An investigation of project stakeholders' expectations and their influences in project delivery and evaluation

This study examined project stakeholders‘ expectations of a funded enterprise coaching project designed to alleviate symptoms of deprivation in Corby. A mixed method approach of Q study and semi-structured interviews was used to reveal the expectations, behaviours and evaluation of four main groups of stakeholders - the project clients (13); the project delivery team (6); Corby Borough Council (3); and the project funder (1) - a total of 23 participants. Results of the Q study analysis revealed three factors, indicating that stakeholders have different expectations about the project. The semi-structured interviews demonstrated that although stakeholders tried to promote their expectations, their influences were significantly limited by their power to influence decision making. Apart from the dominant project funder, there was no rigorous connection between stakeholders‘ expectations and the project evaluation criteria (time, cost and quality). Triangulated results led to the development of a unique model that incorporates broader stakeholder expectations and promotes distributed power and communication in the decision making process. This model further assists in drawing attention to emerging conflicts and problems as a constant process is developed for future project management.