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The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of stakeholder integration and project complexity on information technology (IT) projects in Kenya. The following research question guided our inquiry: what is the influence of project complexity and stakeholder integration on the performance of IT projects in Kenya?

To advance the current understanding of the effect of stakeholder integration and project complexity on IT projects, multiple regressions were used to predict how project complexity and stakeholder integration influence project performance. Both government-funded and privately funded IT projects from a developing country were examined.

The study found that any project’s complexity and stakeholder integration levels offer a distinctive contribution to its success. Theoretically, the study contributes to linkages between stakeholder integration and project complexity concerning IT project performance. Through the adoption of actionable research and theoretical elaboration, we have shown that the successful execution of IT projects is driven by the successful integration of stakeholders and monitoring the level of complexity at each phase of the project.

The findings of this study add to the burgeoning literature on the performance of IT projects and come with several managerial implications as well. It brings to the fore the concept of stakeholder integration as an essential element of project success. The findings suggest that the inclusion of stakeholder integration into corporate decisions, strategies and policies can be an asset to the production of sustainable competitive advantages needed during the implementation of IT projects in government entities and organisations. As shown in this study, all the above require a collaborative platform allowing for data sharing among diverse stakeholders to ameliorate distrust or lack of information.

Public-private partnerships (PPPs) have become integral in delivering public services and infrastructure, particularly in the context of megaprojects. This paper focuses on the interplay between stakeholder management, challenges, critical success factors (CSFs), and the overall success of PPP-arranged civil infrastructure megaprojects.

Using the PRISMA methodology, we comprehensively analyze challenges and critical success factors (CSFs) influencing stakeholder engagement within PPP megaprojects. A focused search equation identified 595 papers, which were distilled down to 34 relevant papers and case studies. Qualitative analysis of these papers revealed 48 CSFs categorized into 11 challenges from a stakeholder management perspective, which were further delineated across public, private, and combined sectors, and then mapped along the PPP megaproject lifecycle.

Informed by a diverse amalgam of civil and project management literature, this research reveals the intricate dynamics of PPP megaprojects across the globe that emphasize the critical nature of stakeholder engagement, analysis, and management practices. Key findings highlighted conflicting interests between public and private stakeholders, manifesting in challenges like project performance versus profitability. The literature emphasized instances where neglect of local community culture led to adverse social outcomes. A universal conclusion underscored the context-specific nature of challenges and CSFs, stressing the need for a holistic understanding of stakeholders and project dynamics.

The paper acknowledges that it focused on 34 selected papers out of 595 identified. This sample focuses on civil engineering megaprojects which may not fully represent the breadth of research in the field, potentially missing out on valuable insights from excluded studies.

We believe that the compiled list of CSFs, organized according to stakeholder relationships and the project lifecycle, serves as a potent tool for managers and planners. By enabling the identification of complexity from diverse perspectives, this research allows elucidating the challenges faced by the management team in PPP megaproject.

This research identifies several social outcomes related to PPP megaprojects. Critical Success Factors identified as such should allow the project managers to maximize benefits for society and minimize risk and negative externalities.

This study contributes valuable insights for policies and practices by systematically describing challenges and related CSFs throughout the PPP megaproject lifecycle. Additionally, it addresses the nuanced aspects of internal and external stakeholder management, thereby contributing to the overall understanding and best practices required to confront complex megaprojects involving a wide range of stakeholder groups.

Circular supply chain management (CSCM) is considered a promising solution to attain sustainability in the current industrial system. Despite the exigency of this approach, its application in the food industry is a challenge because of the nature of the industry and CSCM being a novel approach. The purpose of this study is to develop an industry-based systematic analysis of CSCM by examining the challenges for its application, exploring the effects of recognised challenges on various food supply chain (FSC) stages and investigating the business processes as drivers.

Stakeholder theory guided the need to consider stakeholders’ views in this research and key stakeholders directly from the food circular supply chain were identified and interviewed (n = 36) following qualitative methods.

Overall, the study reveals that knowledge, perception towards environmental initiatives and economic viability are the major barriers to circular supply chain transition in the UK FSC.

This research provides a holistic perspective analysing the loopholes in different stages of the supply chain and investigating the way a particular circular supply chain stage is affected by recognised challenges through stakeholder theory, which will be a contribution to designing management-level strategies. Reconceptualising this practice would be beneficial in bringing three-tier (economic, environmental and social) benefits and will be supportive to engage stakeholders in the sustainability agenda.

This research aims to investigate post-forest fire perceptions of businesses towards the environment as a stakeholder. Through interviews with affected businesses, the authors aim to understand whether disasters prompt sustainability prioritisation beyond legal or market demands, shedding light on potential shifts in environmental attitudes and decision-making processes.

The authors used qualitative methods to investigate post-disaster shifts in environmental perceptions. Using site visits, preparatory meetings and semi-structured interviews between October 2017 and April 2021, the authors gained insights into destruction, recovery efforts and stakeholder perspectives. Content analysis provided valuable decision-making insights, particularly in understanding the landscape dominated by SMEs reliant on short-term strategies.

Interviews revealed varied perspectives on stakeholder recognition, especially concerning the natural environment. Although some managers promptly acknowledged stakeholder groups, the recognition of the natural environment as one varied. Concerning the natural environment as a stakeholder, responses ranged from ecological acknowledgment to denying its stakeholder status. Despite differing views, many agreed on the forest's importance, especially for resource-reliant industries. The findings suggest that although many decision makers verbally acknowledge the natural environment as a stakeholder, their actions reveal the opposite.

The limitations are the COVID-19 pandemic in the data research phase. The methodology applied (qualitative) can be a limitation in itself and the authors recommend further research, applying mixed or quantitative methods. The research covers one event in one country. It is relevant to test our questions and conclusions in other countries/after other natural disasters. Incorporating other stakeholders' views and exploring alternative theories could enhance understanding and challenge existing results.

This study holds practical implications for understanding the relationship between organisations and the natural environment, particularly in recognising it as a stakeholder. By acknowledging the environment as a stakeholder, organisations can mitigate the effects of future natural disasters, as well as reducing their environmental footprints. Implementing these insights can lead to more informed decision-making processes and contribute to more effective resources and stakeholder management.

Recognizing the environment as a stakeholder fosters environmental consciousness and community engagement. Addressing the natural environment as such enhances the ownership and responsibility of the surrounding natural environment.

The study's originality lies in its exploration of organisational responses to natural disasters, particularly in recognizing the environment as a stakeholder. It offers unique insights into decision-making processes and attitudes towards environmental responsibility, contributing to advancing understanding and informing strategies for sustainable disaster management on a global scale.

This study aims to investigate the impact of stakeholders’ nonfinancial resources (NFRs) on companies’ profitability, filling a significant gap in the literature regarding the role of NFRs in value creation.

Data from 76 organizations from 2017 to 2019 were collected and analyzed. Four primary NFRs and their key value drivers were identified, representing core elements that support different dimensions of a company’s performance. Statistical tests examined the relationship between stakeholders’ NFRs and financial performance measures.

When analyzed collectively and individually, the results reveal a significant positive influence of stakeholders’ NFRs on a firm’s profitability. Higher importance assigned to NFRs correlates with a higher return on sales.

This study contributes to the literature by empirically bridging the gap between stakeholder theory and the resource-based view, addressing the intersection of these perspectives. It also provides novel insights into how stakeholders’ NFRs impact profitability, offering valuable implications for research and managerial practice. It suggests that managers should integrate nonfinancial measures of NFRs within their performance measurement system to manage better and sustain companies’ value-creation process.

Megaproject supply chains involve multiple layers of stakeholders, leading to complex relationships and risks. The role of social interactions within these networks is unexplored. Therefore, an analysis of construction supply chain risk management from the perspective of social networks is essential to identify related stakeholders, their relationships and the social network risk factors.

About 65 risk factors, identified from literature and interviews, informed the development of a questionnaire for the study. Online questionnaires administered in Ghana and South Africa produced 120 valid responses. Feedback from the responses was ranked and assessed to determine the overall social network risk levels using the Normalised Mean and Fuzzy synthesis analysis methods.

About 24 risk factors were identified and classified into six groups: Client/Consultant-related, Community-related, Government-related, Industry Perception-related, Supplier-related and Stakeholder Opportunism. The top five social network risks identified include bribery, supplier monopoly, incomplete design teams, poor communication and lack of collaboration.

The study provides detailed evaluations of social network risks in Africa, and the findings will help in developing strategies to mitigate supply chain disruptions caused by these challenges.

This study contributes to the literature on supply chain risk management by offering context-specific insights into the social network perspective of megaprojects in Africa, which differs from those in developed countries.

Previous research acknowledges the importance of stakeholders for destination branding. However, there is a lack of studies examining which specific online user discourses are triggered by stakeholder responses to destination brand communication. To address this gap, the purpose of this study is to analyze online user discourses initiated by stakeholder’s reactions to a destination image video and thus enhance knowledge on brand communication and management.

The authors investigated 2,187 online comments to 19 medial stakeholder reactions to a destination management organization (DMO) image video both by running a manual as well as a software-based content analysis. The explorative empirical study identifies seven major categories reflecting online user discourses triggered by stakeholder reactions to destination brand communication.

The explorative study indicates that stakeholder reactions to destination brand communication trigger online comments evolving within both the inner and outer tourism system. The discourse subjects, in turn, reflect both user-generated content of brand cocreation and brand codestruction. The findings expand literature in that previous studies on brand cocreation mainly refer to service encounters.

By identifying which online user discourses are triggered by stakeholder reactions to DMO brand communication, the authors provide managerial implications. Specifically, the authors suggest guidelines for all stages of destination communication campaigns to support online user discourses reflecting brand value cocreation and preventing brand value codestruction.

The study responds to a lack of research on online user discourses initiated by stakeholder reactions to DMO brand communication. Contrary to previous studies, the authors identify specific online user discourses relating not only to the inner but also to the outer tourism interest system. Revealed discourses, in turn, reflect brand cocreation and brand codestruction.

先前的研究确认了利益相关者对于目的地品牌塑造的重要性。然而, 目前缺乏研究探讨利益相关者对目的地品牌传播的反应, 会引发哪些特定的线上使用者论述。针对这个缺口, 本研究分析由利益相关者对目的地形象影片的反应所引发的线上使用者论述, 进而增进品牌传播与管理的知识。

作者通过手动和软件内容分析, 调查了 2,187 条在线评论, 涉及 19 个媒体利益相关者对目的地管理组织形象视频的反应。这项探索性实证研究确定了七个主要类别, 反映了利益相关者对目的地品牌传播的反应所引发的在线用户讨论。

本探索性研究表明, 利益相关者对目的地品牌传播的反应, 引发了在旅游系统内部和外部演变的在线评论。话语主体反过来反映了用户生成的品牌共创和品牌共建内容。 以往关于品牌共创的研究主要涉及服务接触, 而我们的研究结果拓展了这一研究领域。

通过确定利益相关者对目的地管理组织品牌传播的反应引发的在线用户话语, 我们提供了管理方面的启示。具体来说, 我们为目的地传播活动的各个阶段提出了指导方针, 以支持反映品牌价值共创和防止品牌价值共毁的在线用户话语。

我们的研究回应了由利益相关者对目的地管理组织品牌传播的反应所引发的线上使用者论述研究的缺乏。与先前的研究相反, 我们发现特定的线上使用者论述不仅与内部旅游利益体系有关, 也与其外部有关。所揭示的论述反过来反映了品牌共创和品牌共建。

Investigaciones anteriores reconocen la importancia de las partes interesadas en la creación de marcas de destino. Sin embargo, faltan estudios que examinen si los discursos específicos de los usuarios en línea son desencadenados por las respuestas de las partes interesadas a la comunicación de la marca de destino. Para colmar esta laguna, el presente estudio analiza los discursos de los usuarios en línea iniciados por las reacciones de los grupos de interés a un vídeo de imagen de un destino, mejorando con esto los conocimientos sobre comunicación y gestión de marcas.

Los autores investigan 2.187 comentarios en línea a 19 reacciones de grupos de interés mediáticos a un vídeo de la imagen de una OMD mediante un análisis de contenido tanto manual como basado en software. El estudio empírico explorativo identifica siete categorías principales que reflejan los discursos de los usuarios en línea desencadenados por las reacciones de las partes interesadas a la comunicación de la marca de destino.

El estudio exploratorio indica que las reacciones de las partes interesadas a la comunicación de la marca del destino desencadenan comentarios en línea que evolucionan dentro del sistema turístico interno y externo. A su vez, los temas del discurso reflejan tanto el contenido generado por los usuarios como la cocreación y la codestrucción de la marca. Nuestros hallazgos amplían la literatura en el sentido de que los estudios anteriores sobre cocreación de marcas se refieren principalmente a encuentros de servicios.

Al identificar qué discursos en línea de los usuarios desencadenan las reacciones de las partes interesadas a la comunicación de marca de los OMD, aportamos implicaciones para la gestión. En concreto, sugerimos directrices para todas las fases de las campañas de comunicación de los destinos, con el fin de apoyar los discursos en línea de los usuarios que reflejan la cocreación del valor de la marca y evitar la codestrucción de dicho valor.

Nuestro estudio responde a la falta de investigación sobre los discursos en línea de los usuarios iniciados por las reacciones de las partes interesadas a la comunicación de marca de las OMD. A diferencia de estudios anteriores, identificamos discursos específicos de usuarios en línea relacionados no sólo con el sistema de intereses turísticos interno, sino también con el externo. Los discursos revelados reflejan a su vez la cocreación y la codestrucción de la marca.

Quality management (QM) can support organisations in contributing to sustainable development. As a result of an expanding focus from customers towards stakeholders within QM, the perspectives to consider multiply. Understanding how practices and tools for process management are specifically affected by this increase in perspectives is key to creating the right conditions for improvement initiatives that support sustainable development.

This paper constructs a typology wherein the use of process management practices and tools is described in nine distinguished system contexts. Inductive discrimination is used to differentiate the system contexts and different use cases for process practices and tools.

Using the system of systems grid (SOSG), mainstream business process management (BPM) practices are positioned in a simple unitary context, whilst sustainability challenges also involve more complex contexts. Addressing these challenges requires integrating new tools and methods from paradigms outside of traditional functionalist business process management practices.

This paper highlights the necessity to consider system contexts when developing feasible practices and tools for effective process management.

Practical implications are that quality practitioners aiming to exploit the potential in process management to support sustainability get support for planning and conducting process improvement initiatives aiming to consider several stakeholder perspectives.

This paper presents a new typology for understanding the context of QM process initiatives and BPM in light of a contemporary sustainability focus.

Anchored in the theories of brand gestalt and stakeholder perspectives, this study aims to undertake a comprehensive examination of the brand gestalt concept, emphasizing its multidimensional nature and the process of co-creation.

Focused within the context of the Wonderful Indonesia brand, the research draws upon a rich qualitative data set derived from in-depth interviews conducted with 18 international tourists, supplemented by netnography (or internet ethnography) of websites, social media and online articles related to Wonderful Indonesia. Using grounded theory methodology, the qualitative data undergo rigorous analysis to identify emergent themes and patterns.

The research elucidates the four dimensions (4S) comprising brand gestalt: storyscapes, sensescapes, servicescapes and stakeholderscapes. Each dimension is further delineated into essential categories, providing a comprehensive understanding of brand gestalt. This study highlights the collaborative nature of brand gestalt, emphasizing the involvement of multiple stakeholders in shaping the brand's identity and perception. Consumer perceptions of co-creation are identified as significant contributors to brand gestalt, enhancing the brand's value proposition.

Destination management and practitioners can use the insights from the research to refine their brand management and marketing strategies by leveraging the dimensions of brand gestalt. Recognizing the collaborative construct of brand gestalt can guide businesses in fostering meaningful relationships with stakeholders and aligning branding efforts with collective visions. Understanding the role of consumer co-creation in brand development can inform strategies aimed at enhancing brand equity and fostering consumer loyalty.

This study extends existing literature on brand gestalt by providing a comprehensive examination of its four dimensions and essential categories. By emphasizing the collaborative nature of brand gestalt, this study contributes to advancing the understanding of brand co-creation paradigms. The identification of consumer perceptions of co-creation as a significant factor in brand gestalt adds novel insights to the literature, offering valuable implications for brand management and marketing strategies.

This study aims to investigate the stakeholders’ (employers and students) involvement in economics and management programs quality assurance in Italian universities from the external audit perspective.

The research tests if employers are positively associated with the coherence between program objectives and job prospects, and if student involvement is positively associated with student orientation, tutorship and flexibility for specific types of students (differently abled students and working students). Based on data from the Italian Agency for Quality Assurance (ANVUR) in Italian universities, this study selects a sample of 44 bachelor and master university programs.

When a program coordinator assures coherence between competencies included in the study plan and job prospect, the employers’ involvement in the plan and management of the program increases and becomes more effective. High-quality services regarding student orientation, tutorship and flexibility for specific types of students increase the students’ involvement in university governance.

Findings contribute to literature extending the stakeholder theory in universities, better specifying how employers and students may play a key role in improving the quality assurance of teaching activities.