A stakeholder network perspective on unexpected events and their management in international projects

Purpose – While earlier literature has focused on the management tactics of unexpected events, this paper employs an inter‐organizational network perspective to the study of unexpected events in international projects. The paper aims to illustrate how a focal project's local stakeholder relationships are associated with the emergence and management of unexpected events in the context of international projects. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative, multiple case study of three international projects conducted in challenging institutional environments. Findings – The findings of this paper reveal the different mechanisms through which the local stakeholder relationships affect the emergence and management of unexpected events in international projects. Owing to differences in the amount and quality of local stakeholder relationships, the management, nature and number of unexpected events that are encountered differ from project to project. The findings of this paper reveal a paradox – both the existence of and the lack of local stakeholder relationships with salient actors may generate unexpected events in international projects. Based on the findings, two types of unexpected events related to local stakeholder relationships were identified: unexpected events that were due to misunderstandings, and diverging practices, processes, values and norms of the focal project organization and the local stakeholders; and unexpected events that emerged due to the challenges in the establishment of direct and indirect relationships with salient external local stakeholders. Furthermore, the results demonstrate how local stakeholder relationships can be utilized in dealing with and managing the unexpected events that are encountered. Originality/value – Stakeholders are a significant source of unexpected events. Limited research attention has been directed at how the local stakeholder relationships affect the project's behavior and interior processes. The research advances project stakeholder research and uncertainty management research both theoretically and empirically.