Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

This research develops the understanding of project stakeholder management through examining how stakeholder communication is facilitated and managed during the different phases of the project's life cycle. By building on the information processing view and the stakeholder salience framework, our study shows how stakeholder communication practices vary among the impersonal, personal, and group modes of communication. We also show how these practices depend on stakeholders’ salience and project life cycle phase. The results indicate that a dynamic approach is required to understanding stakeholder management; different communication practices are required over the project's life cycle, which can be explained by the varying degrees of stakeholder salience.

Keywords

project stakeholder management project communication information-processing view stakeholder salience

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Aaltonen

(2010). Stakeholder management in international projects (Doctoral dissertation, Aalto University School of Science and Technology, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Espoo, Finland, Doctoral dissertation series 2010/13).

Aaltonen

(2011). Project stakeholder analysis as an environmental interpretation process. International Journal of Project Management, 29(2), 165–183.

Aaltonen

, & Kujala

(2010). A project lifecycle perspective on stakeholder influence strategies in global projects. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 26(4), 381–397.

Aaltonen

, Kujala

, & Oijala

(2008). Stakeholder salience in global projects. International Journal of Project Management, 26(5), 509–516.

Achterkamp

M. C.

, & Vos

J.F.

(2008). Investigating the use of stakeholder influence strategies in global projects. International Journal of Project Management, 26(7), 509–516.

Adler

P.S.

(1995). Interdepartmental interdependence and coordination: The case of the design/manufacturing interface. Organization Science, 6(2), 147–167.

Andersson

, & Getz

(2010). Festival stakeholders: Exploring relationships and dependency through a four-country comparison. Journal of Hospitality/Tourism Research, 34(4), 531–556.

Beringer

, Jonas

, & Gemünden

H.G.

(2012). Establishing project portfolio management: An exploratory analysis of the influence of internal stakeholders’ interactions. Project Management Journal, 43(6), 16–32.

Bourne

, & Walker

D. H. T.

(2005). Visualizing and mapping stakeholder influence. Management Decision, 43(5), 649–660.

10.

Brøde Jepsen

(2013). Complex new product development projects: How the project manager's information sharing with core actors changes over time. Project Management Journal, 44(6), 20–35.

11.

Brown

K. M.

, Huettner

, & James-Tanny

(2007). Managing virtual teams: Getting the most from wikis, blogs, and other collaborative tools. Plano, TX: Wordware.

12.

Cleland

D.I.

(1986). Project stakeholder management. Project Management Journal, 17(4), 36–44.

13.

Cova

, & Salle

(2005). Six key points to merge project marketing into project management. International Journal of Project Management, 23(5), 354–359.

14.

Crane

, & Livesey

(2003). Are you talking to me? Stakeholder communication and the risks and rewards of dialogue. In Andriof

, Waddock

, Rahman

, & Husted

(Eds.), Unfolding stakeholder thinking 2: Relationships, communication, reporting and performance (pp. 39–52). Sheffield, England: Greenleaf.

15.

Daft

R. L.

, & Lengel

R.H.

(1986). Organizational information requirements, media richness and structural design. Management Science, 32(5), 554–571.

16.

Eisenhardt

K.M.

(1989). Building theories from case study research. Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 532–550.

17.

Eskerod

, & Jepsen

A.L.

(2013). Project stakeholder management (fundamentals of project management). Farnham, Surrey, England: Gower.

18.

Eskerod

, & Vaagaasar

A.L.

(2014). Stakeholder management strategies and practices during a project course. Project Management Journal, 45(5), 71–85.

19.

European Commission. (2014). Creative Europe–Supporting Europe's cultural and creative sectors, Culture for growth and jobs. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/culture/policy/strategic-framework/growth-jobs_en.htm

20.

Faraj

, Jarvenpaa

S. L.

, & Majchrzak

(2011). Knowledge collaboration in online communities. Organisation Science, 22(5), 1124–1239.

21.

Foster

, & Jonker

(2005). Stakeholder relationships: The dialogue of engagement. Corporate Governance, 5(5), 51–57.

22.

Freeman

R.E.

(1984). Strategic management: A stakeholder approach. Boston, MA: Pitman.

23.

Galbraith

J.R.

(1973). Designing complex organizations. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

24.

Greenberg

(1999). Managing behavior in organizations. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

25.

Hage

, Aiken

, & Marrett

C.B.

(1971). Organization structure and communications. American Sociological Review, 36(5), 860–871.

26.

Hill

C. W. L.

, & Jones

T.M.

(1992). Stakeholder-agency theory. Journal of Management Studies, 29(2), 131–154.

27.

Hudson

, & Hudson

(2013). Engaging with consumers using social media: A case study of music festivals. International Journal of Event and Festival Management, 4(3), 206–223.

28.

Hunsaker

P. L.

, & Hunsaker

J.S.

(2008). Virtual teams: A leader's guide. Team Performance Management, 14(1/2), 86–101.

29.

Jawahar

I. M.

, & McLaughlin

G.L.

(2001). Toward a descriptive stakeholder theory: An organizational life cycle approach. The Academy of Management Review, 26(3), 397–414.

30.

Jepsen

A. L.

, & Eskerod

(2009). Stakeholder analysis in projects: Challenges in using current guidelines in the real world. International Journal of Project Management, 27(4), 335–343.

31.

Johns

, & Gratton

(2013). Spotlight on the future of knowledge work: The third wave of virtual work. Harvard Business Review, 91(1), 66–73.

32.

Katzenbach

J. R.

, & Smith

D.K.

(1993). The discipline of teams. Harvard Business Review. The Best of HBR, 7(8), 162–171.

33.

Ketokivi

, & Choi

(2014). Renaissance of the case research as a scientific method. Journal of Operations Management, 32(5), 232–240.

34.

Lampel

, Lant

, & Shamsie

(2000). Balancing act: Learning from organizing practices in cultural industries. Organization Science, 11(3), 263–269.

35.

Larson

(2009). Festival innovation: Complex and dynamic network interaction. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, Special Issues: Festival Management, 9(2-3), 288–307.

36.

Larson

(2011). Innovation and creativity in festival organizations. Journal of Hospitality Marketing and Management, 20(34), 287–310.

37.

Lawrence

P. R.

, & Lorsch

J.W.

(1967). Differentiation and integration in complex organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 12(1), 1–47.

38.

Layder

(1993). New strategies in social research. Cambridge, England: Policy Press.

39.

Lohikoski

, Kujala

, Härkönen

, Haapasalo

, & Muhos

(2015). Enhancing communication practices in virtual NPD projects. International Journal of Innovations in the Digital Economy, 6(4), 16–36.

40.

March

J. G.

, & Simon

H.A.

(1958). Organizations. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.

41.

Mayfield

(2014). Engaging with stakeholders is critical when leading change. Industrial and Commercial Training, 46(2), 68–72.

42.

Merton

R.K.

(1968). Social theory and social structure (enlarged ed.). New York, NY: Free Press.

43.

Mitchell

R. K.

, Agle

B. R.

, & Wood

D.J.

(1997). Toward a theory of stakeholder identification and salience: Defining the principle of who and what really counts. Academy of Management Review, 22(4), 853–886.

44.

Morris

P. G. W.

(1982). Project organizations: Structures for managing change. In Kelley

A. J.

(Ed.), New dimensions of project management, Arthur D. Little program (pp. 155–171). Lexington, MA: Heath.

45.

Mukherjee

, Lahiri

, Mukherjee

, & Billing

T.K.

(2012). Leading virtual teams: How do social, cognitive, and behavioral capabilities matter? Management Decision, 50(2), 273–290.

46.

O'Connor

(2003). Public and private sector in cultural industries. In Niinikoski

M.-L.

, & Sibelius

(Eds.), Kulttuuribusiness (pp. 12–29). Vantaa, Finland: WSOY.

47.

Olander

, & Landin

(2005). Evaluation of stakeholder influence in the implementation of construction projects. International Journal of Project Management, 23(4), 321–328.

48.

Pan

, & Huan

T.-C.

(2013). New perspectives on festival and events research. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 7(2), 115–117.

49.

Pick

, & Anderton

(1999). Arts administration. London, England: Spon Press, Taylor & Francis.

50.

Prencipe

, & Tell

(2001). Inter-project learning: Processes and outcomes of knowledge codification in project-based firms. Research Policy, 30, 1373–1394.

51.

Project Management Institute (2013). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK® guide) (5th ed.). Newtown Square, PA: Author.

52.

Radbourne

, & Fraser

(1996). Arts management: A practical guide. (South Wind Production). Singapore: Allen & Unwin.

53.

Rowley

(2004). Researching people and organizations. Library Management, 25(4), 208–214.

54.

Shenhar

A. J.

, & Dvir

(1996). Toward a typological theory of project management. Research Policy, 25(4), 607–632.

55.

Slevin

D. P.

, & Pinto

J.K.

(1987). Balancing strategy and tactics in project implementation. Sloan Management Review, 29(1), 33–41.

56.

Thompson

J.D.

(1967). Organizations in action: Social science bases of administrative theory (transaction ed.). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.

57.

Turkulainen

, Kujala

, Artto

, & Levitt

(2013). Organizing in the context of global project-based firm: The case of sales-operations interface. Industrial Marketing Management, 42(2), 223–233.

58.

Turkulainen

, Ruuska

, Brady

, & Artto

(2015). Managing project-to-project and project-to-organization interfaces in programs: Organizational integration in a global operations expansion program. International Journal of Project Management, 33(4), 816–827.

59.

Turner

J.R.

(1999). The handbook of project-based management: Improving the processes for achieving strategic objectives (2nd ed.). London, England: McGraw-Hill.

60.

Van de Ven

A. H.

, Delbecq

A. H.

, & Koenig

Jr. (1976). Determinants of coordination modes within organization. American Sociological Review, 41(2), 322–338.

61.

Vaughan

(1992). Theory elaboration: The heuristics of case analysis. In Ragin

C. C.

, & Becker

H. S.

(Eds.), What is case? Exploring the foundations of social inquiry (pp. 173–201). Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.

62.

Wåhlin

, & Blomquist

(2014). Organizing cultural projects. Special Issue Call for Papers. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business.

63.

Waters

R. D.

, Burnett

, Lamm

, & Lucas

(2009). Engaging stakeholders through social networking: How nonprofit organisations are using Facebook. Public Relations Review, 35(09), 102–106.

64.

Welch

, & Jackson

P.R.

(2007). Rethinking internal communication: A stakeholder approach. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 12(2), 177–198.

65.

Winch

(2004). Managing project stakeholders. In Morris

P. W. G.

, & Pinto

J. K.

(Eds.), The Wiley guide to managing projects (pp. 321–339). New York, NY: Wiley.

66.

Yang

, Shen

, & Ho

(2009). An overview of previous studies in stakeholder management and its implications for the construction industry. Journal of Facilities Management, 7(2), 159–175.

67.

Yang

, Wang

, & Jin

X.-H.

(2014). Stakeholders’ attributes, behaviours, and decision strategies in construction projects: Importance and correlations in practice. Project Management Journal, 45(3), 74–90.

68.

Yin

R.K.

(2009). Case study research: Design and methods (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Managing Project Stakeholder Communication: The Qstock Festival Case

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References