The evolution of stakeholder management practices in Australian mega construction projects

Abstract

Purpose The complicated nature of megaprojects requires appropriate analysis of multiple stakeholders to achieve project objectives and to accommodate stakeholder interests. During the last two decades, many stakeholder theories and empirical studies have sprouted. Although previous studies have contributed to the development of stakeholder theory, it seems that these theoretical advances have not been fully adopted and acknowledged in practices, especially in megaprojects. The purpose of this paper is to explore the evolution of stakeholder analysis and engagement practices adopted in the Australian megaprojects over the last two decades. Design/methodology/approach Four mega construction projects are described and analysed in this study. Secondary data were first assembled in order to get general knowledge of each case. Interviews were conducted with the project directors. Project documents were collected from the project teams and reviewed. Wherever the project information was unclear, e-mails were sent to the directors and the team members to confirm the details. Findings Project teams have started to apply snowball rolling and stakeholder attribute assessment methods to analyse stakeholders. However, there is still a way to adopt the “network” analysis perspective because the project teams are reluctant to use complicated tools which need specialists’ assistance. The stakeholder engagement practices have evolved to an extent where the project teams monitor the dynamics of stakeholders’ requirements. Projects teams have identified the importance of continuity to manage stakeholders in these massive projects. However, a structured method selection mechanism for stakeholder engagement has not been developed. Originality/value This study will help academics to understand the adoption progress and status of stakeholder management methods.

Stakeholder theory and management: Understanding longitudinal collaboration networks

“…The findings demonstrate that STM is indeed a multi-disciplinary discipline, reflected by fragmented co-authorship network from t 1 to t 3 and the emergence of a high number of single and dyadic author representing disunity in STM research interest. This heeds the growing calls to explore the structural composition of STM [ 150 ]. Fig 6 supports this notion which illustrates keyword co-occurrence networks in STM discipline in t 1 , t 2 , t 3 .…”

Social Construction of Institutional Complementation in Cross Sector Collaborations: An Empirical Exploration of a Public Private Partnership Case

“…The initial interviews involved representatives from the organizations involved in the implementation of the partnership, from which further interviewees were purposively identified through snowball sampling. Snowballing has also been successfully utilized in some of the most recent PPP studies where there is a limited access of relevant participants due to project confidentially and perceived sensitivity of the research topic (Opawole and Jagboro, 2017; Yang et al, 2018). In this case the number of relevant participants was limited given the relatively new phenomenon of PPP in Uganda and the current media and public scrutiny that the case study project was under at the time of data collection (February -July 2018).…”

“…Different actors bring different strategies, procedures and priorities to the project that trigger high level of unpredictability (De Schepper et al, 2014). It is a regular experience that most significant sources of change in the PPPs emerge from the interactions of various stakeholders (Cohen and Boast, 2016;De Schepper et al, 2014;Yang et al, 2018). Indeed, research attributes many failures not only to single factors but to interactions of multiple factors during the lifecycle of the projects-including cost, quality, schedule, management ability, and others (Koppenjan, 2005;De Schepper et al, 2015;Van den Hurk, 2016).…”

Integrating a rich picture diagram and causal loop diagram to model stakeholder engagement in building refurbishment projects

“…Community leaders and local government representatives often exchange their political support for involvement and participation in public projects (Leung et al, 2013). Similarly, community advisory groups facilitate continuous stakeholder engagement in mega construction projects (Yang et al, 2018). The influences of the other drivers on other variables in the CLD follow this example above.…”

“…From the example above, the emphasis on project objectives, need analysis, communication and political support reinforce the importance of engaging end-user stakeholders at the early stage of the refurbishment project in the case study. In the literature, early stakeholder engagement is found to be critical to accommodating stakeholder interests from the beginning and consequently enhancing stakeholder satisfaction (Molwus et al, 2017;Yang et al, 2018). The main outcomes of end-user engagement in the case study are the project design, the project execution and the performance of the building and operation as examined from the viewpoints of the end users.…”