During the construction and operation phases, infrastructure projects face social unrest, such as community protests, boycotting of services as well as negative press reports of these events and other aspects of the project. There is a need to consider the concerns and moral issues of the community throughout the lifecycle and not just at the inception phase. From an organizational power perspective, we use frame analysis as a suitable lens to understand how projects shape community perceptions to try and construct sustainable legitimacy. The research reports on a case study of a metro rail project in India. 166 daily news articles, 446 user comments and 30 semi-structured interviews with the project team were analysed. We observed framing strategies used in practice, such as need framing, pride framing, community-centric framing and blame framing. These framing strategies observed in the project community had impacts labeled as the solution frame, the trend-setter frame, the important frame and the own-up frame. The relationship between the framing strategies and their effects are theorized through four propositions. We argue that through these framing strategies some issues were strategically hidden while some were strategically promoted, thereby influencing the perception of the project. An improved perception of the project can reduce resistance and conflicts during the construction and operation of the project.

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Megaprojects combine multiple external stakeholders, and a common narrative is essential to drive the project among often conflicting objectives. Narratives help organize people toward an agenda and therefore have performative and strategic implications. In this research, we explore how narratives are mobilized through narrative instruments and processes using the case study of the High Speed Two (HS2) megaproject in the United Kingdom. We record the use of three instruments—stories, labels, and comparisons—that undergo four processes: repeating, endorsing, humorizing, and actioning. These instruments and processes enable megaprojects to mobilize a narrative that helps in managing external stakeholders.

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Megaprojects along with creating value to the economy, create environmental, social and political disruptions in its local environment. Narratives guide social action and hence both the promoters and the protesters of a project mobilize narratives to advance their interest. In this process, narratives and counter-narratives are (re)created and their interaction often establishes the dominant narrative. Using the case of the High Speed Two (HS2) megaproject in England, we highlight that it is through a continuous process of interaction between the promoter narratives and protester narratives that the narrative of the project vision evolves in practice. The strategies employed to resist the counter-narrative such as rejecting the counter-narrative, delaying it, and accepting part of it is discussed. We propose a model of how narratives of the project evolve through multiple narratives and counter-narratives. Thus, megaprojects are an arena where multiple battles are fought with narratives, to win one’s vested interest in the project. @en

The number of projects is increasing worldwide as traditional and repetitive tasks are carried out through automation. Projects being temporary and unique while being adopted globally across sectors presents a challenge for the effective management of environmental, economic, and social parameters. Projects are people centric and require the effective management of internal and external stakeholders. In the modern age, social media is seen as a tool that connects people across the world having significant implications on everyone’s daily life. Social media is used for different purposes and encompasses multiple affordances as these are often free and also bring together people from different walks of life who tend to use them differently. However, the role of social media in managing projects is still under explored. In this edited book, multiple authors working on the application of social media in projects come together to craft an agenda for the future. First, the use of social media for internal stakeholders, such as managers and engineers, are discussed. Following this, the use of social media for external stakeholders, such as communities and project affected persons are discussed. Finally, the guidelines for education using social media and research using social media is discussed. Thus, the book brings together multiple authors to discuss how social media can be used in project settings to facilitate interactions and strategic conversations across hierarchical levels and geographic boundaries for diverse goals. The book is a valuable resource for all project management academics, researchers and practitioners who are interested in learning about the application of social media in project settings.@en

Infrastructure projects are costly, colossal, complex, captivating, controversial, and laden with control issues. The development of these projects causes environmental, social, and political disruptions in the local environment, which have to be carefully handled by professionals in the field. This article aims to enhance the performance of infrastructure development professionals by highlighting the necessary competencies and how these competencies can be improved through preparation and training. After discussing the different shapes of professionals, the competencies for infrastructure development are discussed. It is argued that the competencies for infrastructure development are similar to the T-shaped framework. Competencies such as in-depth knowledge, ability to understand and work in different areas, being flexible and adaptive to change, having decision-making capabilities, and willingness to be life-long learners are instrumental in creating T-shaped professionals for infrastructure development. The different learning activities such as lectures, on-site visits, role plays, case study discussions, problem-solving exercises and project work can be employed to educate professionals in the area. The suitability of these methods for online education is also discussed. The study calls for more research to trace the effectiveness of learning activities in the infrastructure sector.@en

The later stages of an infrastructure project occupy a significant period of its lifecycle. Even though majority of the expenses for the project are in the construction phase, the value for the society is realized only in the operation phase. Projects are often remembered for how they serve the community in the later stages more than their efficiency during the construction phase due to its long lifecycle. There is a need to understand how projects integrate with the society after its construction, especially considering the inability of the planners to create a design considering all future scenarios. In the proposed research, we employ a multiple case study research considering the Oresund bridge connecting Denmark with Sweden and the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. We observe how during the operation phase the infrastructure acts as an enabler, adapt to changing needs of the society, and diversify its impacts. This study has significant implications to society as it explores how to extract value from already constructed infrastructure assets.@en

Infrastructure projects such as metro rails are being increasingly built in busy cities mainly to improve mobility and reduce congestion. However, assessment of benefits realized from these projects is complex. One reason for this is that promoters of these projects often misrepresent the projects' benefits to get them approved. Although some benefits from infrastructure projects can be measured using economic data, such data are insufficient for measuring social benefits. This article reports on an exploratory study on how social media could provide an opportunity to evaluate benefits qualitatively by analyzing tweets from metro rail projects in India and Australia. Although the analysis of tweets from these projects indicated that citizens who use these transport facilities report benefits, they do not seem to use the same terms as the project's promoters to describe these benefits. The article concludes with some suggestions on how social media can supplement current methods used in evaluating benefits from transport projects.

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Megaprojects are plagued with failures and inefficiencies, often due to an inability to handle the obstacles that occur throughout the process. The present research deepens and extends our understanding of the obstacles and causes of poor megaproject performance by drawing on the ‘circuits of power’ as a theoretical framework for analyzing such projects. Empirically, we investigate what are regarded as some frequent obstacles occurring in megaprojects in the Australian and New Zealand context, such as coordination issues between stakeholders, poor estimates of the project, and inefficient contracts. Conducting 40 semi-structured interviews with different participants in the sector enables us to highlight that the overt obstacles were dependent on covert causes, such as fragmented industry, political push for projects and an owner-centric industry, respectively. For addressing these covert causes, we record innovative interventions such as delivery through precincts, creating a pipeline of projects, and raising awareness among contractors. We create a framework anchored in the circuits of power theory to show the relationships between overt obstacles, covert causes and suggested solutions. Infrastructure megaprojects can be set up for success by addressing the covert causes through proper interventions, such as changing culture and implementing innovations.

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The construction industry is regarded as one of the most unsafe industries at present. Existing research on construction safety management mainly focuses on the safety of construction personnel within the construction site, however, what the world perceives as safety failure in the construction industry is broader. This paper seeks to understand whose safety concerns are currently ignored and aims to explore the different strategic uses of safety in the construction industry. To address these objectives, this study uses naturally occurring news article data regarding construction safety in India. The paper discusses the safety of construction personnel, the safety of the project, and the safety of externalities. It was seen that safety was used strategically for branding, for political motives, as well as for awakening the community of the importance of construction safety. This study makes a case that safety management in construction is not just the prevention of accidents, but also impression management. Thus, this article argues that safety is not a neutral and easily measurable concept, but a sociocultural concept laden with meaning.

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Labels as part of narratives are instrumental in the process of organising, particularly in megaprojects that seek to garner legitimacy and support of external stakeholders. While organisation scholars acknowledge that the process of labelling is contested, research on how different organisations navigate these labels remain limited. Within megaproject settings, labels such as largest, sustainable, efficient, etc., are frequently exercised and there is currently a dearth in megaproject management literature on how these labels come into becoming, are contested, and are maintained. Using the case study of the shaping phase of the High Speed Two Limited (HS2) megaproject in the UK, this research explores the multiple labels given to the megaproject, people, and practice by the promoters and protesters, and the ways labels play a role in shaping organisational identity. The processes that maintain and contest the labels such as using the same label, using other labels, explaining the label, and using labels in the title of the organisation are discussed. Thus, labels exist in megaproject arenas as a labyrinth with multiple labels for megaproject, people, and practices, from different agencies, which are then contested and maintained through more labels. This research therefore theorizes label creation, maintenance, and contestation in megaproject settings.

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External stakeholder management is important for managing an infrastructure asset throughout its life cycle. There is a dearth of research exploring the asset creation team's rationalities invoking the strategies used for managing external stakeholders. The circuits-of-power theoretical framework, which considers actors within their social context, is apt for studying the rationale of the asset creation team in carrying out these strategies. Through a systematic in-depth case study of a metro rail asset in India, diverse data were collected from multiple sources, such as semi-structured interviews, news articles and social media; a set of strategic rationalities used to frame messages to stakeholders was identified. These included pride in the asset, importance of the asset, overemphasis on time and acceptability of public inconvenience. The asset creation team, as part of the broader asset community, is also influenced by the strategic discourses aimed at managing external stakeholders. The authors discuss the implications of the strategic discourses used for asset management on project, programme and portfolio management. The relationship between strategic discourses striving to manage assets and the corresponding asset creation team rationalities affords multiple avenues for future research.

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The literature on megaprojects are oriented towards ‘knowing’ the problems and ‘knowing’ the solutions, and there is a dearth in literature aimed at explaining strategies adopted in ‘doing’ or implementing that knowledge. Particularly, the literature highlights communication as important as part of the ‘knowing,’ while there is a gap in ‘doing,’ as performance improvements are still not evident. This research aims to explore how this knowing-doing gap in the communication of risk information was addressed by using 4D visualization. This article discusses the vent facility of a megaproject in Australia as a case study to illustrate the innovation. The 4D model developed for the facility helped the project team to visualize the construction of a critical part of the project, discuss the construction methodology, identify the risks in the construction process and persuade the non-technical decision-makers of the project to take appropriate action. The risks identified through the visualization covered safety, program, and interface risks. This study offers insights into the role of visualization in bridging the knowing-doing gap in the construction industry in the context of a megaproject.

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The current qualitative research methodologies employed to study projects are heavily dependent on interviews, despite data being created across different media in this digital age. Social media, news articles, LinkedIn profiles, WhatsApp groups, etc. can have influence on project stakeholders, both internal and external. This article calls for the use of online naturalistic inquiry to enhance our understanding of project management in this digital era and discusses the advantages and potential avenues for future research. Naturally occurring online data ensures that the data collected is devoid of any influence from the participant and researcher, and are unobstructive, more in-depth, and digitally indexed, making it a good source of retrospective or longitudinal study. Potential pitfalls of employing online naturalistic data such as the poor representativeness of data, the lack of guidelines, and traceability of data are also discussed. Online naturalistic inquiry can complement existing project management research methods by providing an avenue for studying coordination and innovation internally or stakeholder engagement and project image externally. Thus, project studies can gain by expanding its terrain towards an analysis of the everyday resources generated when projects interact online.

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Infrastructure megaprojects can cause considerable inconvenience to external stakeholders such as project communities, stakeholders in lands and stakeholders in existing services. Managing these external stakeholders is difficult as they interact with the project across permeable boundaries, are unaccountable to the requirements of the project and cannot be governed with contractual instruments or conformance to standards, as is the case with internal stakeholders. Hence the project team must resort to other strategies to manage these stakeholders. There is at present little other than scattered accounts of the use of these strategies in the literature. What is missing is a framework to explain how such strategies work to manage external stakeholders. We use organizational power theories drawn from frameworks stressing both the dimensions and the circuits of power to understand how strategy and power interact in the process of managing external stakeholders. This research uses the case study of a metro rail project in India compiled from 30 semi-structured interviews, 168 news media articles along with their 446 user comments, and 640 social media tweets along with 435 community comments. Using a qualitative research methodology, we highlight relations of persuading, framing and hegemonizing strategies employed for managing the external stakeholders in the project. Covert power-based framing and hegemonizing strategies shape the visible overt power-based persuading strategies employed to manage external stakeholders.

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External stakeholder support is critical to the success of megaprojects, necessitating strategic engagement, often using Information and Communications Technology (ICT). We conducted 30 semi-structured interviews with a megaproject team and analysed their social media communications with the project community. The findings show three ICT practices used for managing external stakeholders: visualisation, simulation and social mediatisation. Taking a sociomateriality lens we demonstrate how these practices are used for diverse unintended uses to manage external stakeholders. Anchored in a dimensions of power framework, we discuss how these ICT practices were strategically used for persuading, framing and hegemonizing external stakeholders in megaprojects. Theoretically, we highlight the role of ICT for managing external stakeholders over the current use of improving the competitive advantage of internal stakeholders. Practically, social media is used to articulate practices in all the strategic roles, positioning it in a role as a critical ICT tool for external stakeholder management in infrastructure megaprojects.

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Megaprojects involve managing external stakeholders with diverse interests. Using an Indian megaproject case study, we discuss how the project managed external stakeholders through strategies such as: persuasion, deputation, give and take, extra work for stakeholders, and flexibility. Drawing from theories and frameworks of power, we explain how these strategies emerge through a process of tactical clustering. We also analyze the resources available to the project team—such as recruitment discretion, government backing, and fund discretion—that influence these power dynamics and enable these strategies. We posit that changes in the resource base can significantly affect strategic action and, in turn, megaproject outcomes.

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Infrastructure megaprojects straddle multiple stakeholder boundaries who have an interest in the project and are affected by the project. Multiple papers in the literature stress the need for holistic approaches to stakeholder engagement, as existing approaches only address the concerns of the noisy stakeholders. This research proposes an innovative approach in which Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) is used for understanding stakeholder concerns, complemented by the use of Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) for identifying innovative solutions to address conflicting stakeholder goals. The researchers simulated the stakeholder engagement of the Coimbatore metro rail project, in India, through a workshop setting in a classroom to check the feasibility of this approach for stakeholder engagement. The 15 participants of the workshop were divided into four groups representing different stakeholders of the project. Data was collected through participant observations by the authors and oral feedback from the participants. The results show that while SSM helped to capture the concerns and goals of each stakeholder, TRIZ helped to identify and dissolve conflicts among these goals through innovative solutions. The theoretical, practical and pedagogical contributions are highlighted.

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This paper explores subtle strategies that megaproject teams develop in practice to manage stakeholders external to the project team. A governmentality approach is used to account for these strategies. A metro rail megaproject in India provides the case for the study. The strategies were identified through a content analysis of 640 project and non-project based Tweets posted by the metro rail organization. We augmented this dataset with the community's response through social media, as well as through semi-structured interviews that captured the project teams' responses. The findings indicate that the megaproject used various strategies: promoting the organization, giving progress updates, appealing to the community, as well as targeting of specific sections of the population. The effect of these attempts at governmentality through branding were observed in community discourses on social media platforms that echoed the strategic discourses projected by the megaproject while interviews enabled us to access the project team's responses. For the project community, the effects included a positive brand image, creating community brand advocates and building support for the project during contentious episodes. For the project team, the effects included job attraction, enhanced job perception as well as the creation of project team brand advocates. The relation between the governmentality instruments and their corresponding effects are theorized in six propositions.

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