SUSTAINABLE CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING STAKEHOLDERS IN MEGAPROJECTS: REVIEW OF CASES FROM AUSTRALIA

Abstract

Megaprojects are an essential part in social, economic, and environmental developments and they attract a consortium of stakeholders ranging from governments, communities, international consumers, and suppliers. Hence, stakeholder management in these projects contributes significantly to projects’ success and sustainability. The research project, on which this paper is based on, aims to identify key challenges and propose suitable strategies to manage stakeholders in megaprojects for better sustainability outcomes. In achieving this aim, the research re-viewed key concepts related to project stakeholder management in megaprojects, explored sustainable challenges and analysed appropriate stakeholder management strategies through a secondary review of two major case studies of megaprojects in Sydney, Australia. The key findings discovered that the main factors influencing stakeholders were related to social, economic and environmental impacts of the project and, the need for managing them through proactive stakeholder management strategies. The implications of this research guide project managers on managing stakeholders on megaprojects and inform on possible challenges and solutions to achieve sustainable outcomes. Further research could extend and replicate on other case studies in different contexts and project types.