Stakeholders' satisfaction as a key determinant of critical success factors in renewable energy projects

Abstract

Renewable energy projects (REPs) are critical to providing a clean and sustainable environmental perspective alongside the economic prosperity of any country. Unfortunately, recent trends in renewable energy projects (REPs) are not positive enough regarding their successful completion within the budgeted cost, planned time, proposed quality, and other necessary constraints. Although the pertinent literature has discussed the critical success factors (CSFs) for such projects, their influencing mechanism with respect to the role of key stakeholders is still overlooked. This study recognizes several critical success factors (CSFs) and their influencing mechanisms onto renewable energy projects (REPs) in order to evaluate direct influences onto project success as well as indirect influences through stakeholders' satisfaction (SS) as mediation on the project success of small and medium-sized renewable energy projects (REPs) in Pakistan's energy sector. A sample of about 272 respondents working with renewable energy projects (REPs), including key stakeholders, has been collected to perform data analysis and draw inferences. A structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was used for data analysis and inference drawing. The results show that though there is a positive and direct association between critical success factors (CSFs) and project success, a partial mediating role of stakeholders' satisfaction (SS) between CSFs and project success was still determined. Hence, it was found that CSFs significantly contribute to renewable energy projects (REPs) through mediating influences of stakeholders' satisfaction (SS). The findings confirmed that stakeholders' satisfaction (SS) is a key determinant for critical success factors (CSFs) in renewable energy projects (REPs). Moreover, stakeholders' satisfaction (SS) emerged to be a crucial element for the completion of such projects. The empirical findings of this study might have a useful effect on academicians and the practitioners engaged with renewable energy projects (REPs).