Early Stakeholder Involvement in the Project Definition Phase: Case Renovation

Abstract

Relational project delivery methods (RPDMs) have been widely offered as a solution to increasing holistic project value creation. Furthermore, early stakeholder involvement has been emphasized as one of the cornerstones of RPDM. The purpose of this paper is to examine who the stakeholders are that should be involved early in the project definition phase. This paper discusses the process and nature of the project definition phase in RPDM, with the main focus on early stakeholder involvement. The results are derived from the analysis of the literature and an empirical study (interviews). The stakeholders, their roles in the renovation project, and at which stage they should each be involved in the project definition process are determined. The findings show that projects cover different levels of stakeholders, whose requirements and purposes must be considered and managed. Early involvement allows room for creative solutions and the intensive exchange of ideas. Thus, it leads to procedures that run in phases, which in turn change the project’s value creation to holistic value cocreation. This article facilitates and contributes to early stakeholder involvement and the creation of integrated teams by identifying and consolidating the different levels, roles, responsibilities, and objectives of the stakeholders.