stakeholder management and power of_interest in the olympics construction project (1)

Stakeholder Management and Power of Interest in the Olympics Construction Project

By

[Name of the Writer]

[Name of the Department]

[Name of the Institution]

Stakeholder Management ii

ABSTRACT

The uncertain and the complex nature of the mega construction projects like the London

Olympics, an effective and efficient management of stakeholder’s power and interest is required,

as it is essential for the successful development of such a huge project. Many previous studies

conducted on this topic revealed the construction sector of UK is generic as their attentions have

been placed on relatively small scale projects. Thus, a specific overview of the literature on

effective and efficient management of stakeholder’s power and interest in mega construction

project seems to be lacing. In this study the researcher will use a secondary research

methodology to analyze the effective and efficient management of stakeholders’ power and

interest in the London Olympics Project. This study reveals that SM approaches in MCP are

subject to national context of the project, indicating a need to identify the impact of national

culture on this discipline.

Stakeholder Management iii

DEDICATION

This dissertation is dedicated to my God, parents, and my friends. I could not have completed my

journey without their love, support, and encouragement. Throughout my journey my parents

have show great support for me and they have always stood be me, and believed in me and my

abilities, even at the times when I had given up hopes. But for the support and inspiration that

these individuals have provided, I would not have been able to attain this goal. In all things that I

do, I consider the impact it will have on them, and I appreciate their support in doing the same.

Throughout the process of this dissertation, I found out that it is the desire to become successful

in life, which at the end of the day makes the journey worthwhile.

Stakeholder Management iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This journey has only been possible because of God and his promise to make the

impossible possible. There have been many times throughout this journey that I often thought of

giving up. My faith in God not only helped me during those doubtful moments but has taught me

that through God nothing is beyond reach. God, your will is manifested through me.

I wish to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to [ ], chairperson, for this

doctoral study. Words are inadequate to express how much I appreciate your patience, guidance,

and effort to get me where I am today on the road to achieving my dream. Your determination to

guide me through this doctoral study is my inspiration that keeps me trying to complete the

study.

Stakeholder Management v

Table of Contents

ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................................ii

DEDICATION...............................................................................................................................iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................................iv

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................1

Introduction..............................................................................................................................1

Background of the Study..........................................................................................................2

Purpose of the Study.................................................................................................................5

Aims of the Study......................................................................................................................5

Objectives of the Study.............................................................................................................6

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.........................................................................................7

Introduction..............................................................................................................................7

Stakeholder Concept................................................................................................................7

Stakeholder Management Literature........................................................................................9

Mega Projects (London Olympics)........................................................................................10

Mega Construction Projects...................................................................................................10

Stakeholder Theory and Key Models.....................................................................................11

Key Models For Stakeholder Management............................................................................13

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY....................................................................17

Research Design.....................................................................................................................17

Case Study Methodology........................................................................................................18

Designing and Conducting a Case Study...............................................................................19

Justification for the Selection of Secondary Research Methodology.....................................20

Data Collection......................................................................................................................21

Overview of selected publications.........................................................................................22

Stakeholder Management vi

Analysis of the Secondary Data............................................................................................26

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS OF THE STUDY.................................................................................29

Stakeholder Interests and Influences......................................................................................29

Stakeholder Management Process.........................................................................................30

Stakeholder Analysis Methods...............................................................................................32

Stakeholder Engagement........................................................................................................35

CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION, AND CONCLUSION OF THE STUDY......................................38

Discussion..............................................................................................................................38

Conclusion..............................................................................................................................40

Stakeholder Management 1

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Introduction

In Mega Construction Projects like London Olympics, project managers often face

challenges in the processes of identifying stakeholder and their needs, assessing stakeholder

impacts and their relationships, and formulating appropriate engagement strategies. Due to

underestimation in the influence of affected vicinity and their concerns on environmental issues,

the project commencement was delayed for one year by a legal dispute regarding ecological

impact of the bridge (Galbreath, 2010). This legal challenge and associated delay aroused

vigorous controversies from politicians, pressure groups, media and the community. The

government has ended up spending extra effort and resources in catching up project progress and

handling negative responses from the public. These challenges in managing stakeholders can be

attributed to the great uncertainty and complexity in the project environment.

Notwithstanding their professional knowledge and experience, the accuracy of

assessment and judgment of project managers often decrease as the project grows in size and

complexity. The foundation for stakeholder identification and prioritization is also not strong due

to limited cognition of project managers and incomplete stakeholder boundary. Ward and

Chapman (2008) pointed out that stakeholders are a main source of uncertainty in large

construction projects where stakeholder entities, their claims and interrelationships at every

project phases are the major stakeholder-associated uncertainties. Mega Construction Projects

are higher in complexity and comprise many more stakeholders than relatively small scale

projects, leading to a larger number of stakeholder-related uncertainties and risks (Kolk, &

Pinkse, 2006). Project managers have encountered greater obstacles for balancing stakeholder


claims and maintaining robust relationships in mega than in ordinary size projects, necessitating

an industry need for more SM studies in Mega Construction Projects.

In this study the researcher will examine how stakeholders are managed within the

construction industry, with a brief emphasis on internal stakeholders and their power in the

London Olympics Project (Flick, 2009). Construction Projects have various stakeholders such as;

suppliers, and subcontractors these would the stakeholders to the main contractor. Every

individual and organization involved in the construction project is a stakeholder to another

participant. For instance in the London Olympics project the suppliers of material and raw

material needed for construction will be the stakeholders in the project (Fewings, 2005).

Background of the Study

Every organisation needs to focus on activities for the successful delivery of its vision,

mission and business strategy (Kolk, & Pinkse, 2006). According to Lin, L.Y. and Lai, M.S.

(2008), an organisational activity has three components:

(1) Processes and practices influenced by the organisation's culture that provides the

framework, guidelines and measures to deliver the activity;

(2) Supporters who provide funding, assistance or are beneficiaries;

(3) Those who will actually plan, manage and execute the targeted work. As these three

components indicate, failure of an organisational activity can be stakeholders'

expectations not met, or promises not delivered, or the belief that the support could be

applied elsewhere (Bourne, 2009).


In the case of construction projects, these perceptions often relate to the quality of the

relationships between project management team and its stakeholders. A construction project

comprises a series of complex activities. Different stakeholders have different levels and types of

investments and interests in the project in which they are involved. According to Turner, Gower

Newcombe, R. (2003), managing multiple stakeholders and maintaining an acceptable balance

between their interests are crucial to successful project delivery. Mainardes, E. W. et al. (2011)

opined that a negative attitude to a construction project by stakeholders can severely obstruct its

implementation. Such obstruction will lead to overruns in time and cost, and poor quality, due to

conflicts and controversies concerning the design and implementation of the project. Their study

reveals that an evaluation of the demands and influence of the stakeholders should be considered

as a necessary and important step in the planning, implementation, and completion of any

construction project. Yu et al. (2007) found that stakeholder management is an important

variable in the briefing process, and they considered it was necessary to assess the individual

stakeholder commitment, interest and power prior to the briefing process and to consider and

balance the interests of all stakeholders.

Nguyen, N. H. et al. (2009) considered that project managers should clearly identify all

types of stakeholders and accommodate their conflicts and needs. The stakeholder commitment,

interest and power should be fully assessed so that the project managers can tackle the key

problems in the stakeholder management process. Nguyen, N. H. et al. (2009) also suggested that

the purpose of the project needs to be understood, and feedback from stakeholders be solicited in

order to achieve alignment between the stakeholders and project team. Many problems can be

overcome if the stakeholders are actively engaged in early planning and integrated into the

project team, and if a systematic approach is used to identify and manage stakeholders in the


project delivery process. They indicated that this was the only way expectations can be managed,

hidden agendas brought to the surface, and project priorities established.

According to PMI (2004), a project is: "a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a

unique product, service, or result". Based on this definition, projects are temporary and unique.

Olander (2006) points out that a project is a unique process, consisting of "a set of coordinated

activities with a start and a finish date, undertaken to achieve an objective conforming to specific

requirements, including constraints on time, cost and resources". Zabid, & Rashid (2003) also

state "there is no such thing as a typical facility development project. No two projects are ever

the same". The uniqueness nature and limited duration of projects require additional efforts to

build effective project teams and generate trust, both within the team and between the team and

the project stakeholders. The team members must learn quickly how to work together as a

coherent unit. Project managers need to be attuned to the cultural, organisational and social

environments surrounding projects.

Ward, S. and Chapman, C. (2008) defines the notion of "project environment" according

to the Random House dictionary, which is "the aggregate of surrounding things, conditions or

influences". He states the environment includes virtually everything outside the project: "its

technology (i.e. the knowledge base, from which, it must draw upon), the nature of its products,

customers and competitors, its geographical setting, the economic, political and even

meteorological climate in which it must operate". Waddock et al. (2002) also use contingency

factors to describe the project environment as one of having high complexity, high uncertainty,

and high equivocality, such factors make stakeholder management difficult. Waddock et al.

(2002) clarifies that uncertainty becomes a problem for the project manager because of the

dependency relationship between the project and the uncontrolled elements in its environment.


Managing stakeholders needs to balance competing claims on resources between different parts

of the project, between the project and other projects and between the project and the

organisation , but an environment of uncertainty and complexity makes "achieving this balance

more difficult" (Smyth, 2008). Since the nature of construction projects is uncertain and complex

(Cicmil and Marshall, 2005), stakeholder management in these environments is challenging for

project teams.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to critically analyze the concept of interaction between

stakeholders during the construction phase of the projects in the London Olympics. The study

will provide a brief overview of the power which is being possessed by the stakeholders during

construction projects, and how is this power impacted as the construction project progresses.

Along, with that the paper will also provide an introduction to the concept of stakeholder

management. In the results section of the study the researcher will present the findings regarding

the power of the stakeholders subsequently during the construction phase of the London

Olympics.

Aims of the Study

The aims of the study are:

To analyze power possessed by stakeholder during London Olympics

Stakeholder Management during the construction process of London Olympics


Objectives of the Study

The objective of this study is the conduct an in-depth analysis of the power possessed by

stakeholder in construction project. In this study we will consider the case of London Olympics

and power and interest of stakeholders during the Olympics project. Along, with that in this

study the author will also analyze the process of stakeholder management during the construction

process of London Olympics.


CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction

The literature relevant to stakeholder management in general and also that relevant to the

construction field is reviewed in this chapter. Starting with an explanation of stakeholder

concepts, the development of stakeholder management theory and major stakeholder

management models is examined. Following this, an overview of existing literature relevant to

stakeholder management in construction is conducted. Through the literature review, gaps in the

scope of the existing research on stakeholder management in construction are identified and

proposed for further investigation.

Stakeholder Concept

The earliest definition is often credited to an internal memo produced in 1963 by the

Stanford Research Institute. It refers to "those groups without whose support the organisation

would cease to exist" (Smith, 2003). In 1984, Freeman published his profound book, Strategic

Management: A stakeholder Approach, in which he brought stakeholder theory into the

mainstream of strategic management. The term "stakeholder" is defined as "any group or

individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of the firm's objectives" (Freeman,

1984). This definition is cited by most researchers as the foundation of stakeholder management.

This definition is more balanced and broader than that of the Stanford Research Institute.

Mitchell et al. (1997) confirms efficacy of this by stating that this definition is characterised as

being one of the broadest, in that it can include virtually anyone.


While researchers have conceived a variety of stakeholder definitions, the concept is

generally defined with two features:

1. An influencing connection between an organisation and the stakeholders. The nature of

the connection is generally indicated by a verb. For example, Freeman's (1984) definition

is based on the verb, "affect", indicating a strongly cohesive relationship

2. The identification of the stakeholders. In this case the definition may include a defining

adjective, other type of qualifier or aspect of either the organisation or the stakeholder.

This definition tends to lead to a narrowing of the scope of who may be identified as a

stakeholder.

The definitions, by previous scholars, of project stakeholders also follow these two

concept features. PMI (1996) defined project stakeholders as "individuals and organisations who

are actively involved in the project, or whose interests may be positively or negatively affected

as a result of project execution or successful project completion". The definition of Newcombe

(2003) is wider. He claimed that project stakeholders are groups or individuals who have a stake

in, or expectation of, the project's performance and include clients, project managers, designers,

subcontractors, suppliers, funding bodies, users and the community at large. Bourne (2005)

defined stakeholders in construction projects as "individuals or groups who have an interest or

some aspect of rights or ownership in the project, and who can contribute in the form of

knowledge or support, or can impact or be impacted by, the project". These definitions are

basically consistent with Freeman's (1984) "affect/affected" concept, and the implication is that a

stakeholder is any individual or group with the power to be a threat or a benefit (Oney-Yazici,

2006).


Stakeholder Management Literature

The stakeholder concept was firstly brought into the management domain by the Stanford

Research Institute in 1963, where stakeholders were described as any groups or individuals who

are crucial for organizational survival (Freeman, 1984). Following its origin, the stakeholder

notion diverged into four key directions concerning organizational studies: corporate planning,

systems theory, corporate social responsibility and organizational theory. A renowned book of

Freeman (1984), Strategic Management: a Stakeholder Approach, has been widely

acknowledged as a milestone in the evolution of SM research, where Freeman (1984) defined

stakeholders as the ones “who can affect or is affected by the achievement of the firm's

objectives”.

After this notable publication, different perspectives of SM research emerged; for

example, the three aspects (descriptive, instrumental and normative) of categorizing stakeholder

theory (Jones, 1995), the concepts of stakeholder dynamics ( Freeman, 1984), the stakeholder

salience and the typology (Nguyen, N. H. et al. (2009). Elias et al. (2002) summarized the overall

development of SM research through a stakeholder literature map. Inspired from stakeholder

research of strategic management field, construction management scholars have devoted

extensive research efforts on managing construction project stakeholders in recent years; while

SM in MCP has become a particular theme of growing research interest, in view of the

challenges encountered in managing stakeholders of complex project environment as explained

in the sections below.


Mega Projects (London Olympics)

Research of mega projects like the London Olympics has become an increasingly

widespread interest in the engineering and project management domains. The fast pace of mega

project development like the London Olympics can be attributed to the advanced construction

technology and rapid globalization. Mega project is defined as a substantial capital project, of

several billion dollars, which requires concerted efforts from major participants in terms of

resources, skills and expertise. There are numerous types of mega projects, including transport

infrastructures, oil and gas extraction, defense and aerospace, water and dams, power supply and

urban development (Harris, & McCaffer, 2013). The huge size and high complexity of mega

projects bring about three major challenges in their project management: (1) the involvement of

numerous stakeholders leading to complex stakeholder interrelationships and conflicting

interests; (2) the dynamics and growing capacity leading to high project uncertainty; and (3) their

governance by a stringent multi-role administrative structure leading to high public attention and

controversies.

Mega Construction Projects

MCP are massive investments of infrastructure, often initiated by the government, which

have long schedule, huge lifespan, extreme complexity and significant social impacts (Yang

et.al, 2011). Salet et al. (2013) divided MCP into two major groups according to their project

function. The first group considers one new single project or an aggregate of projects which are

initiated to serve a primary infrastructural function. They comprise project components of the

same sector. For example, the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge involves project components

(bridge, highway, and tunnel) of a single sector, transportation. The second group considers a


combination of new projects, each serving different functions, but integrated under the single

umbrella of a strategic development plan. London Olympics Stadium Development in United

Kingdom is an example where it comprises project components from the residential, educational,

and leisure sectors. MCP play three major roles in the strategic development of a society: (1)

satisfying human, economic and societal needs; (2) elevating a country's social image; and (3)

delivering leading international events (Hwang, & Ng, 2013). Notwithstanding the significance

of mega project developments, many difficulties are encountered in their stakeholder

management process.

Rose and Manley (2010)indicated that late involvement of major stakeholders and

discrepancy in their relationship intentions were two major negative drivers in aligning the work

motivation of contractors and consultants. Emuze and Smallwood (2011) revealed that in

developing countries, the skills of public sector departments in collaborating stakeholders were

inadequate which consequently compromised project performance. Iyer and Jha (2006) stated

that the schedule performance of MCP could be significantly hindered due to conflict,

indecisiveness and inadequate coordination of project stakeholders. Problems have arisen from

the SM in MCP, giving rise to the need of a systematic review of existing literature in this

domain. This study can assist researchers in gaining an in-depth understanding of previous

research efforts on this topic, and in exploring directions for future research.

Stakeholder Theory and Key Models

The origin of 'stakeholder' in management literature (as indicated in Section 2.2) can be

traced back to 1963, when the word appeared in an international memorandum at the Stanford


Research Institute. Thereafter, the concept diversified into four different fields (Ramaprasad

et.al, 2011):

1. Corporate planning. For example, Taylor (1971) predicted that the importance of

stakeholders would diminish and that, in the 1970's, businesses would be also run for the

benefit of other stakeholders.

2. Systems theory. For example, Ackoff (1974) developed a methodology for stakeholder

analysis of organisational systems. He pointed out that stakeholder participation is

essential for system design and the support and interaction of stakeholders would help in

solving many societal problems.

3. Corporate social responsibility. Post (1981) categorised the main lines of research in this

area, covering many ideas, concepts and techniques.

4. Organization theory. For example, Pfeffer and Salancik (1978) constructed a model of

organisation-environment interaction and claimed that the effectiveness of an

organisation is derived from the management of demands, particularly the demands of

interest groups.

The next landmark in the development of stakeholder literature was the book by Freeman

(1984), Strategic Management: a Stakeholder Approach. Phua, F. T. (2013) acknowledged the

importance of stakeholder management and also developed a framework. After his study,

scholars, in general, studied stakeholder theory from three aspects, i.e. descriptive/empirical

aspect (seeking to describe and explain the methods and process in stakeholder management),

instrumental aspect (exploring the impact of stakeholder management on the achievement of

corporate performance goals), and normative aspect (seeking to examine moral and philosophical

guidelines for management), which were brought together by Donaldson and Preston in 1995.


Subsequently, two models were proposed, one by Mitchell et al. (1997) and the other by Rowley

(1997) based on the concept of the "dynamics of stakeholders".

Landin, A. (2011 ) proposed that classes of stakeholders could be identified by the

possession or the attributed possession of one or more of three relationship attributes: power,

legitimacy and urgency. By analysing the possession of these three attributes, project managers

can realise the change of stakeholders' salience. Instead of analysing stakeholder attributes,

Rowley (1997) focused on the "network of stakeholder relationships". He highlighted that

stakeholder relations are not static, they are dynamic and in a constant state of flux. The attitudes

and actions of stakeholders may change at different stages. This reflects the dynamic nature of

the relationship between stakeholders. During the last decade, more stakeholder theories and

empirical studies have sprouted. Particularly, in construction, Bourne (2005) proposed the

stakeholder circle methodology; Olander (2006) applied the stakeholder impact matrix in

practice; and in 2008, a group of scholars, including such as, Chinyio, Rowlinson, Akintoye,

Skitmore, and Walker, presented their findings on stakeholder management in a special issue of

'Construction Management and Economies'. These specific studies have contributed to the

development of stakeholder theory and also formulated a theoretical foundation for this research.

Key Models For Stakeholder Management

The development of stakeholder theory has generated the development of several

stakeholder management models. Three, namely, the Stakeholder strategy formulation model

(Freeman, 1984), Stakeholder salience model (Li et.al, 2013) and Social network model

(Rowley, 1997), are regarded as general and well-known and as having specific features worthy

of mention. These researchers presented more than a restatement or empirical testing of an


existing model. The three models are cited by numerous scholars, and are generally viewed as

being the research foundation for stakeholder management frameworks. In the following

sections, the contributions and limitations of these three models are discussed in detail.

Stakeholder Strategy Formulation Model

Freeman (1984) presented what has now become the traditional view of the organisation-

stakeholder relationship, in which the corporation occupies a central position and has direct

connections to all stakeholders. Based on rational stakeholder mapping, Freeman (1984)

proposed the Stakeholder strategy formulation model. The first step was to analyse stakeholder

behaviour. This should involve an investigation of past and future stakeholder actions that could

enhance or hinder corporate goals. He recommended that the manager should build a logical

explanation for the stakeholder behaviour. This involved three issues, i.e. stating the objectives

of a stakeholder group; seeking to understand that group external environment; and examining

that group's beliefs about the firm. The final analytical step in constructing strategic programs for

stakeholders was to search for possible coalitions among several stakeholders. A manager should

scan the environment for instances of similar actions, interests, beliefs, or objectives between

stakeholder groups and then examine group stakes, according to economic, technological, social,

political, and managerial effects.

Stakeholder Salience Model

Mitchell et al. (1997) presented a model, which is considered as a notable work and is

referred to by many researchers. They considered stakeholder salience is the degree of priority

policy maker gives to competing stakeholder claim, which can be estimated by three relationship


attributes: power, legitimacy and urgency. Each stakeholder has a degree of power over the

other. Mitchell et al. (1997) suggested that stakeholder power could be explained by the use of

resource dependence theory. The power of stakeholders may arise from their ability to mobilize

social and political forces as well as their ability to withdraw resources from the organisation

(Post et al., 2002). Legitimacy is defined as "a generalised perception or assumption that the

actions of an entity are desirable, proper or appropriate within some socially constructed system

of norms, values, beliefs and definitions" (Suchman, 1995).

Urgency is defined as "the degree to which stakeholder claims call for immediate

attention". Mitchell et al. (1997) studied urgency based on the following two attributes: (1) time

sensitivity the degree to which managerial delay in attending to a claim or relationship is

unacceptable to the stakeholder, and (2) criticality the importance of the claim or the

relationship to the stakeholder. From the definition of stakeholder attributes, Mitchell et al.

(1997) defined different stakeholder classes, dependent on the distribution of stakeholder

attributes. They are dormant stakeholders, discretionary stakeholders, demanding stakeholders,

dominant stakeholders, dangerous stakeholders, dependent stakeholders and definitive

stakeholders.

Social Network Model

Rowley (1997) considers multiple and interdependent interactions that simultaneously

exist in stakeholder environments, leading to a more complex field than that mapped by

Freeman. One approach for understanding stakeholder environments is by using concepts from

Social Network Analysis to examine characteristics of entire stakeholder structures and their

impact on organisations' behaviour, rather than individual stakeholder influences. He examined


how aspects of an organisation's stakeholder network, namely network density and the focal

organisation's centrality, impacted the focal organisation's degree of resistance to stakeholder

pressures. Two propositions have been proposed: (1) as network density increases, the ability of

a focal organisation's stakeholders to constrain the organisation's actions increases; (2) as the

focal organisation's centrality increases, its ability to resist stakeholder pressures increases.


CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY

Research Design

For this research study the researcher selected secondary research methodology, in which the researcher reviewed several previous cases on the strategic management and power of interest of stakeholders in construction projects. The research design of a case study has evolved over the years into a useful tool for the investigation of trends and specific situations in many scientific disciplines. The case study has been especially used in the social sciences, psychology, anthropology and ecology. This study method is especially useful when trying to test theoretical models by applying them to real world situations. For example, if an anthropologist were to live among a distant tribe observations could not produce quantitative information, but would still be useful to science.

This literature review was undertaken by an intensive comparison of peer-reviewed journals of the SM domain in MCP. Three search criteria were established for paper retrieval. Firstly, only academic journals were selected for review, in consideration of their impact positions in the research community in terms of SCImago Journal Rank and H-index. Book reviews, editorials and papers in conference proceedings were eliminated.

This is to ensure that all retrieved papers could be investigated using an identical analytical construct in terms of research aims and methodologies. Three academic databases: ISI web of knowledge, Scopus and ABI/INFORM complete, were searched for relevant publications. Secondly, some keywords were used in the literature search; they include stakeholder, project participant, mega construction projects, major infrastructure projects, mega infrastructure projects, large construction projects, complex construction projects and civil engineering projects. The search rule used was (“stakeholder” OR “project participant”) AND (“mega construction projects” OR “major infrastructure projects” OR “mega infrastructure projects” OR “large construction projects” OR “complex construction projects” OR “civil engineering projects”). The authors used these keywords because they contain meanings alike but appear in different research disciplines and countries (Fewings, 2013). Thirdly, the scope of publication search was scaled down to a time span of 1997/1/1–2014/2/28. The authors selected this timeframe because the relevant publication appeared since 1997 , while earlier studies were not analyzed specifically from the perspective of SM in MCP. The authors suggested that, the state-of-the-art of SM research in MCP could be clearly depicted by reviewing academic journals of this time span.


Case Study Methodology

Basically, a case study is an in depth study of a particular situation instead of asurvey

statistic powerful. It is a method used to reduce a wide field of research to achieve an easily

searchable subject. While it will not answer a question completely, it will provide some clues

and will allow further development and the creation of a hypothesis about a topic.

The research design of a case study is also useful to test scientific theories and models

actually used in the real world. You can create a large computer model to describe how the

ecosystem of a pond works, but only after you've tried in a pond will see if it really is a realistic

simulation. For psychologists, anthropologists and social scientists has been considered a method

valid research for many years. Sometimes, scientists are guilty of being buried between the

general idea and sometimes it's important to know the specific cases and ensure a more holistic

approach to research .

Some argue that a case study is a narrow field so that their results can not be extrapolated

to fit an entire question and showing only a limited example. On the other hand, argues that a

case study provides more realistic than purely statistical survey responses. Probably the truth lies

between the two and probably be best to try to synergize the two approaches. Is it valid to case

studies, but must be linked to broader statistical processes.

For example, a statistical survey can show how much time people spend talking on cell

phone, but will be case studies of a small group that will determine why this happens. The other

point worth bearing in mind in the case studies is its flexibility. While a pure scientist is trying to

prove or disprove a hypothesis, a case study could present new and unexpected results during its

course and could lead to the investigation takes a different tack.


The discussion between the case study and the statistical method also seems to be a

matter of scale. While many "physical" scientists avoid the case studies to psychology,

anthropology and ecology is an essential tool. It is important to be aware that a case study cannot

be generalized to accommodate an entire population or ecosystem. Finally, there is an external

point indicating that inform others your results, case studies generate more interesting topics that

purely statistical surveys, which has been noticed by teachers and principals magazines for years.

The general public has little interest in the pages of statistical calculations, but some case studies

of well-placed can have a big impact.

Designing and Conducting a Case Study

The advantage of a research design is a case study that can focus on specific and

interesting cases. It may be an attempt to prove a theory with a typical case or it may be a

specific topic that is of interest. The investigation should be thorough and note-taking must be

meticulous and systematic. The first foundation of the case study theme and relevance. In a case

study, you are intentionally trying to isolate a small study group, an individual case or a

particular population.

For example, statistical analysis can be shown that the birth rate in African countries is

increasing, but a case study in one or two specific countries becomes a powerful and focused tool

to determine the social and economic pressures that produce this . In designing a case study, it is

important to plan and design how will board the study and ensure that all information collected is

important. Unlike a scientific report, there is no strict set of rules, therefore, the most important

thing is to make sure that the study is focused and concise. Otherwise, you'll meet a lot of

irrelevant information. For a case study, even more than in a questionnaire or survey , it is


important to be passive in your research. You are an observer rather than an experimenter and

keep in mind that, even in a multi-subject case, each case must be treated individually and then

draw conclusions from the crossing of cases.

Justification for the Selection of Secondary Research Methodology Literature review is regarded as a useful methodology to gain in-depth understanding on

a research topic. A systematic examination of existing publications can help researchers in

identifying the current body of knowledge and stimulating inspirations for future research.

Notwithstanding the importance of a critical review, no such work has been conducted regarding

SM research in MCP. This can be explained by the higher attention of previous studies on

addressing SM problems in ordinary size projects than in MCP.Yang et al. (2009) conducted an

overview on SM publications in general and identified their practical implications for the

construction sector. Littau et al. (2010) carried out a meta-analysis of publications on stakeholder

theory in selected project management journals, and found that literatures focusing on project

evaluation and strategy are the major contributors to stakeholder theory development within their

research scope. Theses previous reviews seem to be generic and their research focus is not

specific on MCP.

SM problems in real life MCP have exposed research and industry needs to

systematically review existing literature of this field. Therefore, this paper undertakes a critical

analysis of SM articles in relation to MCP published from 1997 to 2014. This study begins with

the background of SM and MCP, followed by an account of the research methodology. In the

findings section, the authors reviewed the selected publications under four themes: (1)

stakeholder interests and influences; (2) stakeholder management process; (3) stakeholder

analysis methods; and (4) stakeholder engagement. Finally, directions for further studies of this


topic are suggested. For consistency, this study adopted the definition by DB on MCP as the

predominant definition.

Data Collection

A total of 354 articles were retrieved. Despite the rigorous search rule, some retrieved publications appear to be less relevant. Therefore, the authors applied the filtering process previously adopted by Heravitorbati et.al, (2011) in their literature reviews. This process comprised two stages. In the first stage, publications which do not contain the abovementioned keywords in their titles and abstracts were screened out. In the second stage, the authors excluded the less relevant and irrelevant papers after a brief review of the paper contents, leaving a total of 85 publications for further analysis. The selected publications covered various perspectives of managing stakeholders in MCP, for instance stakeholder interests and influences, stakeholder participation, the theories and practical approaches of handling stakeholder claims in MCP. Fig. 1 shows the research framework of this study.


Fig. 1: Research framework of this study.

Overview of selected publications


Fig. 2 shows the annual number of publications, indicating a sharply increasing research

interest since 2005, which could be explained by the globally rising trend of MCP and the real

life problems encountered in managing diverse stakeholder claims (Li et al., 2012).

Fig. 2: Number of relevant papers published yearly from 1997 to 2014.

Table 1 presents the distribution of selected publications in different journals. Regarding

their geographical jurisdiction, 67% of the articles examined a single domestic market. This

could be attributed to the variances of social, cultural and economic systems of different

countries (Hofstede, 1991). Therefore, SM practice is subject to the national or regional context

of the project, and generalizing findings across national borders could produce only limited

practical implications. Among these studies, the majority investigated the markets of Asia (24%),

Europe (21%) and America (11%). In addition, 15% of the articles were considered multi-

country as multinational organizations were their subject of study, and 18% were unspecified in

terms of country. Table 2 presents the number of publications by geographical jurisdiction.


Journal title

Number of selected

papers

Construction Management and Economics 15

International Journal of Project Management 15

Journal of Construction Engineering and Management ASCE 5

Project Management Journal 5

Building Research and Information 3

Automation in Construction 2

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management 2

Facilities 2

Habitat International 2

Management Decision 2

Research Policy 2

AACE International Transactions 1

Architectural Science Review 1

Baltic Journal of Management 1

Cities 1

Civil Engineering and Environmental Systems 1

Desalination 1

Disaster Prevention and Management 1

Ecological Economics 1

Engineering Management Journal 1


Journal title

Number of selected

papers

Environmental Impact Assessment Review 1

European Journal of Industrial Engineering 1

Journal of Architectural Engineering 1

Journal of Civil Engineering and Management 1

Journal of Environmental Management 1

Journal of Facilities Management 1

Journal of Infrastructure Systems 1

Journal of Management in Engineering ASCE 1

Journal of Transport Geography 1

Journal of Urban Planning and Development ASCE 1

Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management ASCE 1

KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering 1

Land Use Policy 1

Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers Municipal

Engineer

1

Scandinavian Journal of Management 1

Structural Survey 1

Supply Chain Management — An International Journal 1

Sustainability 1


Journal title

Number of selected

papers

Sustainable Development 1

Systems Research and Behavioral Science 1

The TQM Magazine 1

Total 85

Table 1: Distribution of selected journal papers.

Geographical jurisdiction Percentage of selected papers (%)

Asia 24

Europe 21

America 11

Australia 8

Africa 2

The Middle East 1

Multi-country 15

Unspecified 18

Total 100

Table 2: Distribution of selected publications by geographical jurisdiction.

Analysis of the Secondary Data


This study adopts content analysis, a structured and systematic technique “for

compressing many words of text into fewer content categories based on explicit rules of coding”

(Stemler, 2001), to identify key research themes for literature review. Content analysis facilitates

scholars to examine huge amount of textual data in an organized manner, to identify the focus of

subject matter, and to observe emerging patterns in literatures (Elo and Kyngäs, 2008,

Krippendorff, 2004 and Weber, 1990). This methodology was applied by Laplume et al. (2008)

in their review of stakeholder theory-related publications where they discovered major research

themes by coding and analysis using an inductively developed but standardized codebook.

Laplume et al.'s (2008) codebook was adapted to accommodate the purpose of this review. Table

3 illustrates the structure of the codebook used for content analysis of this study.

Code Definition of code

Quantitative variables coded

Year Year of publication

Author List of authors

Article title Title of the article

Journal Publication in which the article was published

Institution Institution of the first author

Category Descriptive, instrumental, normative, mixed

Concern Primary stakeholders, secondary stakeholders, both

Project Type of mega construction project

Perspective Project perspective, organizational perspective


Code Definition of code

Geographical jurisdiction Country from which the data was collected

Methodology Qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods

Data source Survey, interview, secondary data, others

Dependent variables Dependent variable(s) used in this study

Independent variables Independent variable(s) used in this study

Qualitative variables coded

Research questions Research question explicitly stated in the article

Contributions Contributions explicitly stated in the article

Major findings Major findings explicitly stated in the article

Table 3: Codebook for content analysis of this study.


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stakeholder management and power of_interest in the olympics construction project (1)

Documents

olympics construction

doctoral study

london olympics project

huge project

journey worthwhile

acknowledgementsthis

great support

construction sector