Dispute Emergence Mechanisms for a Large Infrastructure Construction Project Using Inductive Thematic Analysis

Construction disputes are widely regarded as detrimental to project delivery. While many studies have explored their causes, most tend to isolate discrete factors and overlook how disputes emerge from an accumulation of interrelated events, decisions, and behaviors over time. Recent scholarship has called for more layered approaches to dispute causation, but empirical research that traces the interaction between proximate, intermediate, and root causes within real project contexts remains limited. This paper addresses that gap by using inductive thematic analysis, facilitated by NVivo software for coding, theme identification, and visualization, to examine the emergence mechanisms of two major disputes in a single-case study of a large hydropower infrastructure project. Drawing on extensive secondary qualitative project data, the study reconstructs the chronological relationships among dispute causal factors and identifies their root causes. The findings reveal that causal factors, broadly categorized under poor contract, poor contract administration and poor contractor performance, were linked to breaches of professional responsibility, competence, and integrity. The study contributes to ongoing discourse on dispute causation by demonstrating how professionalism-related lapses can escalate into disputes. It also highlights the value of inductive thematic analysis in uncovering layered mechanisms of disputes and offers practical insights for dispute avoidance in complex project settings.