Critical features for project stakeholder management: a systematic literature review

Abstract

Many projects fail to achieve their objectives due to weaknesses in stakeholder management (SM). The lack of formal SM in projects and the weaknesses of the qualitative methods of SM are two important issues that are reported in the literature. The paper presents a critical review of the existing literature, addresses stakeholder notion, and related issues within two different schools of thoughts. It proposes to advocate that the management of stakeholders should improve its position to a formal process, and plays a role that is more accountable and align with the project execution. This paper aims to contribute to SM research by comparing the existing SM frameworks, and suggests what should be developed to improve it in projects. The research proposal is based on the researchers' experience, which is supported by the literature feedback to answer the question relating to what are the features of an effective SM in projects.