Stakeholder evolution: a study of stakeholder dynamics in 12 Norwegian projects

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of stakeholder dynamics and to show how stakeholders demonstrate their dynamic nature in the power/interest matrix. This, in turn, should assist project management and stakeholder management practitioners predict the behavior of different stakeholder groups in their projects, and strategize their stakeholder management approaches accordingly. Design/methodology/approach The findings in this paper are based on data collected from 12 diverse projects from five different business sectors executed in Norway by means of an online, closed-question questionnaire, which was analyzed using various statistical approaches. Findings Stakeholder dynamics is a contextual phenomenon, which takes different forms and shapes from one stakeholder group to the other, from one industry or business sector to the other, and even from one project to the other within the same industry or business sector. The stakeholder group of user(s) was the most dynamic in Norwegian projects based on their continuous repositioning on the power/interest matrix from one project phase to the other. Environmental activists/organizations were the least dynamic stakeholder group in the full sample of projects. Originality/value This paper presents the first more comprehensive empirically based findings about stakeholder dynamics in projects the authors have been able to find. The study gives project management practitioners insights from various industries and business sectors into how stakeholders change position over time. It also shows that the two attributes of power and interest are strongly connected and affect one another, which might make it possible to control and design a safer and less complex stakeholder environment for future projects.

An analysis of research published in the International Journal of Managing Projects in Business from 2008 to 2019

“…The most frequent subjects are risk management (Fernando et al. , 2018; Hartono, 2018), project communication (Ziek and Anderson, 2015), stakeholder management (ElWakeel and Andersen, 2019; Nguyen et al. , 2019), project procurement (Noor et al.…”

“…Over time, this category received 139 articles, the highest number among all categories. The most frequent subjects are risk management (Fernando et al, 2018;Hartono, 2018), project communication (Ziek and Anderson, 2015), stakeholder management (ElWakeel and Andersen, 2019;Nguyen et al, 2019), project procurement (Noor et al, 2013), project overruns (Asiedu and Adaku, 2019) and project governance (Lappi and Aaltonen, 2017). The large number of articles related to project management knowledge areas indicate their importance to the project management researcher community.…”

Management of external stakeholders' influences in donor-funded irrigation infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka

“…Therefore, environmentalists are not screened as significantly influential at the planning and designing stage of the DFIIP. El-Wakeel and Andersen (2019) and Locatelli et al. (2017) investigated the influence exerted by environmentalists during the planning and design stage of infrastructure projects (except irrigation infrastructure projects).…”

“…Stakeholder management is a dynamic process involving problem-solving and project risk reduction (Mok et al, 2015). Stakeholder identification is a crucial prerequisite in stakeholder management (Aaltonen et al, 2008;El-Wakeel and Andersen, 2019). Saad et al (2020) disclosed that identifying the stakeholders of infrastructure projects is difficult because many stakeholders are involved.…”

“…Stakeholder identification is a crucial prerequisite in stakeholder management (Aaltonen et al. , 2008; El-Wakeel and Andersen, 2019). Saad et al.…”