Managing for Stakeholders, Article Review Example

In their research article “Managing for Stakeholders: The Role of Stakeholder-Based Management in Project Success,” Rajablu, Marthandan and Yusof (2015) present their findings on the significance of integrating stakeholder-based management models in ensuring effective project delivery. This paper provides a review of the research article.

Issue/topic addressed

The key issue that prompted the study, as Rajablu, Marthandan and Yusof (2015) claim, is the high rate of project failures and challenges, whether local or international projects, due to poor stakeholder management and ignorance. The researchers studied how six key stakeholder influential attributes directly affect the success of a project, as well as their mediating effects on managerial processes. The six include power, urgency, interest, relationship, proximity, and legitimacy. The researchers also relied on stakeholder theory along with several other complementary theories, such as stakeholder-agency theory. Their research study was quantitative in nature. They analyzed the research data using SEM statistical methods and processes to generate research results, which they used to develop a stakeholder-based project management model (SBPMM) and a new typology of stakeholder influential attributes (TSIA). The study aimed to apply concepts to relationships in order to investigate and generate a model, hence used quantitative survey method.

Potentially affected by the issue/topic

The issue potentially affects project managers who need to create value and lead innovation, as well as prevent failure of projects. This is since the success of a project is considered as the sum of project benefits and the success of managing the project. Here, the managers influence the behavior of a stakeholder, which is critical for project portfolio success. In addition to the project managers, the organizational managers are also potentially affected by the issue. The issue also potentially affects governments, business, and non-governmental organizations that need to run projects. In particular, failure of the projects cost the project owners financial losses. Those potentially affected also include the scholars interested in exploring the reasons for project failures despite having a management structure in place. Management consultants with expertise in stakeholder management are also potentially affected. Most companies that lack expertise in handling complex projects tend to hire outside expertise due to the high rates of project failures and challenges, whether local or international projects due to poor stakeholder management and ignorance. However, it does not always guarantee project success. As Rajablu, Marthandan and Yusof (2015) show, studies recently conducted have failed to explore reasons for project failure due to bad stakeholder management and ignorance, which also means that the issue motivated further research. Project stakeholders, such as the end-users of a project are also potentially affected. This is since the aim of a project is to deliver stakeholder benefit, specifically the end-users. The anticipated benefits of a project are also the key driver of attainment of the objectives of stakeholders. This is particularly so because of the significance of stakeholder involvement in a project. As Rajablu, Marthandan and Yusof (2015) show, stakeholder satisfaction and perception are crucial for the success of a project. Hence, a project will be considered to have failed when it fails to meet stakeholder expectations.

Critique of article

In my view, the article was well written. The title of the article is clear, perceptive, and appropriate for the topic the authors explore. It makes it easy to anticipate the article content. It also has an abstract, which is reflective of the study. It draws on the purpose of the study, the issue at hand, research methods, and summary of the findings. It, therefore, achieves its aims. The article’s introduction also effectively outlines the significance of the study, the study background and aims. In particular, the authors used a logical funnel for the introduction, where they listed the most general aspects of the challenges, leading to project failures before exploring the specific aspects. Consistent with the rules of writing research papers, the article has included a literature review and hypothesis development. What gives the article more strength, objectivity, and validity, is the use of current and past research studies. In all, 86 articles were surveyed. Therefore, there is no evidence of bias in the article. The article also has accurate APA in-text referencing. Reading through the literature review shows that there are no errors of interpretations and facts from the works done by others. The author’s discussions are relevant to their study. The research method used was correlational study, which was quantitative in nature. They analyzed the research data using SEM statistical methods and processes to generate research results. The methodology applied is robust and relevant to the study of problems facing stakeholder management in project management. The authors made an effective description of the aspects of the research method to show the empiricism of their study concisely. The results and discussion also reflect the study background and answer the research problem. Clear and logical presentation of the results and discussion make it easy to understand the author’s findings quickly. A conclusion is also provided, which restate the aim of the study, its scope, and the findings.

References

Rajablu, M., Marthandan, G. & Yusof, W. (2015). Managing for Stakeholders: The Role of Stakeholder-Based Management in Project Success. Asian Social Science 11(3), 111-125