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The purpose of this paper is to show how boards can get in touch with their value critical stakeholders, those who can make or break the company.

The paper first develops the hypothesis that boards often are out of touch with reality. It then introduces the concept of value critical stakeholders and proposes that boards introduce an outreach program to get in touch with them. For each of the proposed five elements in an outreach program, the paper reviews what boards already are doing to be in touch.

The review of existing practice shows that for each of the elements in an outreach program, there is enough practice available for boards to develop a comprehensive approach to get in touch with the value critical stakeholders.

To prevent a future governance crisis, get in touch and promote long‐term value creation, boards need an explicit program of reaching out beyond the boardroom, not only to the immediate stakeholders, but also the societal stakeholders, who can make or break the company. This paper shows how it can be done.

The paper introduces the new concept of value critical stakeholders and describes how it can be used to help boards get in touch with reality.

The purpose of this paper is to construct a two-stage risk management framework for international construction projects based on the meta-network analysis (MNA) approach. A plethora of international construction studies seems to assume risks as independent and therefore, risk intervention strategies are usually critiqued as ineffective.

In the risk assessment stage, a multi-tiered risk network structure was developed with the project objectives, risk events, risk factors and stakeholders, and critical risk factors were selected based on a series of calculations. In the risk intervention stage, targeted risk intervention strategies were proposed for stakeholders based on the results of the first stage. A highway construction project in Eastern Europe was selected as a case study.

The results showed that 17 risk factors in three categories – external, stakeholder-related and internal – are critical, and the project manager, construction management department, supplier and contract department are the most critical stakeholders that affect the entire project performance. Based on the critical risk factors and project stakeholders, targeted risk intervention strategies were proposed. The risk assessment results of MNA were found to be more reliable and consistent with the project conditions than the risk matrix method; the risk intervention strategies of MNA can effectively address project objectives.

This study modeled risk priorities based on risk associations and put forward a new method for risk management, supplementing the body of knowledge of international construction. The results of this study are of critical importance in management practices.

Prefabricated construction (PC) will play a vital role in the transformation and upgrading of the construction industry in the future. However, high capital cost is currently one of the biggest obstacles to the application and promotion of PC in China. Clarifying the factors that affect the PC cost from the perspectives of stakeholders and exploring key cost control paths help to achieve effective cost management, but few studies have paid enough attention to this. Therefore, this research aims to explore the critical cost influencing factors (CIFs) and critical stakeholders of PC based on stakeholder theories and propose corresponding strategies for different stakeholders to reduce the cost of PC.

Based on the stakeholder theory and social network theory, literature review and two rounds of expert interviews were used to obtain the stakeholder-associated CIFs and their mutual effects, then the consistency of the data was tested. After that, social network analysis was applied to identify the critical CIFs, critical interaction and key stakeholders in PC cost control and mine the influence conduction paths between CIFs.

The results reveal that the cognition and attitude of developer and relevant standards and codes are the most critical CIFs while the government, developer and contractor are crucial to the cost control of PC. The findings further suggest that measures should be taken to reduce the transaction costs of the developer, and the contractor ought to efficiently apply information technology. Moreover, the collaborative work between designer and manufacturer can avoid unnecessary cost consumption.

This research combines stakeholder management and cost management in PC for the first time and explores the effective cost control paths. The research results can contribute to clarifying the key points of cost management for different stakeholders and improving the cost performance of PC projects.

Managers of megaprojects face social risk management challenges throughout the various design, construction, and operation stages, owing to the various conflicts of interest among stakeholders, public skepticism, and opposition. However, most existing studies have not focused on the dynamic analysis of integrating social risks in these stages. This study developed a dynamic analysis approach to explore the dynamics of critical social risk factors and related stakeholders of megaprojects and built the managerial maps for various stakeholders.

Based on the social analysis network (SNA), a dynamic network analysis approach for understanding the dynamics of social risk and related stakeholders has been developed by literature and case analysis. The approach comprises the following steps: (1) generating social risk–stakeholder networks in different stages; (2) analysis of the critical stakeholders and social risk factors; (3) dynamic analysis of social risk factors; and (4) developing social risk management maps for various stakeholders. To verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the approach, 40 megaprojects from China were analyzed.

According to the results, the local government is a critical stakeholder during all stages, inadequate information promotion (IIP) and imperfect communication and coordination mechanism (ICCM) are key social risk sources throughout the megaproject life cycle. Furthermore, the management maps for government organizations, project implementation groups, and external stakeholders were constructed.

This research has three contributions. First, a dynamic analysis approach of stakeholder-associated social risks in megaprojects is developed, which enriches the social risk management theory of megaprojects and provides inspiration for future research focus. Second, the social risk–stakeholder networks and critical social risks in different stages are confirmed to provide a more valid and accurate picture of social risk management in megaprojects. Third, the social risk managerial maps for different stakeholders built in this research will be beneficial for governments, project implementation groups, and external stakeholders to optimize management strategies.

This study aims to examine the current network of inter‐relationships of stakeholders representing government, the community and the tourism and hospitality industry, and their perceptions of critical stakeholders in destination development.

While the network analysis enabled examination of the interconnectedness of stakeholders, the stakeholder approach identified the critical stakeholders in destination development. These two approaches helped determine how the existing relationship structures of destination stakeholders might influence sustainable destination development.

The destination marketing/management organizations (DMOs) and stakeholders with access to or possession of critical resources have the highest centrality in urban destinations. In all three clusters, local government and DMOs are perceived to hold the greatest legitimacy and power over others in destination development. It is also found that there is a lack of “bridges” between the three clusters of industry, government and the community.

The study demonstrates the use of a network analysis methodology as a potential tool for researchers and managers in examining destination stakeholder relationships.

DMOs, hotels and attractions stakeholders have the most crucial roles in achieving inter‐stakeholder collaboration for sustainable destination development, particularly because the many and diverse industry actors trust or depend on them.

There are very few studies that have applied both network and stakeholder perspectives to destinations to examine the structure of inter‐stakeholder relationships and the potential influence of this relational structure on sustainable destination development.

Modular integrated construction (MiC) is an innovative and effective manufacturing-based method of construction that has become the mainstream development direction of projects in Hong Kong (HK). However, large-scale promotion of MiC practice still needs efforts. A pressing concern is that the impact of relevant policies on stakeholders during project implementation is rarely explored in depth. Therefore, to fill the research gap, this study aims to investigate the influence of policies on stakeholders to drive the successful implementation of MiC in HK.

This study uses a strategy of multiple methods. First, a comprehensively literature review and survey were adopted to identify critical policies and stakeholders. Second, semi-structured interviews with 28 experts were conducted to quantify their relationships. Third, three policy–stakeholder networks at initiation, planning and design and construction stages were established using social network analysis.

Environmental protection policy, COVID-19 pandemic policy and environmental protection policy and quality acceptance standard for project completion are found to be the most important policies of the three stages, respectively. The HK government and developers are highlighted as prominent stakeholders influencing policy implementation at all three stages. The dynamics of the influence stakeholders receive from critical policies at different stages of MiC are discussed. Valuable recommendations are accordingly proposed to enhance the successful implementation of MiC projects from the perspective of various stakeholders.

This study contributes to the body of knowledge by considering the mediating influence of stakeholders during policy implementation in the MiC uptake, and is valuable in helping policymakers to deeply understand the influence of policies to further forward successful MiC implementation and practicality in HK.

Using the global financial crisis as a critical event and based on institutional theory and stakeholder theory, this paper aims to explore the relationship between corporate governance and corporate social responsibility (CSR). The question is how stakeholders can influence corporate responses to societal change by using their position in the governance structure.

The analysis is based on a historical analysis of data collected mainly between 2002 and 2004. The historical perspective enables an understanding of the response of the company to environmental changes.

The approach enables researchers to relate the normative component of CSR to specific governance mechanisms. These governance mechanisms are specified in direct and indirect influence pathways. Historical data shed light on how, in the upbeat of the crisis, stakeholders have influenced the principles and policies of the ING Group, a Dutch financial company.

The paper suggests that stakeholders influence principles – normative assumptions that guide corporate decisions – mainly in dialogue-based meetings (direct influence pathways). Companies are made accountable in indirect influence pathways such as regulations. The author also demonstrates that a historical approach enables an understanding of long-term historical developments and the linking of corporate policies to the normative assumptions of stakeholders.

If stakeholders wish to assess the social responsibility of a company, then they should assess the governance structure in relation to the principles and policies. The power structure within a company and that within the institutional framework in which the company operates (the governance system) strongly influences how a company executes its social responsibilities.

The paper demonstrates how stakeholders can use the governance structure to influence a bank. If society – or a specific group in society – wants banks to play a different role, this paper points to what could be the levers of change in the governance system and the governance structure.

Insights into the complex relationship between corporate governance and the processes in which the social responsibilities of a company are developed.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how stakeholders are engaged in the sustainability accounting and reporting processes of Australian local councils.

Managerial stakeholder theory through the use of the notion of stakeholder salience provides a theoretical basis for exploring stakeholder engagement in the sustainability accounting and reporting process. Case study research was used to explore the stakeholder engagement practices of three Australian local councils. Data collection methods included interviews and document analysis.

The findings of this research identified the importance of stakeholder engagement in the entire sustainability accounting and reporting process, the development of strategic plans and sustainability indicators, the measurement of sustainability performance and the preparation of sustainability reports.

This study, by integrating the sustainability accounting and reporting literature with the stakeholder salience concepts of power, legitimacy, urgency and proximity, illustrates the critical role of stakeholder engagement in the sustainability accounting and reporting process of three local councils.

This study has implications for public sector organisations (PSOs) and their stakeholders in relation to stakeholder engagement in sustainability accounting and reporting. The findings of this study will also be useful to corporations in understanding the importance of stakeholder engagement in sustainability accounting and reporting.

The public sector is expected to be a leader in sustainability and this paper provides evidence of three councils who through their stakeholder engagement provide exemplars of useful practices that could be adopted by other entities.

Prior research in PSOs has primarily focused on the sustainability accounting and reporting process but has given limited consideration to the involvement of stakeholders. The focus on stakeholder engagement through the use of managerial stakeholder theory extends the role of stakeholders from merely being an audience for sustainability reports to an influential contributor in the sustainability accounting and reporting process.

The purpose of this paper is to critically explore the interactions of key stakeholders and their impact upon corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices in the Zambian copper mining sector. In particular, the authors examine the power dynamics that emerge in the stakeholder interactions.

The authors analyse the stakeholder interactions based on the varying degrees of stakeholder salience and critical collaboration potential, and draw on rich evidence from 43 interviews with multiple stakeholders involved in CSR in the Zambia mining sector.

This paper finds stark power asymmetries in the relationship between the state, the civil society and mining companies which are exacerbated by a number of factors, including divisions within these key stakeholders themselves. Apart from power imbalances within and between stakeholders, the potential for critical collaboration at the local level is further challenged by the lack of commonly accepted social and environmental frameworks, transparency and accountability of the leadership of stakeholder groups. However, despite these power asymmetries some limited agency is possible, as civil society in particular co-opts previously dormant stakeholders to increase its own salience and, more importantly, that of the state.

This paper contributes to the literature on the key stakeholders’ interactions shaping CSR in developing countries by exploring these issues in a critical industry, the Zambian copper mining sector, on which the state economy is so heavily dependent.