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Grosse, H (2023) Thrown into a Construction Dispute: The Personal Toll of Aggressive Claims Management. In: Tutesigensi, A and Neilson, C J (Eds.), Proceedings 39th Annual ARCOM Conference, 4-6 September 2023, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK. Association of Researchers in Construction Management, 579-588.
- Type: Conference Proceedings
- Keywords: autoethnography, Heidegger, claims management, practitioner research, stress
- ISBN/ISSN: 978-0-9955463-7-0
- URL: http://www.arcom.ac.uk/-docs/proceedings/002d4c0eb1254189aca0af3bade1f31d.pdf
- Abstract:
This practitioner research investigates the impact of aggressive claims management on project team members. I autoethnographically explore experiences on a construction project. While I maintained a cooperative relationship with the client and design team, another contractor employed aggressive claims management. The unfolding conflict provides the material - observations and experiences for this autoethnography. In addition, I use Heidegger's thrownness as a theoretical lens to understand the unfolding processes. The investigation shows that aggressive claims management raises stress levels in the team members resulting from the need to justify and defend oneself. Tactfulness mitigates the effects but is often insufficient due to robust economic necessities and raised emotional involvement. The stress and pressure almost inevitably lead to counter-aggression and the erosion of moral standards and values for economic survival, resulting in a vicious circle of even more severe conflict. I provide no answer to how to deal with the conflict, but I show its effects by using Heidegger's thrownness to explore where it originates.