS) and governance mechanism (GM). The flexibility of GS and GMs are all explored so as to better draft the contracts. By a multiple cases study, a new conceptual model instructing governance picture for construction disputes was proposed which was mainly inspired from literature. The cases study shows that the GS determination is rigidly drafted and executed while the mostly GMs are flexibly designed. The rigid GS has an advantage to a stable foundation and the flexible GMs are apt to coordinate the disputes.

Keywords: Contract flexibility, dispute resolution, governance theory, rigid governance, flexible governance

DOI: 10.3233/JIFS-224227

Journal: Journal of Intelligent & Fuzzy Systems, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 3039-3051, 2023