Stakeholder Management and Completion of Class B Road Construction Projects in Kiambu County, Kenya

Abstract

The study aimed to establish the relationship between stakeholder management and the completion of road construction projects in Kiambu County. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the relationship between stakeholder mapping and the completion of road construction projects and to determine the relationship between stakeholder communication strategy and the completion of road construction projects. Further, this study assessed the relationship between stakeholder involvement in tollgate reviews and the completion of road construction projects. It determined the relationship between managing stakeholders' conflict and the completion of road construction projects. The research adopted a descriptive research study design with questionnaires and interview guides used in the collection of primary data. Questionnaires were administered to 171 respondents from all walks of life in Kiambu County who were identified using a stratified convenience/non-random sampling technique. A total of 171 questionnaires were returned, representing a 100% response rate. This was the case due to the language barrier in some cases that required the researcher to interview and fill in the questionnaires manually. The interview guides were conducted on 83 respondents, who consisted of 30 representatives from MDAs, 24 Kiambu County Government representatives, 6 suppliers, 11 project team members and 12 contractors' representatives who were identified using a purposive sampling technique. The data collected was converted and prepared in a quantitative format to aid in analysis using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The data was analysed using the appropriate descriptive and inferential statistics. The results revealed that stakeholder engagement has a weighty influence on the chances of success of road construction projects. About 92.4% of Kiambu residents are aware of road construction projects, while 73.4% reported being involved in project implementation. The findings indicated that most internal stakeholders (79.5%) agreed that stakeholders have varying importance in a project. The research found that there is low participation in the early stages of the project and higher levels in the implementation stages, as shown in higher involvement in conflict resolution rather than stakeholder mapping. Despite the fact that community meetings were selected by 54.2% of the respondents, the findings show that this should be increased to improve understanding between internal and external stakeholders. The study showed that a majority (55.4%) of the internal stakeholders believed that not all stakeholders should attend meetings but should be represented for better meeting management. A significant majority of the community respondents (59.6%) strongly agreed that incorporating stakeholder ideas positively affects the chances of project success. From the findings, a majority of the community respondents (73.7%) strongly agreed that tollgate reviews are related to the timely delivery of road projects. The study revealed that all the internal stakeholders broadly agreed that project success could be judged on the triple constraints of time, budget and scope. The study called on governments to improve awareness of the lifecycle of road construction projects. The report further called on road agencies to enhance capacity building to improve the quality of interactions between various stakeholders in road projects.

The study aimed to establish the relationship between stakeholder management and the completion of road construction projects in Kiambu County. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the relationship between stakeholder mapping and the completion of road construction projects and to determine the relationship between stakeholder communication strategy and the completion of road construction projects. Further, this study assessed the relationship between stakeholder involvement in tollgate reviews and the completion of road construction projects. It determined the relationship between managing stakeholders' conflict and the completion of road construction projects. The research adopted a descriptive research study design with questionnaires and interview guides used in the collection of primary data. Questionnaires were administered to 171 respondents from all walks of life in Kiambu County who were identified using a stratified convenience/non-random sampling technique. A total of 171 questionnaires were returned, representing a 100% response rate. This was the case due to the language barrier in some cases that required the researcher to interview and fill in the questionnaires manually. The interview guides were conducted on 83 respondents, who consisted of 30 representatives from MDAs, 24 Kiambu County Government representatives, 6 suppliers, 11 project team members and 12 contractors' representatives who were identified using a purposive sampling technique. The data collected was converted and prepared in a quantitative format to aid in analysis using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The data was analysed using the appropriate descriptive and inferential statistics. The results revealed that stakeholder engagement has a weighty influence on the chances of success of road construction projects. About 92.4% of Kiambu residents are aware of road construction projects, while 73.4% reported being involved in project implementation. The findings indicated that most internal stakeholders (79.5%) agreed that stakeholders have varying importance in a project. The research found that there is low participation in the early stages of the project and higher levels in the implementation stages, as shown in higher involvement in conflict resolution rather than stakeholder mapping. Despite the fact that community meetings were selected by 54.2% of the respondents, the findings show that this should be increased to improve understanding between internal and external stakeholders. The study showed that a majority (55.4%) of the internal stakeholders believed that not all stakeholders should attend meetings but should be represented for better meeting management. A significant majority of the community respondents (59.6%) strongly agreed that incorporating stakeholder ideas positively affects the chances of project success. From the findings, a majority of the community respondents (73.7%) strongly agreed that tollgate reviews are related to the timely delivery of road projects. The study revealed that all the internal stakeholders broadly agreed that project success could be judged on the triple constraints of time, budget and scope. The study called on governments to improve awareness of the lifecycle of road construction projects. The report further called on road agencies to enhance capacity building to improve the quality of interactions between various stakeholders in road projects.