Contemporary project stakeholder management

Project management is more than managing scope, time, budget, as well as quality, but also organisation, people, stakeholders and more general the project context. Project stakeholders are interpreted as the ones who can affect or are affected by the project, whereas integrating the knowledge of and engaging with project stakeholders becomes more and more important. Current digital technologies enable and facilitate which multiple new ways of stakeholder engagement, spanning different boundaries and allowing for value co-creation for all involved parties. Sourcing ideas from a broad variety of stakeholders can foster viable results and higher acceptance of the project outcome but comes with additional complexity. This thesis explores the evolution and future of project stakeholder management, focusing on the transformative aspect of digitalization, the historical development of stakeholder engagement discourse, and the role of boundary spanning in co-creating value. The thesis is structured around three papers, each addressing and examining a critical dimension of contemporary project stakeholder engagement. The first paper examines how digitalization serves as a game-changer in stakeholder management by enabling innovative engagement methods through making use of digital infrastructure and digital gamification. These digital tools enhance inclusiveness, collaboration, and stakeholder buy-in. The findings underscore the need to balance technological efficiency with human-centric approaches in stakeholder management.The second paper presents a systematic literature review of project stakeholder engagement discourse in the International Journal of Project Management. It identifies a significant shift from control-oriented frameworks to engagement-oriented approaches that emphasize collaboration and value creation. The study traces historical trends, highlights key themes, and points to emerging areas such as sustainability and the integration of digital innovations, offering valuable insights into the evolving nature of stakeholder engagement research.The third paper explores how boundary spanning facilitates stakeholder engagement and value co-creation in projects. Through a case study of a Finnish hospital renewal project, it demonstrates how boundary spanning, such as service design ideologies and collaborative inquiry processes, help navigate temporal tensions between temporary project structures and permanent organisational contexts.Collectively, this thesis provides a comprehensive framework for understanding and advancing project stakeholder engagement. It emphasizes the importance of digital tools, adaptive strategies to make use of them, and inclusive practices to foster collaboration and achieve sustainable project outcomes. By integrating theoretical insights with practical applications, the research contributes to the development of stakeholder-centric project management practices. Future research is encouraged to explore emerging technologies and value co-creation to enrich and advance this important field.