Investigating key challenges in major public engineering projects by a network-theory based analysis of stakeholder concerns : a case study

Abstract

The diversities of stakeholder concerns and intricate interdependencies between stakeholder concerns are important factors adding complexities to major public engineering projects (MEPs). Using case study and network-theory based analysis in a large reclamation project, this paper investigated the key stakeholder concerns and concern interdependencies of MEPs, and how they bring major challenges confronted by stakeholders. The network analysis identifies five major challenges of the case: “applying highly advanced and complex construction technology”, “mitigating project disruptions to the environment and marine ecology”, “conducting public and community consultation during construction phase”, “site constraints due to nearby air and marine traffic”, and “meeting government standard on the quality of new materials and equipment”. Recommendations are provided to alleviate these problems for future MEPs. This paper contributes to a new angle, the network perspective, of analyzing stakeholder concern interdependencies and their practical implications on MEPs. The findings provide useful insights on common pitfalls of MEPs.