A Systematic Review of Stakeholders’ Engagement as a Critical Tool for Effective Project Performance

Abstract

A comprehensive review of stakeholders’ engagement (SE) articles published in the last decade (2014-2023) was undertaken in this work. 100 SE publications were identified using the Systematic Quantitative Assessment Technique. Time distribution, geographic distribution, article type, data gathering methods, and themes discussed were all covered in the review. The data revealed that interest in SE has been at increase in the last decade, and that North America and Europe are the regions with the least amount of SE research. The ratio of conceptual to empirical SE articles was skewed toward the latter, and the most common data collection method was survey. The most striking finding was that, in order to ensure successful implementation and performance of projects, stakeholders’ engagement from conception to actual implementation and supervision of projects is not only desirable but necessary to ensure clear understanding, continuous, transparent, participatory, and more often than sustainable process.