Starategic Stakeholder Analysis in Project Networks

Abstract

Current technics of project stakeholder management are analyzing a dyadic relation and engagement with stakeholders based on their individual attributes. However in real world you can hardly find isolated relations. Based on Social Network Analysis (SNA) any change in one relation has ramifications on others. Therefore it can be said that the interaction of different actors and specially the project manager with the other actors need to be considered more. Those who implement project stakeholder analysis need to go beyond studying single actors, two-person ties, and small groups to examining the computer-supported project-networks that flourish in complex projects like construction projects.Social network analysis looks at the power of the individuals from their position in the net and their relations. The behavior of individuals to a large extend is defined by their network attributes rather than individual characteristics. This thesis is an attempt to bring the influence of relations to stakeholder management. Here I have taken an endeavor to use SNA to study stakeholder networks beyond dyadic relations. In theory chapter, the current project stakeholder management and analytical tools for that purpose is presented. Also it shows that to what extent current methods of analysis are based on individual attributes of stakeholders. This paper?s focus is not going deep in to speaking of stakeholder?s stake. It is about facilitating project stakeholder management with SNA. Therefore here three quite new tools and frameworks are introduced based on the research done during writing the thesis. Also the economics of being transparent and ethical for has been discussed. In a new tool I use each stakeholder centrality and network density to categorize individual stakeholders and based on this categorization we can analyze stakeholders and strategize for managing them.The tools (power- interest grid of social networks, table of meditating local networks dynamics and Density-Centrality grid of stakeholder management) that I have tried to start developing here, relies on social network constructs and is an initial attempt to consider not only the dyadic relations with stakeholders but also the influence of the multiple interactions comprising stakeholder environments on each other?s behaviors, project management and project itself.This thesis states that by studying stakeholders in isolation we lose some part of information that are unsorted and consequently we cannot retrieve invaluable information that are critical for successful project stakeholder management. But SNA can be utilized to sort this information and help the project manager to analyze and strategize within project networks.