External stakeholder management strategies in infrastructure megaprojects : an organizational power perspective

Johan Ninan

External stakeholder management strategies in infrastructure megaprojects : an organizational power perspective

Johan Ninan

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Publication Type:: Thesis
Issue Date:: 2019

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Johan Ninan
dc.date.accessioned	2019-11-29T01:37:49Z
dc.date.available	2019-11-29T01:37:49Z
dc.date.issued	2019
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/137070
dc.description	University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Business.	en_AU
dc.description.abstract	Infrastructure megaprojects, due to their colossal nature, can cause inconvenience to multiple external stakeholders such as stakeholders in lands, existing services and project communities. These stakeholders are difficult to manage as they interact with the project across permeable boundaries, are not accountable to the requirements of a Detailed Project Report (DPR) and cannot be governed with contractual instruments or conformance to standards as in the case of internal stakeholders. In this context, this research aims to understand 𝘩𝘰𝘸 an infrastructure megaproject during its construction and operation phase can manage these external stakeholders through strategic action from an organizational power perspective. Anchored in the dimensions of power, persuading strategies, framing strategies and hegemonizing strategies are observed from two exploratory case studies. Multiple organizational power theories which relate to these strategies such as influence tactics framework, bases of power framework, framing theory, governmentality theory and circuits of power theory are considered in this study. The literature review of these organizational power theories and the megaproject literature pertaining to each of these strategies helped identify gaps in the literature, for addressing which eight research questions are proposed. To address these research questions, I selected a metro rail megaproject in India. Multiple data sources from this project such as semi-structured interviews, news media articles, and social media posts were used to investigate the strategies employed by the megaproject to manage external stakeholders. Subsequent to developing twenty-one propositions through a grounded theory approach, a conceptual framework that can help explain external stakeholder management in megaprojects is proposed. The research makes multiple contributions to theory, methodology and practice. The role of strategy in making power dynamic by creating power, using power and maintaining power is established. The definition of project community is broadened to involve all stakeholders of the project (both internal and external) as the strategies used to manage the project community percolated and trickled down to other stakeholders as they are also part of the project community. A structured approach to study naturalistic data such as news articles and social media is proposed and their ability to contribute to megaproject research is highlighted. To practice, I contribute a framework to explain external stakeholder management in megaprojects. The study also emphasizes the role of the covert strategies such as framing and hegemonizing in dictating the visible stakeholder management strategies such as persuading strategies, and vice versa.	en_AU
dc.format	Thesis (PhD)
dc.language.iso	en_AU	en_AU
dc.relation	https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/137070/2/02whole.pdf
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.rights	The author owns the copyright in this thesis including all reproduction and reuse rights for the work. The work may not be altered without the permission of the copyright owner. Attribution is essential when quoting or paraphrasing from this thesis.
dc.rights	au.edu.uts.lib/ppc
dc.subject	external stakeholder
dc.subject	stakeholder management
dc.subject	strategies
dc.subject	organizational power
dc.subject	power theory
dc.subject	infrastructure megaproject
dc.subject	project community
dc.subject	Detailed Project Report
dc.subject	persuasion
dc.subject	hegemony
dc.subject	framing
dc.subject	India
dc.subject	governmentality
dc.subject	naturalistic data
dc.title	External stakeholder management strategies in infrastructure megaprojects : an organizational power perspective	en_AU
dc.type	Thesis	en_AU
utslib.copyright.status	open_access

Abstract:

Infrastructure megaprojects, due to their colossal nature, can cause inconvenience to multiple external stakeholders such as stakeholders in lands, existing services and project communities. These stakeholders are difficult to manage as they interact with the project across permeable boundaries, are not accountable to the requirements of a Detailed Project Report (DPR) and cannot be governed with contractual instruments or conformance to standards as in the case of internal stakeholders. In this context, this research aims to understand 𝘩𝘰𝘸 an infrastructure megaproject during its construction and operation phase can manage these external stakeholders through strategic action from an organizational power perspective. Anchored in the dimensions of power, persuading strategies, framing strategies and hegemonizing strategies are observed from two exploratory case studies. Multiple organizational power theories which relate to these strategies such as influence tactics framework, bases of power framework, framing theory, governmentality theory and circuits of power theory are considered in this study. The literature review of these organizational power theories and the megaproject literature pertaining to each of these strategies helped identify gaps in the literature, for addressing which eight research questions are proposed. To address these research questions, I selected a metro rail megaproject in India. Multiple data sources from this project such as semi-structured interviews, news media articles, and social media posts were used to investigate the strategies employed by the megaproject to manage external stakeholders. Subsequent to developing twenty-one propositions through a grounded theory approach, a conceptual framework that can help explain external stakeholder management in megaprojects is proposed. The research makes multiple contributions to theory, methodology and practice. The role of strategy in making power dynamic by creating power, using power and maintaining power is established. The definition of project community is broadened to involve all stakeholders of the project (both internal and external) as the strategies used to manage the project community percolated and trickled down to other stakeholders as they are also part of the project community. A structured approach to study naturalistic data such as news articles and social media is proposed and their ability to contribute to megaproject research is highlighted. To practice, I contribute a framework to explain external stakeholder management in megaprojects. The study also emphasizes the role of the covert strategies such as framing and hegemonizing in dictating the visible stakeholder management strategies such as persuading strategies, and vice versa.

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