The Management of Stakeholders ’ Needs and Expectations

This paper provides an analysis of the process used to identify project stakeholders, the factors used to manage their needs and expectations, and the implications of mismanaging their needs and expectations in the development of Malaysian construction projects. A survey was conducted among four construction stakeholders comprising: the Government, private clients, consultants and contractors. In total, 93 respondents completed the questionnaire. A list of 4 major processes and 22 possible critical factors for managing the stakeholders ’ needs and expectations are identified, in order for the respondents to determine their level of importance. The Kruskal-Wallis test of One-way ANOVA (Analysis of variance) is used to examine the significant difference in opinion between the four groups at the 5% significance level. The findings reveal that a formalised process is more effective in identifying project stakeholders. The priority criteria used to manage the stakeholders ’ needs and expectations differ between the private and public sectors. The government and consultants are confident that social and political matters are of the greatest importance, whereas the private sector puts a great deal of emphasis on forming project coalitions and lobby tactics mechanisms in managing the stakeholders’ needs and expectations. It is expected that this study will provide some empirical insights into the process of stakeholder management in the development of construction projects in Malaysia