Conflicting Stakeholder Interests Research Articles

Understanding the Tensions of Conflicting Stakeholder Interests in Sustainability

Understanding the Tensions of Conflicting Stakeholder Interests in Sustainability

Water neutrality: Concept, challenges, policies, and recommendations

Agriculture, urbanisation, and industrial growth have significantly increased water demand, leading to water pollution, necessitating the protection of rivers, wetlands, and ecosystems. Hence, a strategy is needed that is aligned with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, which includes ensuring safe and affordable drinking water (SDG 6.1), implementing integrated water resources management (SDG 6.5), and protecting and restoring water-related ecosystems (SDG 6.6). This review article introduces the concept of water neutrality (WN), a planning approach for new urban developments aimed at minimising impacts on water security. The peer-reviewed articles and governmental reports published between 2014 and 2024 provide an overview of the current water situation. It also explores the potential benefits of WN, evaluates existing policies and case studies, and offers actionable recommendations. The study reveals that implementing water-related policies often faces challenges, such as political commitment, insufficient funding, and weak monitoring systems, particularly in developing countries. In India, water policies primarily focus on irrigation, drinking water supply, and pollution control. However, these policies struggle due to weak enforcement and conflicting stakeholder interests. The study recommends significant policy reforms and the adoption of new approaches to achieve WN, which promote integrated water resource management, strengthen governance, pricing mechanisms, advanced pollution control technologies, climate-resilient infrastructure, and public awareness, all while aligning with SDG 6. Innovative solutions, such as smart irrigation systems and water recycling programs, offer promising paths to address water scarcity. Additionally, international collaborations can further support these goals. Integrating WN into SDG 6 has the potential to significantly enhance global water security and sustainability.

Primary school principals’ experiences of the implementation of educational policy change

In the study reported on here we explored the experiences of primary school principals in the implementation of educational policy change from an educational policy implementation (hereafter, EPI) theory perspective. With the study we aimed to provide a deeper understanding of the challenges, facilitators, and complexities encountered by school principals when navigating the implementation of educational policy change within their respective schools. Data were gathered using a qualitative research approach through in-depth interviews with purposively sampled primary school principals selected based on their direct involvement in the implementation of educational policy changes after which the data were thematically analysed. The findings of this study shed light on the multi-faceted nature of policy implementation within primary schools highlighting the pivotal role of school principals as key actors in the process. Additionally, we discovered a range of challenges faced by school principals including their missing voice in the development of educational policies, resource constraints, conflicting stakeholder interests, a lack of support and training, and resistance to change. Nevertheless, the study offers valuable insights into ways in which policy implementation unfolds within the unique context of primary schools. It further suggests a practical policy implementation model for policymakers, educational leaders, and practitioners, offering guidance on how to navigate the complexities of implementing educational policy changes effectively. Ultimately, this study contributes to the broader discourse on educational policy implementation and advances our understanding of the experiences of primary school principals as they navigate the dynamic landscape of policy change within their educational setting.

Procurement Rules Governing Public–Private Partnerships for Infrastructure in Zimbabwe and South Africa—A Stakeholder Analysis

This study delves into the critical, but often overlooked aspect of stakeholder management within Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs) based infrastructure projects in Zimbabwe and South Africa. It explores the diverse stakeholder interests in PPP projects by comparatively analysing PPP procurement rules in Zimbabwe and South Africa, through the lens of the stakeholder theory. The study reveals a disparity in the role of procurement rules in managing stakeholder interests in both countries. Zimbabwe’s recently enacted PPP procurement rules fall short of PPP stakeholder management standards. However, South Africa’s procurement rules have been improved over two decades to make them more comprehensive and pro-active. The findings show that PPP procurement rules in both countries play a critical role in averting project failure caused by conflicting stakeholder interests. Nonetheless, there is a need for more robust regulatory regimes in both countries that account for conflicting interests to prevent project failure and fulfil the social welfare objectives of PPPs. Overall, effective stakeholder management in PPPs can bridge the infrastructure gap and improve the economic prospects of both countries.

Trade-offs in stakeholder theory: an ordonomic perspective

PurposeStakeholder theory understands business in terms of relationships among stakeholders whose interests are mainly joint but may be occasionally conflicting. In the latter case, managers may need to make trade-offs between these interests. The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of managerial decision-making about these trade-offs.Design/methodology/approachThis paper draws on the ordonomic approach which sees business life to be rife with social dilemmas and locates the role of stakeholders in harnessing or resolving these dilemmas through engagement in rule-finding and rule-setting processes.FindingsThe ordonomic approach suggests that stakeholder interests trade-offs ought to be neither ignored nor avoided, but rather embraced and welcomed as an opportunity for bringing to fruition the joint interest of stakeholders in playing a better game of business. Stakeholders are shown to bear responsibility for overcoming the perceived trade-offs through the institutional management of social dilemmas.Originality/valueFor many stakeholder theorists, the nature of managerial decision-making about trade-offs between conflicting stakeholder interests and the nature of trade-offs themselves have been a long-standing point of contention. The paper shows that trade-offs may be useful for the value creation process and explicitly discusses managerial strategies for dealing with them.

Making knowledge matter: Understanding and improving knowledge-integration in Dutch marine spatial planning policy

Lacking knowledge concerning the North-Sea's socio-ecological system causes the rapid increase of Offshore Wind Farm (OWF) development to occur under serious uncertainty. Optimising OWF development while minimizing negative effects on the socio-ecological system of the North-Sea thus requires holistic knowledge and its appropriate use in policy. Together with the pressure for OWF development, the subsequently rapid development of an array of scientific knowledge results in a dynamic and multidisciplinary knowledge situation, challenging the integration of knowledge, particularly between research and policy. To ensure policy is based on the latest holistic understanding, knowledge requires integration in strategic Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) policy. While the need for better knowledge processes is widely mentioned as a challenge for MSP, knowledge-integration in MSP remains understudied. This paper responds by studying the role of OWF-related knowledge in MSP while formulating a framework of conditions for knowledge-integration between research and policy in MSP policy and OWF development. These conditions are formulated based on knowledge management and MSP literature and subsequently applied in semi-structured interviews, document research, consortium observations, and focus groups. The case study used for acquiring data is knowledge-integration in Dutch MSP and OWF development. The Dutch maritime area is intensively used and faces important tensions over space due to conflicting stakeholder interests. In addition, while being an early adopter of MSP, the Netherlands also faces serious challenges due to high political pressure promoting Offshore Wind Farm development and a related need for maritime knowledge production. Together with the array of knowledge programs aiming to inform Dutch MSP, this provides a useful case to analyse knowledge-integration in MSP.The framework developed in this paper includes conditions for knowledge-integration ranging from the acceptance of differences between researchers and policymakers, to the need to employ interface managers who can develop a structural and effective knowledge-integration process. Fundamental differences between researchers and policymakers, such as differing timeframes, and differing views on uncertainty were found to form significant risks for knowledge-integration, as such influencing conditions. Additionally, the dynamic, long-term, area specific, and multidisciplinary context of MSP and OWF development was found to significantly influence the knowledge-integration process, underlining the importance of context for knowledge processes.

Toward sustainable development: Developing a decision‐making framework for cross‐sectoral engagement in green procurement

AbstractGreen procurement plays a crucial role in mitigating emissions, promoting sustainable practices, and achieving the objectives of keeping global warming below the 2°C threshold. However, the implementation of green procurement faces significant challenges. Despite the recognized importance of sectoral collaboration, cross‐sectoral engagement (CSE) has not yet been widely acknowledged as an essential principle in green procurement implementation. This study aims to address these implementation challenges by developing a comprehensive decision‐making framework for CSE in public–private partnership projects, with a focus on advancing sustainable development goals. The research identifies and prioritizes barriers to CSE from multiple theoretical perspectives, employing an integrated approach that combines the Method Based on the Removal Effects of Criteria (MEREC) and the Combinative Distance‐Based Assessment (CODAS) method. The results reveal three primary factors hindering cross‐sectoral engagement: conflicting stakeholder interests and priorities, power imbalances, and communication gaps and language barriers. To promote effective collaboration, policymakers are urged to invest in capacity building initiatives that enhance stakeholders' understanding of green procurement principles and encourage their active participation in achieving sustainable development objectives. Theoretically, this study has, for the first time, developed a CSE framework that can be used to promote green practice implementation, integrate four theories to holistically access barriers to cross‐sectoral collaboration, and show the integration of the MEREC CODAS MCDM technique.

Conservation and Management of Woodlands

This research article examines the efficiency of various conservation and management techniques used in Mau Forest, which is one of Kenya’s most significant water catchment basins. It utilizes a mixed-methods approach in order to examine how various stakeholders (such as residents, government representatives, and conservationists) perceive plans and strategies employed in the management of forests. The research article tests the premise that insufficient community involvement, conflicting stakeholder interests, and poor enforcement have all contributed to the ineffectiveness of conservation and management plans and initiatives. Furthermore, it argues that the absence of explicit policies and norms has resulted in inconsistent application of techniques that endangers the forest’s long-term viability. In a nutshell, key themes include: community participation in conservation initiatives, the significance of successful policy implementation, and the necessity of stakeholder engagement in creating management plans. In its findings, it concludes by insisting on the adoption of a coordinated and inclusive strategy for forest management that incorporates stakeholder collaboration, community involvement, and practical policy implementation to preserve the long-term sustainability of Mau Forest.

Managing Conflicting Interests of Stakeholders in Influencer Marketing

A successful campaign should be able to attract investment from the brand, and meanwhile manage the conflicting interests in the campaign cost between the brand and the influencers. As such, the agency between these two stakeholders plays a vital role. Motivated by the above, we stand in the agency's shoes to formulate an interesting yet practical problem, namely Profit Divergence Minimization in Investment-Persuasive Influencer Marketing Campaign (PDMIC). This problem aims to (i) minimize the divergence of the actual hiring prices from the asking prices of the influencers and meanwhile (ii) maintain the attractiveness of the pricing scheme for the influencers to the brand. We show that this problem is NP-hard. To mitigate the challenge of the extremely large searching space of the hiring prices of the influencers, we solve this problem by firstly considering a restrictive searching sub-space and then gradually expanding the searching sub-space to the whole space in the end (specifically, from binary price choices to a set of integer prices and then to any price in the feasible price range). We propose effective yet efficient approximate algorithms for solving the problem in each of these settings. Extensive experiments demonstrate the superiority of our methods.

‘A human values issue’: Actors, arguments, and regulatory change in the Florida land‐based shark fishery

Abstract Recreational shark fisheries have been the subject of recent public attention because of the possible impacts on shark populations and conflicts between stakeholders. A case study is presented based on discussions that took place in summer 2018 about potential changes to policies regulating recreational land‐based shark fishing in Florida. Comments from public meetings and workshops (totalling 15.8 hours) and online comments (1,050) submitted to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) were analysed using the lens of actor–network theory. The case study explores the intersection of conflicting stakeholder interests and types of knowledge, including how stakeholders variously defined the problem of user conflict in a coastal public space, and how they aligned themselves in relation to the problem and to each other. It further illustrates how shifting values and norms can intersect with changing technologies and environmental realities to produce new or increasing conflicts between natural resource user groups. This study underlines the importance and potential benefits of regulatory agencies explicitly and transparently engaging with value trade‐offs when managing conflicts among users of natural resources.

Project stakeholder’s engagement and performance: a comparison between complex and non-complex projects using SEM

PurposeThe large number of stakeholders in a project is a source of complexity because their inter-relationships can lead to complex interactions, an inadequate understanding of the other stakeholders and conflicting stakeholder interests. Although several studies have investigated the role and effects of engaging stakeholders in improving project success, studies examining the relationships between stakeholder engagement (SE) and quantitative and qualitative project performance (PP) in complex projects (CPs) have been limited. This study empirically examined the relationships between SE and project performance within complex and non-CP contexts.Design/methodology/approachThe study used an extensive literature review to develop the conceptual model. The study identified 22 factors of measuring SE and project performance’s association within the context of CPs. The literature review followed by a questionnaire survey to collect data from quantifying the relationships. One hundred forty-four responses were received from project managers in different locations. The response data were subjected to structural equation modelling analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to evaluate the measurements model.FindingsThe current study generated several key findings. In the context of CPs, SE was found to negatively affect quantitative PP but to positively and significantly affect qualitative PP. In non-CPs, SE also positively affects qualitative PP. Further, in the context of CPs, SE negatively affects schedule performance, whereas no significant relationship was found between the two variables in non-CPs. In terms of cost performance, no significant relationship was observed between SE and cost performance for either group.Originality/valueThis research provides insight into differences in the relationship(s) between SE and PP in non-complex and CPs. The research also makes recommendations for project team members.

Conflict Management Practice among Stakeholders in Construction Project Delivery

Conflict is a natural phenomenon among people, groups, and organisations. Due to the unique and complex nature with different parties, conflict is inescapable in most construction projects. These complexities and unsure nature of construction projects need effective stakeholder management approaches to contain conflicting stakeholder interests and to build coexistence among construction and ensure attainment of overall organisational goal. Little consideration has been given to stakeholders’ conflict management strategies in construction project delivery. This study seeks to investigate stakeholders’ conflict management practices in the construction project delivery using Lagos as the study area. The study adopted survey research method. Questionnaires were distributed to the targeted population. A total of 192 respondents’ data were found to be valid and appropriate for the analysis which represents 76.8% response rate. Data obtained were analysed using frequency, percentages, mean score, ranking, spearman rank correlation and ANOVA. The findings of the study revealed that, “be aware causes and result”, “negotiation”, “take steps to deal with the causes”, “establish cooperative goals” and “mediation” were the most used conflict management strategies in construction project delivery. Likewise, “absence of adequate institutional framework”, “fear of change”, “inadequate planning and preparation”, “misunderstanding and loss” and “lack of awareness in alternative dispute resolution (ADR)” were agreed to be the major challenges to a conflict management process. The t-test result shows that there is a strong agreement (P < 0.05 t=2.09, 2.03) between the opinions of the construction stakeholders on the conflict management techniques and challenges. The study recommended that construction stakeholders should be conversant with the various conflict management techniques at their disposal to maintain a coexistence attitude among themselves.

Understanding innovation diffusion and adoption strategies in megaproject networks through a fuzzy system dynamic model

Innovation and knowledge diffusion in megaprojects is one of the most complicated issues in project management. Compared with conventional projects, megaprojects typically entail large-scale investments, long construction periods, and conflicting stakeholder interests, which result in a distinctive pattern of innovation diffusion. However, traditional investigation of innovation diffusion relies on subjective feedback from experts and frequently neglects inter-organizational knowledge creation, which frequently emerges in megaprojects. Therefore, this study adopted project network theory and modeled innovation diffusion in megaprojects as intra- and inter-organizational learning processes. In addition, system dynamics and fuzzy systems were combined to interpret experts’ subject options as quantitative coefficients of the project network model. This integrated model will assist in developing an insightful understanding of the mechanisms of innovation diffusion in megaprojects. Three typical network structures, namely, a traditional megaproject procurement organization (TMO), the environ megaproject organization (EMO), and an integrated megaproject organization (IMO), were examined under six management scenarios to verify the proposed analytic paradigm. Assessment of project network productivity suggested that the projectivity of the TMO was insensitive to technical and administrative innovations, the EMO could achieve substantial improvement from technical innovations, and the IMO trended incompatibly with administrative innovations. Thus, industry practitioners and project managers can design and reform agile project coordination by using the proposed quantitative model to encourage innovation adoption and reduce productivity loss at the start of newly established collaborations.

A System Model and An Innovation Approach toward Sustainable Housing Renovation

Housing renovation is a common concern to owners, tenants and to society at large. In addition to the high economic costs, the implementation of housing renovation usually have a long-term impact on the society and the built environment. This is a theoretical paper that develops a system model for understanding sustainable housing renovation as a system phenomenon which has multiple sustainability goals, complicated dynamic processes, diverse actors, and a sophisticated institutional environment. It identifies the key challenges of a sustainable housing renovation system, namely the conflicting sustainability goals and the conflicting stakeholder interests. To address these two challenges, the paper suggests an innovation approach in which the process of innovation (linear versus organic) and the typology of innovation (product versus process and business versus social) toward sustainable housing renovation are discussed.

Infrastructure, Political Conflict, and Stakeholder Interests: The Case of a Public–Private Partnership in Bangladesh

Public–private partnerships (P3s) offer an alternative for constructing public infrastructure by drawing upon private sector finance and expertise. This article explores the case of the construction of an inland container terminal in Bangladesh. Drawing upon a review of the literature on P3s, secondary publications, government documents, and interviews with relevant sources, the study reveals that diverse interests influenced the decision and implementation of an infrastructure project under a P3 model. The investment capacity of the private sector and its human and technological resources could not help overcome the strong obstacles created by political and social forces. The project took a long time to complete, and decisions on the location were frequently changed. The study finds that intense animosity between the two leading political parties that led to efforts to deny credit to competitors and conflicting stakeholder interests are formidable obstacles in the way of implementing P3 projects in Bangladesh.

Crafting local climate action plans: An action prioritisation framework using multi-criteria decision analysis

The COP21 target to keep global warming to well below 2 (or 1.5) degrees Celsius cannot be met without massive transformation in cities. A major challenge on the road to nearly greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions-neutral cities is the successful development of a climate action plan (CAP) by the local authority, sometimes within the framework of its participation to different initiatives (e.g. the Global Covenant of Mayors). While the identification of the best actions for reaching their long-term GHG emission reduction target constitutes a common decision-making problem for local authorities, it is also an intricate one: conflicting and incommensurable aspects such as environmental, economic, social and technical issues, as well as conflicting stakeholder interests should be dealt with simultaneously when actions have to be programmed. Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) methods are well-known to cope with these complexities and have already been used for decades in several fields. However, they have not been systematically used within the context of local CAPs. The methodologies which are normally implemented to support the prioritisation of actions wholly or to a great extent rely on economic analyses and do not capture the potential co-impacts. In this context, this paper proposes a general participatory framework for guiding collaborative prioritisation of actions as a methodology to help local authorities with the development of more sustainable CAPs, while using MCDA. Finally, advantages, limitations and further steps in research regarding the proposed framework are discussed.

The Ecology of Analytics in Education: Stakeholder Interests in Data-Rich Educational Systems

<p class="0abstract">In this paper, we suggest an ecological perspective on the role of analytics in education. We discuss how different stakeholder positions in education points to different interests in using analytics. As a point of reference, we examine the Danish case of ICT integration in primary and lower secondary school (Danish: Folkeskolen) in order to study cases of emerging and at times conflicting stakeholder interests. On this basis, we discuss how this complexity of the educational ecosystem affects different stakeholder positions within the field.</p>

Firm response, action visibility and consumers’ legitimacy judgment

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the role of action visibility in moderating the relationship between firm response and individual legitimacy judgment. Since a firm may decouple its public commitment from its actual practice to cope with conflicting stakeholder interests, visibility is important for consumers to make judgment because it is difficult for them to observe a firm’s actual fulfillment of its public commitment to quality assurance after a product-harm crisis.Design/methodology/approachScenario-based mixed design experiments were employed and 718 valid responses were collected.FindingsThe results indicated that, while acknowledging responsibility produced more favorable legitimacy judgment than denial, decoupling produced no better judgment than denial. However, higher visibility significantly amplified the effect size. Specifically, under the condition of high visibility, not only did acknowledging responsibility produce much more favorable judgment than denial, but so did decoupling.Research limitations/implicationsThis study provided empirical evidence that action visibility moderated the relationship between firm response and individual legitimacy judgment, thus complementing the literature on crisis management.Practical implicationsThis study provided executives or managers with optimal, suboptimal and least optimal response strategies under different levels of action visibility.Originality/valueMuch of the extant research on response strategy for organizations to deal with product-harm crisis ignored the moderating role of action visibility. Past research on legitimacy judgment focused on organization. This paper combined firm response, action visibility and individual-level legitimacy judgment.

Corporate Governance in Manufacturing and Management with Analysis of Governance Failures at Enron and Volkswagen Corporations

Good corporate governance is important in management of all organizations. It gives direction to an organization in matters of accountability, integrity and quality of product and service offerings in the wake of stiff competition and conflicting stakeholder interests. Business challenges and realities create conditions that favor governance failure through unethical conduct hence the need for regulations in addition to self-governance. Business ethics in business and manufacturing helps organizations in making ethically critical decisions. Corruption is a significant indicator of governance failure and involves illegal activities, criminal activities that are both financial and non-financial abuses and benefits. Corporate governance should provide a framework upon which organizations are hence creates order and harmony between various stakeholders. Good corporate governance improves organization’s image as a self-policing institution that is responsible and honest. Whereas self-regulations looks more attractive for free market economies, legislation and control is necessary since not all managers believe and act within good corporate governance. The board of directors should set the strategic objectives and provide leadership for realization and supervise the management and report to shareholders on their leadership. The Enron Corporation and Volkswagen scandals demonstrated that severe consequences result from failed corporate governance in form monetary and non-monetary that affect both perpetrators and the innocent. Where corporate governance fails, major indicators include, manipulation of financial records, corruption, poor quality products and exaggerated quality specifications in manufacturing and engineering, high staff turnover, lack of transparency and accountability, poor stakeholder relationship, poor performance and low economic development leading widespread poverty and social disorder. External enforcement should be considerate to genuine stakeholder interests to avoid legislation that will encourage cheating for survival. Perpetrators of governance failure, should be punished both as individually and as organizations to set an example to others in the form of penalties that are reasonably high to discourage noncompliance.

Tobacco Control Is a Wicked Problem: Situating Design Responses in Yogyakarta and Banjarmasin

Tobacco use is a persistent social issue worldwide. The World Health Organization has found that policy change and regulation are the clearest paths to resolution. In Indonesia, where smoking is increasingly common, tobacco control has become a wicked problem, plagued by conflicting stakeholder interests, public mistrust of science and government, and the lack of a clear path to a nationally applicable approach. At the local level, however, social change can take many forms, and involve diverse communities, individual citizens, businesses, NGOs, and multiple levels of government in dynamic stakeholder configurations. By treating tobacco in Indonesia as a wicked problem, and taking an iterative, collaborative approach to resolution, we demonstrate how locally-organized, youth-focused anti-tobacco campaigns are less about finding a single solution to tobacco use and more about identifying, connecting, and supporting local stakeholders working together towards preferred futures. We argue for the inclusion of locally-focused design research programs when rethinking complex issues such as tobacco control in places where national regulation is failing.