A Stakeholder Theory Perspective for Project Management

We explore links between stakeholder theory and project planning and management. For decades, scholarly work in the field of project management has been enamored with stakeholder theory. Many projects, however, routinely encounter delays and cost overruns due to tensions in value creation among shareholders and stakeholders. We believe that integrating six key principles of stakeholder theory can provide effective project management and value creation for multiple stakeholders without tradeoffs. Through examples, we illustrate how these principles play a critical role in managing projects, draw critical connections across the two disciplines, and suggest an agenda for future research at the intersection of project management and stakeholder theory.