A dimensional analysis of stakeholder assessment of project outcomes

Maxwell Chipulu, Udechukwu Ojiako, Alasdair Marshall, Terry Williams, Umit Bititci, Caroline Mota, Yongyi Shou, Ashish Thomas, Ali El Dirani, Stuart Maguire, Teta Stamati

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

38 Citations (Scopus)
273 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Driven by an interest in developing a deeper understanding of stakeholder interests, this study undertakes a dimensional analysis of how different stakeholders assess project outcomes. Most importantly, in our analysis, we take into consideration the largely unaccounted-for conceptual difference between project success and project failure. Data were collected over a 2-year period (between 2013 and 2015) from 1631 project stakeholders in nine countries. We analyzed the survey data using three-way Multidimensional Scaling. We found that most project stakeholders tend to be more specific in their assessment of project success than when assessing project failure. We also found that most stakeholders attached maximal and different levels of importance to different dimensions of project outcomes. In particular, we found that when assessing project ‘success’, project stakeholders appear more focused on project effectiveness. On the other hand, when assessing project ‘failure’, project stakeholders appear more focused on efficiency. Understanding how stakeholders assess and prioritize project outcomes is of particular interest to project managers as it enables them develop a clearer understanding of individual interests of various stakeholders. For stakeholders themselves, such an understanding helps limit possible disruptions to the project emanating from contesting decisions made by the project manager.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1072-1090
Number of pages19
JournalProduction Planning and Control
Volume30
Issue number13
Early online date11 Jun 2019
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 3 Oct 2019

Keywords

  • project outcomes
  • scale development
  • Stakeholder

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Computer Science Applications
  • Strategy and Management
  • Management Science and Operations Research
  • Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

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