A dimensional analysis of stakeholder saliences in the assessment of project outcomes

Driven by an interest in developing a deeper understanding of stakeholder interests, this study undertakes a dimensional analysis of how different stakeholders assess project outcomes. Most importantly, in our analysis, we take into consideration the largely unaccounted-for conceptual difference between project success and project failure. Data were collected over a two-year period (between 2013 and 2015) from 1631 project stakeholders in nine countries. We analysed the survey data using three-way Multidimensional Scaling. We found that most project stakeholders tend to be more specific in their assessment of project success than when assessing project failure. We also found that most stakeholders attached maximal and different levels of importance to different dimensions of project outcomes. In particular, we found that when assessing project “success”, project stakeholders appear more focused on project effectiveness. On the other hand, when assessing project “failure”, project stakeholders appear more focused on efficiency. Understanding how stakeholders assess and prioritise project outcomes is of particular interest to project managers as it enables them develop a clearer understanding of individual interests of various stakeholders. For stakeholders themselves, such an understanding helps limit possible disruptions to the project emanating from contesting decisions made by the project manager