A study of the current practice of stakeholder management in construction projects

Over the past years, stakeholder management has been advocated as a means of increasing the propensity for successful delivery of construction projects. Previous research has focused on addressing the need for a practical guide to carry out stakeholder management in construction projects. However, full benefits expected from stakeholder management cannot be achieved without adequately addressing the following issues: stakeholder management decisions and responsibilities through the project life cycle; internal stakeholder collaboration in carrying out stakeholder management; stakeholder dynamics; and use of available techniques for stakeholder engagement. These issues were investigated using a questionnaire survey which aimed to explore the current practice of stakeholder management within the United Kingdom. The questionnaire comprised of closed and open-ended questions, the data from which were analysed using appropriate statistical techniques and thematic (content) analysis. The main finding was that stakeholder management is mostly not carried out deliberately and that there is need for internal stakeholders to collaborate in carrying out stakeholder management. Furthermore, dynamics in stakeholdersÕ interests is perceived as important and gaining new information about the project is explanatory for that. Finally, the paper surmises that construction organisations need to make stakeholder management a part of their organisational policy and agenda.