Project Management Communication Strategies to Engage Stakeholders and Improve Project Performance

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Project Management Communication Strategies to Engage Project Management Communication Strategies to Engage

Stakeholders and Improve Project Performance Stakeholders and Improve Project Performance

Joshua Ukoha Ukoha

Walden University

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College of Management and Technology

This is to certify that the doctoral study by

Joshua Ukoha Ukoha

has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects,

and that any and all revisions required by

the review committee have been made.

Review Committee

Dr. Gregory Uche, Committee Chairperson, Doctor of Business Administration Faculty

Dr. Deborah Nattress, Committee Member, Doctor of Business Administration Faculty

Dr. Mohamad Hammoud, University Reviewer, Doctor of Business Administration

Faculty

Chief Academic Officer and Provost

Sue Subocz, Ph.D.

Walden University

2022

Abstract

Project Management Communication Strategies to Engage Stakeholders and Improve

Project Performance

Joshua Ukoha Ukoha

MBA, Walden University, 2016

BSc, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, 1992

Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Business Administration

Walden University

August 2022

Abstract

Project managers’ ineffective stakeholder communication strategies lead to unsuccessful

project performance. Project managers who fail to implement appropriate communication

strategies can experience less engagement of their stakeholders, reduced project

performance, and decreased sustainability. Grounded in the stakeholder theory, the

purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the communication strategies

project managers use to engage stakeholders and improve project performance.

Participants were five project managers who successfully used communication strategies

to engage stakeholders and improve project performance. Data were collected from

semistructured interviews, company archival documents, and field notes and were

analyzed using thematic data analysis. Four themes emerged: clear message and written

communication, frequent engagement, transparency and sincerity, and active listening

and communication plan. A key recommendation for project managers is to identify

project stakeholders, their communication needs, preferred methods of communication,

preferred level of detail, education, and culture to provide information that meets their

requirements. The implications for positive social change include the potential to increase

the funding of small-scale enterprises by engaging project stakeholders of organizations

in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

Project Management Communication Strategies to Engage Stakeholders and Improve

Project Performance

Joshua Ukoha Ukoha

MBA, Walden University, 2016

BSc, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, 1992

Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Business Administration

Walden University

August 2022

Dedication

I dedicate this work to my wife and children, who stood by me even when it was

challenging to continue my studies.

Acknowledgments

My appreciation goes to my committee members, Dr. Greg Uche, Dr. Deborah

Nattress, and Dr. Mohamad S. Hammoud, for their efforts toward my completion of this

program.

 
i 
Table of Contents 
List of Tables .......................................................................................................................v 
Section 1: Foundation of the Study ......................................................................................1 
Background of the Problem ...........................................................................................2 
Problem Statement .........................................................................................................2 
Purpose Statement ..........................................................................................................3 
Nature of the Study ........................................................................................................3 
Research Question .........................................................................................................5 
Interview Questions .......................................................................................................5 
Conceptual Framework ..................................................................................................6 
Operational Definitions ..................................................................................................7 
Assumptions, Limitations, and Delimitations ................................................................8 
Assumptions ............................................................................................................ 8 
Limitations .............................................................................................................. 9 
Delimitations ........................................................................................................... 9 
Significance of the Study .............................................................................................10 
Contribution to Business Practice ......................................................................... 10 
Implications for Social Change ............................................................................. 11 
A Review of the Professional and Academic Literature ..............................................11 
Stakeholder Theory ............................................................................................... 13 
Related and Contrasting Theories to Stakeholder Theory .................................... 18 
Project Performance and the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry ................................ 23 

 
ii 
Communication With Project Stakeholders .......................................................... 25 
Factors That Affect Communication With Project Stakeholders ......................... 29 
Effective Communication and Project Performance ............................................. 33 
Communication Strategies to Engage Stakeholders and Improve Project 
Performance .............................................................................................. 38 
Project Performance Measurement ....................................................................... 42 
Transition and Summary ..............................................................................................44 
Section 2: The Project ........................................................................................................46 
Purpose Statement ........................................................................................................46 
Role of the Researcher .................................................................................................46 
Participants ...................................................................................................................49 
Research Method and Design ......................................................................................50 
Method .................................................................................................................. 51 
Research Design.................................................................................................... 52 
Population and Sampling .............................................................................................54 
Ethical Research...........................................................................................................57 
Data Collection Instruments ........................................................................................59 
Data Collection Technique ..........................................................................................62 
Data Organization Techniques .....................................................................................65 
Data Analysis ...............................................................................................................67 
Reliability and Validity ................................................................................................68 
Reliability .............................................................................................................. 69 

 
iii 
Validity ................................................................................................................. 70 
Transition and Summary ..............................................................................................73 
Section 3: Application to Professional Practice and Implications for Change ..................74 
Presentation of the Findings.........................................................................................74 
Theme 1: Clear Message and Written Communication ........................................ 76 
Theme 2: Frequent Engagement ........................................................................... 80 
Theme 3: Transparency and Sincerity .................................................................. 84 
Theme 4: Active Listening and Communication Plan .......................................... 87 
Findings Related to Stakeholder Theory............................................................... 89 
Applications to Professional Practice ..........................................................................92 
Clear Message and Written Communication ........................................................ 93 
Frequent Engagement ........................................................................................... 93 
Transparency and Sincerity................................................................................... 94 
Active Listening and Communication Plan .......................................................... 94 
Implications for Social Change ....................................................................................95 
Recommendations for Action ......................................................................................97 
Recommendations for Further Study .........................................................................100 
Reflections .................................................................................................................102 
Conclusion .................................................................................................................103 
References ........................................................................................................................105 
Appendix A: Interview Questions ...................................................................................144 
Appendix B: Interview Protocol ......................................................................................145 

Appendix C: Letter of Invitation......................................................................................147

 
v 
List of Tables 
Table 1. Summary of Reviewed Literature Sources ......................................................... 13 
Table 2. Development of Themes ..................................................................................... 76 
Table 3. Clear Message and Written Communication: Participants’ Responses and 
Frequencies ............................................................................................................... 77 
Table 4. Frequent Engagement: Participants’ Responses and Frequencies ...................... 80 
Table 5. Transparency and Sincerity: Participants’ Responses and Frequencies ............. 84 
Table 6. Active Listening and Communication Plan: Participants’ Responses and 
Frequencies ............................................................................................................... 87 
 

Section 1: Foundation of the Study

Communication management in project delivery is a proactive endeavor by

project managers to manage the expectations and requirements of all stakeholders

(Rajhans, 2018). Most projects have stakeholders who might vary in their communication

requirements, which significantly influences project performance. Effective

communication with stakeholders is essential for successfully delivering any project

(Badewi, 2016; Rajhans, 2018). Researchers have demonstrated that cultural differences,

trust, geographic distance, and stakeholder expectations significantly affect

communication management (Muszyńska, 2018). Effective communication management

creates a culture that promotes trust between the project manager and the stakeholders,

encourages stakeholder participation in project decision making, and improves project

performance (Amiri et al., 2022; Shakeri & Khalilzadek, 2020).

Project managers could improve project performance by using effective

communication strategies to engage stakeholders (Lauren, 2018; Singh & Jankovitz,

2018). Conversely, if project managers fail to adopt effective communication strategies

or apply incomplete or ineffective communication with the stakeholders, it could lead to

project failures (Storey et al., 2017). Effective communication management is a strategic

tool for managing stakeholders and their varied requirements (Rajhans, 2018; Williams,

2017). The current study addressed communication strategies project managers use to

engage stakeholders and improve project performance.

Background of the Problem

Inadequate communication with stakeholders in a project can lead to the failure of

the project (Biganeh & Young, 2021). Therefore, project managers’ identification of the

respective causes of project failures is essential for improving project performance

(Kiselev et al., 2020). Some completed projects do not meet stakeholder expectations

because of inadequate communication to establish their requirements (Eyiah-Botwe et al.,

2016). A project classified as successful by a project manager may be seen as a failed

project by the stakeholders because the completed projects may not have met their

expectations. The disparity between the project managers' and project stakeholders’

definitions of a successful project could be due to inadequate communication and

inappropriate communication strategies, leading to project failures (Badewi, 2016).

Project managers must communicate with stakeholders to understand their expectations,

address issues that may arise, manage conflicting interests, and promote stakeholders’

commitment to improving project performance (Riahi, 2017). Knowledge of stakeholder

expectations for a project is vital for improving project performance. Project managers

could establish stakeholder expectations by applying appropriate communication

strategies (Rajhans, 2018). Therefore, researchers should identify communication

strategies project managers could use to engage stakeholders and facilitate successful

project performance (Rosato, 2018; Shahzad et al., 2017).

Problem Statement

In many organizations, project managers’ ineffective stakeholder communication

strategies have led to unsuccessful project performance (Gupta et al., 2019; Majeed et al.,

2021). Despite several decades of a consistent reduction in project failure rates, research

showed that 5% to 42% of projects still fail (Rosato, 2018). The general business problem

was that some projects failed in the Nigerian oil and gas industry due to project

managers’ lack of communication skills to engage stakeholders and improve project

delivery and performance. The specific business problem was that some project managers

in Nigerian oil and gas companies lack communication strategies to engage stakeholders

and improve project performance.

Purpose Statement

The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the

communication strategies some project managers use to engage stakeholders and improve

project performance. The target population consisted of five project managers selected

from a Nigerian oil and gas company who had used effective communication strategies to

engage stakeholders and improve project performance. The implications for social

change include the potential to improve provisions of social amenities, educational

empowerment through university scholarship awards, and small-scale enterprises funding

by organizations in the Nigerian oil and gas industry that may become more profitable

through improved project performance.

Nature of the Study

Research methods available to researchers include qualitative, quantitative, and

mixed methods (Akimowicz et al., 2018; Zoellner & Harris, 2017). The selected

approach for the current study was the qualitative method. Researchers use the qualitative

method to explore the how, what, and why rather than explain a phenomenon or outcome

(Rymaszewska et al., 2017; Yin, 2018). Qualitative researchers use open-ended questions

to explore the research problem (Saunders et al., 2016). Researchers also apply

qualitative methods to explore, capture, and communicate underlying trends, patterns,

and relationships of untapped areas of a topic (Albers, 2017). The qualitative method was

appropriate for the current study because it provided in-depth information for probing the

untapped areas of the research topic.

Quantitative researchers use closed-ended questions to empirically test stated

hypotheses about variables and relationships (Makrakis & Kostoulas-Makrakis, 2016). I

did not select the quantitative method because it entails using closed-ended questions,

preconstructed standardized instruments, and precise measurements that were not the

objectives of the current study. The mixed-methods approach combines qualitative and

quantitative methods in a single study (Almeida, 2018). A researcher uses a combination

of qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis to enrich the study findings

(Bester et al., 2017). I did not select a mixed-methods approach because the focus of my

study was not to test stated hypotheses about variables and relationships.

Qualitative designs include phenomenological, ethnographic, and case study

(Castleberry & Nolen, 2018). I selected the single case study design over the

ethnographic and phenomenological designs for the current study. The case study

approach is the best design for conducting an in-depth and detailed investigation of a

single incident, circumstance, or individual over a period (Yin, 2018). Furthermore, the

single case study research design is optimal for contemporary studies, exploratory

studies, and obtaining a holistic and real-world perspective by collecting data from

multiple sources (Yin, 2018). The single case study design was appropriate for

establishing a robust understanding of communication strategies project managers in the

Nigerian oil and gas industry use to engage stakeholders and improve project

performance.

In contrast, researchers apply the ethnographic design to study a group’s culture

(Atkinson & Morriss, 2017; Saunders et al., 2016; Taylor-Hyde, 2017). I did not select

the ethnographic design because the research focus was not on shared patterns of

behavior, beliefs, and languages but on the communication strategies project managers

use to engage stakeholders and improve project performance. Researchers also use the

phenomenological design to explore participants’ lived experiences (Koskiniemi et al.,

2019; Taylor-Hyde, 2017). I did not select the phenomenological design because the

current study’s focus was not on the meaning of participants’ lived experiences.

Research Question

What communication strategies do project managers use to engage stakeholders

and improve project performance?

Interview Questions

1. What communication strategies are you using to engage stakeholders and

improve project performance?

2. How effective are the communication strategies you use to engage

stakeholders and improve project performance?

3. What are the challenges you face in using the communication strategies to

engage stakeholders and improve project performance?

4. What steps did you take to overcome the challenges you faced in using the

communication strategies to engage stakeholders and improve project

performance?

5. What additional information can you provide regarding communication

strategies project managers can use to engage stakeholders and improve

project performance?

Conceptual Framework

The stakeholder theory proposed by Freeman (1984) was the conceptual

framework for the current study. Freeman originated the stakeholder concept and

established the need to change business beneficiaries from stockholders to stakeholders.

Freeman et al. (2007) developed Freeman’s stakeholder theory to address the relationship

between organizational performance and communications with stakeholders. Stieb (2009)

reviewed Freeman’s approach to create an appeal to legal, economic, and ethical

constraints on stakeholder management. Through these constructs, Freeman et al. and

Stieb highlighted the need for project managers to secure stakeholders’ commitment to

project delivery success through effective communication. Project managers’ effective

stakeholder communication may improve project delivery and facilitate business

performance (Thompson, 2016). The findings from exploring Freeman’s stakeholder

theory in the current study might help readers understand the stakeholder communication

strategies that project managers use to engage stakeholders and improve project

performance.

Operational Definitions

Communication strategy: Communication strategy is a framework developed by

the project managers as part of a communication plan showing how the information will

be shared and received to achieve the organization’s strategic objective between the

project stakeholders and the project team (Dmitriy & Ekaterina, 2018; Project

Management Institute [PMI], 2017a).

Effective communication: Effective communication is the act of information

sharing by project managers to meet the varied communication needs of diverse

stakeholders by applying different communication styles, languages, and approaches

(Slunge et al., 2017).

Project communication management: Project communications management is the

process of ensuring timely and appropriate planning, collection, creation, distribution,

command, control, monitoring, storage, retrieval, and disposition of project information

(PMI, 2017b).

Project performance: Project performance measures the extent to which an

implemented project meets or does not meet the requirements of the project’s key

stakeholders (Rosato, 2018).

Project success: Project success is achieving the critical success factors and

realizing the strategic objective according to stakeholders’ requirements, such as

completing the project in a timely, high-quality, and cost-effective manner (Rosato,

2018).

Stakeholder communication: Stakeholder communication refers to exchanging

information and instructions to overcome barriers between groups and individuals in a

project environment (PMI, 2017a).

Assumptions, Limitations, and Delimitations

Researchers improve their study’s credibility by clearly articulating their

assumptions, limitations, and delimitations, which are critical components of any study

(Kivunja & Kuyini, 2017). Assumptions are unproven statements considered true by the

researcher (Beato, 2017). Limitations are constraints that restrain researchers from

generalizing their findings (Forrest, 2017). Delimitations are boundaries set by the

researcher to limit the scope of their study (Yin, 2018).

Assumptions

Assumptions are claims the researcher considers relevant to the research and are

plausible but lack proof (Okoye, 2017; PMI, 2017a; Williams, 2017). In the current

study, the first assumption was that the participants were project managers who had used

communication strategies to engage stakeholders and improve project performance.

Second, I assumed that the selected project managers would be available when required

and would be willing to participate in the interviews. A third assumption was that the

chosen project managers would respond honestly to the interview questions. Finally, I

assumed that participants understood the purpose and scope of the study and that their

participation and responses could inform the results.

Limitations

Limitations are potential weaknesses or challenges the researcher cannot control

that could impact the study’s scope, outcome, and reliability (Richardson, 2018;

Theofanidis & Fountouki, 2018). The first limitation of the current study was the bias in

participants’ responses to interview questions to protect their organizations’ interests. The

second limitation was the reluctance of project managers to share sensitive information

about their projects due to fear of competition. The final limitation was that the

communication strategies that participating project managers shared might reflect data

from their limited experiences acquired from the single organization selected for the

study.

Delimitations

Delimitations are the researcher’s scope or boundaries set before the

commencement of the research to ensure readers understand the extent of the study

(Forrest, 2017; Grandison, 2017; Marshall & Rossman, 2016; Yin, 2018). According to

Theofanidis and Fountouki (2018), delimitations are limitations deliberately imposed by

the researcher to control the research environment. The first delimitation for the current

study was the target population, which comprised only project managers who had used

communication strategies to engage stakeholders and improve project performance. The

second delimitation was the purposeful selection of the research question to raise

awareness of stakeholder communication strategies project managers could use to engage

stakeholders and improve project performance. The final delimitation was the geographic

region of the Niger Delta, Nigeria, where the selected oil and gas company was

operating. The researcher did not select project managers outside the designated oil and

gas company for the study. I selected the Niger Delta geographical region because

existing literature suggested limited research on stakeholder communication strategies to

engage stakeholders and improve project performance.

Significance of the Study

The project management field is an area of study that needs further research

(Case, 2017). Despite research findings on standards and best project management

practices, projects still fail (Rosato, 2018). Project stakeholders also present the challenge

of varied interests and communication expectations (Storey et al., 2017). The different

stakeholders offer diverse knowledge, experiences, aspirations, and benefits to a project.

Project managers may need practical communication skills and strategies to benefit from

stakeholders’ experiences and project delivery successes. Case (2017) stated that

investigating the diverse stakeholder communication perspectives may expand the project

management knowledge base and introduce communication strategies that project

managers may require to engage stakeholders and improve project performance.

Contribution to Business Practice

How well the project managers understand and effectively communicate with

stakeholders can significantly influence successful project outcomes (PMI, 2017a).

Researchers have established that successful projects contribute to organizational

performance (Case, 2017), and stakeholders can influence project delivery success by

defining the success criteria for the project (Slunge et al., 2017). The stakeholders’

understanding of the project delivery plan and strategy through effective communication

by the project managers becomes essential for successful project delivery. The current

study’s findings, conclusions, and recommendations might provide leaders, executives,

and project management practitioners with a more effective communication strategy to

engage stakeholders and improve project performance. The research findings might also

contribute to project management communication practices.

Implications for Social Change

Applying the current study’s findings might contribute to positive social change

because effective stakeholder communication could lead to project delivery success, and

project delivery success might contribute to organizational profitability. When

organizations are profitable, corporate social responsibility activities might increase,

leading to infrastructural and economic development in the rural communities playing

host to the oil and gas companies. Profitable organizations might expand into more rural

communities, leading to more employment opportunities, infrastructural and economic

development, human capital development, and improvement of the country’s gross

domestic product.

A Review of the Professional and Academic Literature

A literature review is a source of relevant articles that provide insight into the

study to support its argument and establish its importance (Marshall & Rossman, 2016).

The purpose of the current qualitative single case study was to explore the

communication strategies project managers use to engage stakeholders and improve

project performance. In this section, I categorize the literature review on communication

strategies and project performance into four parts. The first part of the academic literature

review focuses on stakeholder theory, which guided the study. This subsection includes

relevant theories for the conceptual framework and reasons for selecting the stakeholder

theory. The second part includes other related and contrasting theories to the stakeholder

theory and discusses communication strategies. The third and fourth parts of the literature

review focus on project performance indicators and communication strategies to engage

stakeholders and improve project performance.

The literature review consisted of peer-reviewed articles, journals, books, and

dissertations from sources such as Google Scholar, books, and Walden University

Library databases, including ProQuest, Emerald, EBSCOhost, IEEE, and Sage. Most of

my sources were from Walden University Library resources. The search keywords and

phrases included stakeholder management, stakeholder communication, project success,

effective communication, communication strategy, project communication management,

and stakeholder communication theory. I selected 264 resources that were relevant and

applicable to the research question. These resources included peer-reviewed and non-

peer-reviewed journals, dissertations, and books. Eighty-eight percent of these sources

were peer-reviewed journals published between 2018 and 2022. Twenty-two percent of

the resources were non-peer-reviewed journals and books. I organized the literature

review as follows: (a) stakeholder theory, (b) related and contrasting theories to

stakeholder theory, (c) communication strategies, (d) project performance indicators, and

(e) communication strategies to engage stakeholders and improve project performance.

Table 1 provides a breakdown and classification of the sources used for the study.

Table 1

Summary of Reviewed Literature Sources

Literature review content

Total

No. of peer-reviewed

resources published

between 2018 and

2022

Percentage of peer-

reviewed resources

published between

2018 and 2022

Peer-reviewed articles

Non-peer-reviewed articles

Dissertations

Books

Total

206

264

183

231

89%

86%

82%

80%

88%

Stakeholder Theory

Stakeholder theory dated to 1963. Researchers introduced the notion that

stakeholders, being anyone who can impact or be impacted by the activities of a

corporation, were as crucial to the corporations as the traditionally recognized

shareholders who were the owners of the corporations (Freeman, 1984; PMI, 2017a). The

stakeholder theory was a departure from the traditional business understanding. The

stockholder theory creates profit for the capital investors (Freeman et al., 2010), while the

stakeholder theory challenges the share and bond owner perspective. The stakeholder

theory states that because businesses exist in society and not as separate entities, business

managers are responsible for both share and bond owners and the intricate societal

network of parties who may be in an involuntary relationship with the company (Wood et

al., 2021). Stakeholder theory also posits that managers should fulfill their moral

obligations to their stakeholders. When leaders make business decisions, they must

consider the interests of all stakeholders, including stockholders, employees, customers,

suppliers, and the local community in which it operates, and must fulfill their moral

obligations to these stakeholders (Hunsaker, 2021).

The stakeholder theory postulates that organizational success is a function of how

well project teams engage with key stakeholders. The relationship between internal and

external stakeholders of a project influences the project performance (Teo & Loosemore,

2017; Vrushank & Pramod, 2019; Williams, 2017). The stakeholder theory provides a

framework for project managers to identify, classify, and categorize stakeholders for

more effective communication to improve project performance. Stakeholders play

essential roles in ensuring improved project performance. Therefore, project managers

must focus on the strategies to communicate effectively with all stakeholders and not

assume that some stakeholders are more important than others (Crane, 2018). Stakeholder

theory assumes that project stakeholders are motivated to contribute to improved project

performance when adequately engaged and expect to benefit from the project outcomes

(Eskerod & Jepsen, 2016).

Stakeholder theory focuses on solving value creation problems, the ethics of

capitalism, and the managerial mindset, including how organizations work ethically to

create value (Freeman et al., 2010). Stakeholder theory also assumes that project

stakeholders will only contribute to a project as required when motivated. The motivation

of stakeholders depends on the essential elements of their expectations around project

costs, deliverables, and scope (Eskerod & Jepsen, 2016). Understanding the stakeholders’

interests, motivations, and expectations could enable the project managers to establish the

best strategy for communicating with them and draw on their positive influence to

facilitate project performance.

In the early period of stakeholder theory, organizations had little interaction with

their environment and limited recognition of the full potential of stakeholders who can

impact project performance (Freeman, 1984). As the theory evolved, it became apparent

that organizations must integrate stakeholders in the decision making process (Mir &

Pinnington, 2014). Stakeholders could have varied requirements yet interdependent

relationships (Aaltonen & Kujala, 2016). Organizational leaders and project managers

should recognize and involve all project stakeholders in their communication to influence

project performance.

Although project management practitioners accept stakeholder theory, different

project managers interpret the concept differently, making the theory difficult to achieve

global acceptance by project management practitioners (Scherer & Patzer, 2011). Despite

these different interpretations of the stakeholder theory, it is a vehicle for connecting

ethics and strategy (R. A. Phillips, 2003). The stakeholder theory also indicates that firms

focus on economic values and stakeholder-based performance measures instead of only

on economic factors and making money for the shareholders (Wood et al., 2021).

Organizations that serve stakeholders’ interests will create more value over time

(Campbell, 1997). The stakeholder theory has evolved to ensure organizations’ full

consideration of stakeholder interests in their decision, thereby making the theory

applicable to many industries (Freeman et al., 2010).

Stakeholder theory has a widespread application that could vary along the project

life cycle, from project to project and from one industry to another (Badewi, 2016).

Stakeholders’ interests may change at different stages of the project delivery life cycle

(Aaltonen & Kujala, 2016). To satisfy stakeholders, project managers should pay

attention to the different types of projects and the technical, environmental, commercial,

operational, and political factors that could influence the interests of the various

stakeholder groups. Project managers should also view the stakeholder theory as a cross-

fertilization of the theory’s descriptive, instrumental, and normative aspects (Valentinov

et al., 2019; Williams, 2017).

The descriptive stakeholder theory describes the legal obligation of stakeholder

fairness. The theory shows an organization’s characteristics and how it interacts with its

identified stakeholders (Miles, 2017). The descriptive stakeholder theory highlights the

various stakeholders at different times in the life cycle of an organization. Some of the

stakeholders may be more important than others at these different organizational life

cycle stages depending on the needs of the organization and the possible contribution or

influence of these stakeholders toward achieving the organization’s purpose (Williams,

2017). Most organizations apply different strategies at different times to communicate

with the various stakeholders depending on the importance of the stakeholders relative to

achieving the organization’s objectives.

The instrumental stakeholder theory focuses on applying organizational ethics to

business management to address the concerns of selected stakeholders for improved

financial performance (Jones et al., 2018). Instrumental stakeholder theory assumes that

stakeholder relationships governed by contractual norms and ethically grounded

stakeholder management strategies lead to improved financial performance (Jones et al.,

2018; Miles, 2017). Understanding the instrumental stakeholder theory could help project

managers adopt the best communication strategies to engage their stakeholders and

improve project performance.

The normative stakeholder theory integrates corporate social responsibility into

the instrumental aspect of the theory. Normative stakeholder theory, also known as the

ethics of care, is based on eternal values derived from ethical theory rather than observed

norms and explores why project managers consider stakeholders’ interest in project

decisions (Miles, 2017). Normative stakeholder theory is the core of stakeholder theory

and is rooted in the moral intuition that a firm’s responsibilities to its stakeholders should

go beyond contemporary shareholder/stockholder approaches. Project managers should

adopt the normative stakeholder theory in setting organizational objectives and see

stakeholders as an integral part of the organization to foster better collaboration and

improved delivery (Boesso & Kumar, 2016). By applying the normative stakeholder

theory, project managers could use the most appropriate communication strategies to

engage their stakeholders and improve project performance.

In applying the stakeholder theory, business leaders are encouraged to develop

business models that integrate stakeholders in the business decision making process to

enhance value creation and organizational sustainability (Freudenreich et al., 2019).

Stakeholders could play significant roles in the performance of an organization (Sancho

et al., 2018). Adequately engaging stakeholders in the organization’s processes could

enhance stakeholders’ confidence, loyalty, and support to improve the organization’s

performance (Seay, 2015). The tenets of stakeholder theory include the jointness of

interests, cooperative strategic posture, and the broad economic view of the firm (Shah &

Guild, 2022). Jointness of interest is a tenet of stakeholder theory that advocates that

firms should seek to maximize value for their stakeholders by exerting efforts to align

their interests with those of the stakeholders. Cooperative strategic posture is a tenet of

stakeholder theory that views businesses and their stakeholders as strategic partners. The

tenet advocates that there should be interconnectivity between businesses and those with

a stake in them, such as the customers, suppliers, employees, investors, and the

community in which they operate. The broad economic view is a stakeholder theory tenet

that advocates a downplay of an organization’s financial goals balancing it against other

factors such as environmental considerations and corporate social responsibility (Shah &

Guild, 2022). The stakeholder theory was the appropriate conceptual framework for

exploring the communication strategies that project managers use to engage their

stakeholders and improve project performance.

Related and Contrasting Theories to Stakeholder Theory

Related and contrasting theories considered in the current study were stockholder

theory, balanced scorecard theory, mass communication theory, communication theory,

socio-technical systems (STS) theory, and information theory. These theories provide

comprehensive information on the procedures necessary for successfully developing and

deploying communication strategies. Although these related and contrasting theories had

similarities and differences to the stakeholder theory, their applications were quite

different.

Stockholder Theory

The stockholder theory, also known as shareholder theory, states that the primary

duty of management is to maximize shareholder returns on investment. The theory

pushes the idea that the only responsibility of managers is to serve in the best possible

way the interests of shareholders, using the corporation’s resources to increase the

shareholders’ wealth by seeking profits (O’Connell & Ward, 2020). Milton Friedman

introduced the stockholder theory in the 1960s and stated that a corporation is primarily

responsible to its stockholders. These stockholders approve the salary of the business

managers, who in turn oversee the corporation’s spending according to the wishes of the

stockholders (Hunsaker, 2021). The stockholder theory portrays organizations as vehicles

to generate wealth for the stockholders within legal boundaries but excludes

consideration for other stakeholders such as employees, suppliers, customers, and society

(O’Connell & Ward, 2020).

Stockholder theory argues that managers' priority is to protect and grow the

corporation’s assets for the benefit of shareholders. However, the theory fails to consider

that shareholders and corporations may have other objectives besides financial

performance, including encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation and building

communities. This broader view suggests that shareholders are interested in corporate

social responsibility in addition to financial gains establishing the relationship between

corporate social responsibility and return on capital employed (Kyriakou, 2018;

Mochales & Blanch, 2022). The stockholder theory was not appropriate for the current

study, which focused beyond the stockholders to identify the communication strategies

project managers use to engage all stakeholders to improve project performance.

Balanced Scorecard Theory

The balanced scorecard theory is a performance management framework that

enables organizations to translate their vision and strategy into action and improve

performance (Eisenberg, 2016). Kaplan and Norton (1992) created the balanced

scorecard theory as a performance measurement system that enables organizations to

manage the demands of their stakeholders, translate strategies into action, and answer to

criticism concerning the unilateral measurement of a company’s performance. The main

objective of a balanced scorecard is to eliminate the shortfalls of the traditional

performance indicators that rely only on financial indices (Rababah & Bataineh, 2016).

The balanced scorecard model combines financial and nonfinancial measures to include

strategic and business performance measures across four interconnected viewpoints

(Singh & Arora, 2018). The four interconnected viewpoints enabled by the balanced

scorecard theory include finance, customer, internal business process, learning, and

innovation perspectives (Dincer et al., 2019).

Managers employ the balanced scorecard theory to link performance

improvement strategies with other strategies and manage organizational assets to curtail

cost overruns based on increased knowledge of the project or business environment

(Chiarini, 2016; Llach et al., 2017). Because I explored the communication strategies

project managers use to engage stakeholders and improve project performance, the

balanced scorecard theory, a performance measurement matrix for financial and

nonfinancial indices of an organization, was not appropriate for the current study.

Mass Communication Theory

McQuail (2010) advanced the concept that mass communication theory requires

addressing the integration of multiple factors to ensure its application in a business

context. The mass communication theory provides a helpful lens for developing and

implementing successful strategies that project managers can embrace to strengthen

communication within project teams (Valkenburg et al., 2016). The mass communication

theory focuses on strengthening communication within the project team. Additionally, the

mass communication theory focuses on a one-way flow of public content on a large scale,

making it unsuitable for my study. The current study aimed to establish communication

strategies that foster two-way communication with stakeholders to create trust and build a

strong relationship that facilitates successful project delivery between the project

manager, project team, and internal and external stakeholders.

Communication Theory

Craig’s (1999) communication theory utilized the principle of the communication

model to distinguish communication through an approach that defines communication

and the attendant challenges (Sanderson, 2017). Craig drew from seven communication

theory traditions to explain the concept of effective communications. These seven

traditions of communication are the semiotic, the phenomenological, the cybernetic, the

socio-psychological, the socio-cultural, the critical, and the rhetorical traditions. Each of

these traditions captures a different aspect of communication (Crane & Glozer, 2016;

Oberiri, 2018). Craig’s communication theory depicts how specific communication

elements relate to specific subject fields, making it inappropriate for my study.

Socio-Technical Systems Theory

In the early sixties, the Tavistock Institute in London developed the socio-

technical systems (STS) (Trist, 1981). The STS model explains the communication

strategies that enable collaborations in an organization. The model recognizes the

interaction between people and technology in an organization leading to active

collaborations and efficient systems (Kim et al., 2016). The STS model envisions

communication strategies necessary to promote team collaboration and foster knowledge

sharing within organizational settings (Kim et al., 2016). The STS model is not

appropriate for my study because it focuses on communication strategies that foster team

collaboration and knowledge sharing but does not focus on the communication strategies

to engage stakeholders and improve project performance which is the focus of my study.

Information Theory

Shannon and Weaver’s (1949) information theory focuses on communication

accuracy and effectiveness from the efficiency of transmitted information between a

sender and receiver (Li & Wang, 2017). Based on information theory, the communication

process between project managers and stakeholders is successful when the stakeholder

receives the information sent by the project manager through an agreed medium, and the

receiver understands the message in the information (van Ruler, 2018). The information

theory is the one-directional flow of information from the project managers to

stakeholders. The theory does not consider any feedback from the stakeholders to the

project managers; hence is inappropriate for my study, which focuses on building trust

and relationships to facilitate project performance.

Project Performance and the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry

The Nigeria oil and gas industry is laden with epic projects. The successful

delivery of these epic projects is fundamental to the success, profitability, and

sustainability of the companies in the industry. Therefore, project managers must

implement successful projects that determine their companies’ profitability and continued

existence (Alhajri & Alshibani, 2018). A primary function of projects is to provide firms

with the opportunity to create and retain business value, therefore making the

performance of the projects critical to the success of the organizations (Horning, 2018).

Organizations known for excellent project performance are more likely to attract more

business patronage than others (Chou et al., 2016). The current study on the

communication strategies to engage stakeholders and improve project performance could

benefit project management practitioners in the Nigerian oil and gas industry by ensuring

successful project delivery and attracting more business patronage leading to higher

profitability.

Knowledge of project performance improvement factors is valuable to project

managers, primarily as many organizations nowadays rely on project successes for

organizational growth sustainability (Sarja, 2018; Scheepers et al., 2022). The traditional

measure of project performance includes cost, time, and quality, sometimes referred to as

the iron triangle or the triple constraint, and offers a clear definition of project success or

failure by measuring the project’s economic and technical dimensions (Scheuchner,

2017). Some stakeholders may consider project performance from both environmental

and business perspectives in addition to the triple constraints (Abbaspour et al., 2018;

Albert et al., 2017). Project success is critical in determining the extent of project

performance (Mainga, 2017). Project managers should achieve the project objectives

agreed with the stakeholders at the commencement of the project.

A project is said to be successful when the team has achieved the critical success

factors and realized the strategic objective according to stakeholders’ requirements, like

completing the projects in a timely, high quality, and cost-effective manner (Rosato,

2018). Completing a project does not necessarily mean the project was successful.

Instead, a project is tagged completed when the expected business value, which justifies

the need for carrying out the project, has been achieved and the stakeholders’

requirements have been met (Radujkovic & Sjekavica, 2017). To achieve project success,

the project manager must adequately conceptualize, design, and implement the project,

considering all the factors that may influence the success of a project (Nzekwe et al.,

2015).

A helpful approach to determine the success of a project is by measuring the

project’s performance, but most importantly, determining the measurement criteria for

project success considering the stakeholders’ requirements. Traditionally, meeting the

project’s triple constraint of time, cost, and scope, implies successful project performance

(Blaskovics, 2016). Still, considering the stakeholders, the project is only successful

when the outcomes have met the organization’s stakeholders’ social and environmental

requirements and the requirements of the triple constraint (Sudhakar, 2016). Regardless

of the selected project success criteria, project success depends on the perception of the

persons involved in the project. Project managers must agree on their projects’ critical

success factors to achieve improved project performance (Dziekonski, 2017). In the

Nigerian oil and gas industry, social and environmental objectives are critical success

factors to consider by project managers. Therefore, knowledge of the factors contributing

to improved project performance is vital to twenty-first-century project managers

(Hughes et al., 2017). Factors contributing to project success include correctly identifying

and categorizing internal and external stakeholders shared understanding through

effective communication and knowledge transfer, strategic alignment of stakeholder

requirements, and setting clear project success criteria (Roman, 2016).

Project failures have huge impacts on organizations, such as financial losses, lost

investment opportunities, political damage, and other losses that may be difficult to

quantify (Buettner, 2017; Hughes et al., 2017). One major cause of project performance

is the lack of communication strategy to engage project stakeholders leading to poor

decision making (Buettner, 2017). Project managers, therefore, must engage in effective

stakeholder identification and categorization, pay adequate attention to the stakeholder

requirements, and embrace clear communication strategies to engage the stakeholders

and improve project performance (Acevedo, 2016).

Communication With Project Stakeholders

Project managers’ understanding of the factors that improve project performance,

like effective stakeholder management, communication, and involvement in decision

making, is vital to twenty-first-century project management (Sarja, 2018). Researchers

have identified some negative impacts of project failures, including financial losses, lost

investment opportunities, and political and reputational damage to organizations

(Buettner, 2017; Hughes et al., 2017). Some causes of project failures include lack of

trust, digital literacy, internet penetration, resistance to change, misunderstanding of

stakeholders’ requirements, lack of competence, incomplete mapping of stakeholders,

and poor communication (Ebad, 2018; Gupta et al., 2019; Rankinen et al., 2022).

Generally, over 5% of projects still fail despite several decades of improving the project

delivery process (Rosato, 2018). Most project failures are due to poor communication

with project stakeholders (Rosato, 2018; Shahzad et al., 2017; Suleiman, 2022). This

subsection focuses on stakeholder communications, types of stakeholder

communications, and how stakeholder communication facilitates successful project

delivery.

Because communication is an essential process in project management,

organizations, communities, and social groups should build trust between diverse

stakeholders who may have diverse backgrounds, interests, expertise levels, and

perspectives which can impact the overall interest of the group (PMI, 2017a).

Communication plays a vital role throughout the project life cycle and significantly

contributes to its success. Project managers use communication to exchange project

information with stakeholders through well-defined processes to improve project

performance (Shakeri & Khalilzadek, 2020). Communication with stakeholders is a two-

way process whereby information is shared and received (Nguyen et al., 2018). It is

necessary to plan, manage, and evaluate internal and external information flows to share

ideas, understand situations, and resolve issues that may arise (Hernández et al., 2019).

Effective communication with stakeholders in a project contributes to the project’s

visibility and drives transparency with internal and external stakeholders (Ogrezeanu et

al., 2017).

Different stakeholders have unique and evolving requirements, expectations, and

communication needs, requiring project managers to apply diverse communication

strategies to meet all stakeholder needs. Traditionally, communication is an integral

component of human existence that happens consciously or unconsciously through

words, facial expressions, gestures, and other actions (Ogrezeanu et al., 2017). This

traditional communications approach is not a fit for every situation. The traditional

communication strategy fails in many circumstances, especially where the project

managers neither understand the stakeholders’ communication needs nor apply the

appropriate communication strategies. Project managers must consider the various

stakeholders’ information needs, including the project team, and integrate them into their

project communication strategy (PMI, 2017a).

The growing complexity of stakeholders’ requirements in project management

calls for unique strategies to achieve effective communication (Bourne, 2016). Different

stakeholder groups may have to change communication needs at the various phases of the

project life cycle (Turkulainen et al., 2016). Likewise, one stakeholder group may have

different communication needs at the various phases of the project delivery cycle than the

other groups (Lohikoski et al., 2015). Project managers need a proper and adequate

communication plan to effectively manage and meet the stakeholders’ communication

needs during the different project life-cycle phases and facilitate improved project

performance. A strategic approach to stakeholder communication is the key to successful

project performance, notwithstanding that the stakeholders might have complex

communication needs (Bourne, 2016). Generally, there are three classes of project

stakeholder communication: project reporting, project relations, and directed

communication. Deploying these three general classes of stakeholder communication to

the right stakeholders could help project managers to achieve successful project delivery.

Project reporting is a one-way communication system that project managers use

to provide information about the project to the various stakeholders. The information in a

report is for purposeful communication while the reporting creates a consistent set of data

in a time series; however, reports are not communication (Bourne, 2016). Although some

stakeholders may never read all the reports sent to them by the project managers, sending

the reports reassures them that the project manager is well-organized. The stakeholders

also trust that the project managers can successfully plan and implement the project and

deal with any unexpected developments in delivering the project. Because project reports

are legal requirements, most organizations and leaders require periodic reporting on

project status. It is pertinent that project managers generate and share information on their

project progress as often as agreed with the stakeholders. Bourne argued that reports are

one-way communication and do not provide the project managers with the stakeholders’

responses; hence, they are ineffective.

Project relations (PR), also called project marketing, includes all the media forms

of communications used to provide project information to the broader stakeholder

community (Bourne, 2016). Effective PR can reduce the level of apathy or opposition

experienced in a project while increasing support for the project by the engaged

stakeholders and eliminating misinformation and rumor (Bourne, 2016). Project

managers skilled in the PR communications process apply their skills to secure broader

stakeholder buy-in and enthusiasm for their projects and expected deliverables. Project

managers with good communication skills could use PR as a viable communication

strategy to facilitate successful project delivery.

Directed communication is the stakeholder communication method that follows a

complicated process focused on the crucial stakeholders of any project, which the project

managers should impact in specific ways. Direct communication involves developing a

clear communication plan for the project, highlighting the different parties’ roles and

responsibilities in the communication process throughout the project life cycle (Bourne,

2016). Project managers must regularly review the stakeholder list for their projects, re-

evaluate existing stakeholders’ interests and priorities, and identify emerging

stakeholders and their communication priorities.

Factors That Affect Communication With Project Stakeholders

Communication is the giving and receiving of messages, the transfer of

information from one person or group to one or more other people or groups.

Communication is an essential life skill and a vital part of our daily routines, thus the key

to effective project management (Samáková et al., 2018). Since the communication

process is not independent, project managers must consider economic, legal, political,

and ethical factors in establishing their communication strategies (Chan et al., 2016). To

succeed in their project management careers, project managers must be skilled in

communication (Samáková et al., 2018).

Most of the communication activities of project managers involve sharing

information with project team members and other stakeholders, spending 80% - 90% of

their time communicating on projects (Samáková et al., 2018). Communication is one of

the main elements of project management that improves project performance in any

organization. Therefore, project managers must apply effective communication strategies

to engage project stakeholders and improve the performance of their projects.

Communication management is an essential component of project management that

defines the required processes of proper planning, collecting, distributing, and retrieving

project information among the project participants (Taleb et al., 2017). Project managers

should apply communication management skills to plan and manage project activities.

The output of the project communication planning process is the project

communication plan, which is a tool for implementing the communication strategy to

ensure improved project performance (Samáková et al., 2018). Project managers should

develop communication plans to engage stakeholders and improve project performance.

A project communication plan is a tool project teams and project managers use to provide

relevant, accurate, and consistent information to project stakeholders and share vital

information within the project organization (Papke-Shields & Boyer-Wright, 2017). The

communication plan that project managers use to engage stakeholders during various

stages of project implementation can create value and work as an efficient tool to manage

stakeholder relationships (Rajhans, 2018). Project managers create communication plans

to identify project stakeholders, prepare a strategy to manage their expectations, and

provide them with the correct information at the right time through positive

communication (Rajhans, 2018).

Project managers create a communications plan or strategy to foster team

collaboration and effective communication with project stakeholders. In developing the

project communication plan, project managers determine what information to share, who

delivers the communication, who receives the communications, the communications

medium, and the frequency of the communications (Meng & Boyd, 2017). Project

managers must consider the communication preferences of stakeholders while developing

the project communication plan (Bourne, 2016). For communication to be effective, the

stakeholder perception of the message and the sender must be authentic (Taylor, 2018).

Project managers should know the appropriate communication methods based on their

understanding of the stakeholder communication requirements (Varajão et al., 2017).

Project team members should have a better understanding of their tasks and

responsibilities and adopt a well-designed communication plan to increase their chances

of achieving their project goals (Kopmann et al., 2017). Some communication tools that

project managers could use to establish effective communication with the project teams

and stakeholders include email, webcasts, collaboration websites, video conferences,

telephone calls, texts, face-to-face discussions, and web-based dashboards (Mitchell,

2018). A clear and concise project communication plan could help project managers and

the project team effectively communicate with the project stakeholders and improve their

project performance.

While project managers need to develop a robust communication plan, effectively

managing the communication with the stakeholders is also vital to improving project

performance. Communications management entails creating, collecting, and distributing

project information to the appropriate recipients following the established project plan

(Taylor, 2018). Project managers use communication management as a strategic tool to

manage stakeholder relations systematically at each project stage (Rajhans, 2018).

Communication management is the systematic initiative directed towards monitoring and

controlling all communication channels within an organization based on the

communication plan developed to cover corporate communication strategies, internal and

external communications designs, directives, and managing the flow of information

(Rajhans, 2018).

Communication management in projects is a proactive endeavor by the project

manager to manage the expectations and requirements of all stakeholder groups (Rajhans,

2018). Effective communication management signifies a process that maximally delivers

communications to appropriate stakeholders to achieve the communication objective

(Rajhans, 2018). Project managers and project team members must ensure that

information generated and provided to customers and business owners concerning project

progress and performance are appropriate and fit for purpose (Taylor, 2018). By

developing an effective communication management plan, project managers could use

the communication strategies to engage stakeholders and improve project performance.

Communication management entails effective information exchange between the

project manager, the project team, and the project stakeholders in stakeholder relationship

management. The information exchange ensures effective management of stakeholder

expectations. It provides critical stakeholders with appropriate information to convince

them that their expectations are known and that the project team will address them while

improving project performance (Bourne, 2016; Rajhans, 2018). In project

communication, project managers should clarify the project scope and targets and provide

information that identifies the project’s purpose, products, services to deliver, and

expected stakeholder benefits (Butt et al., 2016; Verghese, 2017). Effective stakeholder

communication management creates motivation within the project team and is necessary

for all stages in the project life cycle to improve project performance.

Effective Communication and Project Performance

Effective communication is fundamental to boosting organizational trust and

entrenching focused communication to foster healthy relationships among team members

and project stakeholders (Taylor, 2018). Through effective communication, project

managers keep project stakeholders on track to achieve project objectives (Muszyńska,

2018). Effective communication is a foundation function that supports and integrates all

project areas and is one of the main determinants of successful project performance

(Muszyńska, 2018). To achieve effective project communication, project managers must

define the criteria to determine the effectiveness of their communication and establish

performance indicators to measure the effectiveness. Generally, communication is

effective when it reaches its goals and accomplishes the intended purpose (Muszyńska,

2018; Rajhans, 2018).

To communicate effectively, project managers must establish a proper

communication management plan that defines involved parties, determine what

information to share, and the appropriate tools and methods to facilitate the sharing

(Taleb et al., 2017). Effective communication with stakeholders enhances project

visibility, drives transparency, and builds trust with internal and external stakeholders

(Ogrezeanu et al., 2017). Effective communication occurs when project managers

provide cost-effectively, correct, and relevant information to the stakeholders (Taylor,

2018). The effectiveness of a communication strategy is a function of the project sector

and the stakeholders’ expectations.

Effective communication enhances business operations and facilitates improved

project performance. Project managers that maintain open communication channels with

stakeholders tend to outperform their competitors in crucial project segments, especially

in growth, profitability, and project feasibility, therefore buttressing the impact of

communication in improving performance (Parks, 2018). Project teams that have

adequate communication flow achieve outstanding project performances (Taylor, 2018).

Some benefits of effective communication include improved project performance,

improved transparency and trust in project teams, and improved collaboration with

stakeholders, thereby securing the trust of the stakeholders and improving project

performance (Butt et al., 2016). Project managers require practical communication

management skills to sustain consistent project performance.

Communication is an essential life skill and entails getting messages from sender

to recipient (Samáková et al., 2018). Getting messages to the recipients without distortion

is best achieved by applying the appropriate communication strategy, style, or

methodology endorsed by the intended recipients (McBeth et al., 2016). Project

managers’ ability to monitor and measure the effectiveness of the communication with

their project stakeholders is vital for meeting the many needs of the stakeholders and

contributing to the successful delivery of projects in any organization (Smith, 2017).

Project managers could achieve successful project delivery by applying communication

strategies that best fit the numerous project stakeholders. Effective stakeholder

communication occurs when the stakeholders receive the message sent to them by the

project managers without compromising the content or intent of the message (DeVito,

1994). To achieve communication effectiveness, project managers must communicate

with clarity to the stakeholders and ensure they cover the communication needs of all

stakeholder groups in the communication strategy.

Formulating a communication strategy is a critical step to successfully delivering

projects. To develop stakeholder communication strategies, project managers must

identify the target group (stakeholders), define the context, formulate the communication

objectives, and select the instruments of communication best suited for the stakeholders.

Communication instruments include brochures, presentations, websites, pages on social

media, newsletters, emails, and webcasts (Hamilton & Pajari, 2018). Project managers’

ability to create an effective communication strategy is critical for building a bridge with

the stakeholders and facilitating successful project delivery.

Effective communication is a two-way process whereby information is shared and

received between the project manager and the stakeholders (Nguyen et al., 2018).

Communication in a project is effective when it contributes to its visibility, drives

transparency with internal and external stakeholders, and improves project performance

(Ogrezeanu et al., 2017). Communication in a project is effective when the recipient of

the information confirms an understanding of the message and the intent (van Ruler,

2018). Project managers apply communication management as a proactive measure to

manage the expectations and requirements of project stakeholders to improve project

performance (Rajhans, 2018). Understanding the communication strategies project

managers can use to engage stakeholders and improve project performance is essential to

improving project management (Sarja, 2018). Through effective communication, project

managers establish project success criteria and the project delivery expectations of the

stakeholders (Valiga, 2019).

Effective communication is an essential skill that project managers need to

improve performance. Project managers’ communication activities mainly involve

applying interpersonal skills to share information with project team members and other

stakeholders (Samáková et al., 2018). Through effective communication, project

managers speed up the information sharing process, making it accessible for improved

decision making at all levels in the organization and within the project team (Al-Mamary

et al., 2015). Project managers communicate their vision, expectations, and project

deliverables to inspire team members to improve project performance (Valiga, 2019).

The communication strategy that the project manager use in communicating with the

project team members, who are also stakeholders, may determine the choice of the

project team members to follow the instructions communicated to them (Oyebola, 2018).

Effective communication is one of the main elements of project management and

the basis for project performance in any organization (Samáková et al., 2018). Project

managers must embrace a certain level of communication to achieve improved project

performance. Samáková et al. stated that underneath the communication level, project

managers must embrace five main areas of project communication: communication

environment, communication channel, communication cognitive, communication system,

and complementary part. The communication environment involves the communication

strategy, organizational structure, and project culture, while the communication channel

comprises communication methods, tools, frequency, and communication support. The

communication cognitive focuses on communication differences and communication

skills, whereas the communication system incorporates the feedback system, system of

sharing, and distribution of information. Finally, the complementary part involves the

communication matrix and analysis of stakeholders.

Project managers with excellent communication skills share information that

could improve project performance and pay attention to the entire communication

process, not just the content of the message (Shimizu, 2017). Communication skills

include listening, written communication, emotional awareness, verbal and nonverbal

communication, observing, speaking, and empathizing through face-to-face interactions,

digital communications like social media, email, and phone conversations (Finlay et al.,

2015). Communication skills constitute tools a manager could use to ensure improved

project performance. A vital element of a project manager’s communication skill is

considering the stakeholders’ attitude, knowledge, emotions, and credibility, impacting

how the stakeholders will receive a message (van Kleef et al., 2015). To improve

performance, project managers must exhibit excellent communication skills (Sousa &

Rocha, 2019).

A lack of practical communication skills could lead to poor project performance

and a decrease in a company’s growth (Atambo & Momanyi, 2016). Project managers

without practical communication skills may slightly improve their project performance.

However, with proper communication skills, project managers could assist project team

members in understanding each other and work better together to improve their project

performance (Thomas et al., 2018). One of the vital elements of effective communication

is active listening. Active listening generates mutual respect and trust between project

managers and their team members. A manager with active listening skills can effectively

assess a problem, diagnose a solution, and help minimize mistakes in the project team

and the larger organization (Sfantou et al., 2017). Therefore, project managers should be

strategic in their communication to ensure they understand the needs of their stakeholders

and communicate with them using strategies suitable for each stakeholder group.

Communication Strategies to Engage Stakeholders and Improve Project

Performance

The purpose of communication strategy in project delivery is to ensure the

effective sharing of project information. A well-developed communication strategy

allows the project manager to effectively control the project, eliminate doubts, highlight a

clear plan, and involve all project stakeholders. In the project communication strategy,

the project manager must define the project environment, communication channel and

goal, internal and external stakeholders involved in the communication, communication

rules, sources of communication, and the type of information to be shared (Samáková et

al., 2018). In developing the communication strategy, project managers must align

project objectives with organizational goals by communicating tasks and actions toward

improving project outcomes (Taylor, 2018). The ability to communicate is essential to the

success of any undertaking and a critical factor in achieving project objectives. Therefore,

project managers must focus on planning, work delivery capacity, and precise goals when

defining a communication strategy for their projects (Samáková et al., 2018).

A good communication strategy removes doubt, emphasizes planning, involves

all the project participants, and gives the project manager better control over project

activities and tasks (Taylor, 2018). During the project implementation, the project

manager and project team members must proactively identify, analyze, and communicate

any issues that may concern stakeholders and prioritize the most effective communication

strategy to outline the tasks and share the concerns (Marzagão & Carvalho, 2016). While

the project managers are accountable for effective communication, team members are

crucial in helping their project managers communicate project requirements and manage

internal and external expectations (Blaskovics, 2016). Considering the importance of a

good communication strategy to the improved performance of projects, project managers

should develop the most appropriate communication strategies to meet the

communication needs of their project stakeholders.

A fundamental step toward positively affecting employee motivation, attitude,

and performance by the project manager is identifying the communication strategies that

fit an organization (Shannon, 2018). Effective communication from the project managers

promotes loyalty of their project team members leading to superior competitive

advantage because the team members feel appreciated by their leader. Effective

communication strategies influence performance, engagement, and organizational

effectiveness (Taylor, 2018). A leader’s choice of communication strategy may affect

team members’ ability to function (Wade, 2019). Transformational project managers

communicate well to motivate, inspire, and build trusting relationships with project team

members based on a shared understanding (Shannon, 2018). The project manager’s

capability to leverage communication strategies to satisfy team members by meeting their

psychological needs regarding purpose is essential for improved project performance.

Developing a robust communication strategy is a four-stage process that project

managers must effectively address. The first step is for the project manager to analyze

project proposal documents to gain insight into the project goals the project team will

deliver (Kaiser et al., 2018). Secondly, the project manager must identify concerns that

the project has not integrated into the proposal but are fundamental in facilitating project

implementation (Kaiser et al., 2018). The third step is for the project manager and team to

produce a draft strategy (Kaiser et al., 2018). The fourth step is to review possible

interventions critical to linking strategy to the plan, finalize the communication strategy

(Kaiser et al., 2018), and resolve any communication dispute and uncertainty (Tushman,

2017). The project manager’s lack of a robust communication strategy may facilitate

project underachievement because project teams may not understand the problems. Lack

of a communication strategy is a significant issue that could lead to poor project

performance (Taylor, 2018). Project managers must possess the necessary practical

communication competencies to manage their team, considering that communication is

crucial to determining any project’s success or failure (Turkulainen et al., 2016).

To improve project performance, project managers must understand the various

communication strategies to engage their stakeholders to improve their project

performance. A communication strategy is a framework project managers develop as part

of a communication plan showing how the information will be shared and received to

achieve the organization’s strategic objective between the project stakeholders and the

project team (Dmitriy & Ekaterina, 2018). Project managers use different communication

strategies to engage stakeholders to improve their project performance. Stakeholders may

prefer communication methods like sharing hard-copy documents, emails, audio and

video conferencing, Webcasts, web interfaces, and collaborative portals (PMI, 2017a). As

a communications strategy, project managers should communicate with the stakeholders

concerning the project progress and performance at agreed frequencies using the

appropriate methods that fit each stakeholder (Manojlovich et al., 2015). Frequent and

effective stakeholder communication is a strategy that project managers use to ensure

timely completion of projects and improved productivity (Parks, 2018).

Another stakeholder communication strategy is project managers’ flexibility in

their project communication. Stakeholders’ communication needs can change at the

different phases of the project delivery process. The project managers and their team

members’ ability to provide accurate information regarding process execution and adjust

to these changing stakeholder communication needs are crucial to project success (Ruben

& Gigliotti, 2017). Project managers also use the communication strategy regarding

transparency and accuracy of information sharing to gain the stakeholders’ trust. Project

managers could gain the trust of their stakeholders by timely and accurately sharing work

execution, delivery, and progress information with them (Ruben & Gigliotti, 2017). By

establishing clear communication strategies to engage their stakeholders, project

managers could improve their project performance (Oppong et al., 2017).

Project Performance Measurement

Project performance measures the extent to which an implemented project meets

the requirements of key stakeholders and the organization’s strategic objectives (Rosato,

2018). Project managers should establish project performance measures to evaluate their

projects’ performance. The performance of a project depends on the extent to which a

project team achieves the measurable indices agreed between the project manager and the

stakeholders (Baird, 2017). Project performance is assessed based on pre-selected success

factors, and project managers must be strategic in selecting achievable performance

measurement criteria (Musawir et al., 2017). Project managers can apply industry-

standard project performance measurement criteria as a benchmark to determine the

performance of their projects (Kim et al., 2018). Project managers must develop

performance measures to meet project, organizational, and stakeholder objectives and

ensure project success (Habibi et al., 2018). Project managers should apply appropriate

communication strategies to engage their project stakeholders and agree on performance

measurement criteria for their projects.

Project performance measures the extent to which some pre-selected project

success criteria have been achieved (Nicholds & Mo, 2016). The project managers’

choice of performance measurement criteria should be project-dependent, based on the

requirements of the organization and the project stakeholders (Musawir et al., 2017). The

performance of a project is evaluated based on pre-selected success criteria, which guide

the project team to follow the appropriate project processes to achieve improved project

performance (Mesa et al., 2016). With proper project planning and strategic

communication with stakeholders, project managers could achieve the desired

improvement in project performance. Project performance measurement must fit with

organizational elements like business strategy, organizational culture, and the external

environment (Yun et al., 2016). Project managers should select project performance

criteria that align with their organization’s strategic objectives and meet the stakeholders’

requirements.

A performance indicator is a measure of success bidding to all relevant

stakeholders in a project or activity, which project managers use to identify opportunities

for improving the project performance. Performance indicators measure the extent of

performance in a business or project to provide project improvement opportunities

(Zheng et al., 2017). To develop credible project performance indicators, project

managers must understand factors that could influence project success, identify the

criteria to evaluate project performance, establish the critical success factors, and agree

on the performance measurement criteria with the stakeholders (Albert et al., 2017;

Wibowo et al., 2017). Project managers should develop project performance criteria that

stakeholders can understand easily.

Project success has different meanings to different assessors, and project

managers should specify the success criteria for their project during the project’s

planning phase (Davis, 2017). During the project planning stage, project managers should

establish the project performance indicators to understand the critical success factors that

will improve project performance (Dziekonski, 2017). Critical success factors are a few

selected factors that cause overall project success (Kannan, 2018). Upfront knowledge of

the critical success factors and early involvement of the stakeholders in defining the

critical success factors for a project is a strategy that could dramatically influence project

performance (Eskerod & Larsen, 2018).

Transition and Summary

Section 1 contains discussions of the background of the problem, problem and

purpose statements, nature of the study, research and interview questions, and conceptual

framework. Also included in this section are operational definitions, assumptions,

limitations, delimitations, the significance of the study, and a review of professional and

academic literature. The literature review contains an extensive analysis of relevant

research on the conceptual framework (stakeholder theory), alternative and contrasting

theories, and effective communication strategies to engage stakeholders and improve

project performance. In Section 2, I restated the purpose statement. I discussed the details

of the study plan to answer the research question by addressing the role of the researcher,

the research method and design, the population and sampling approach, and ethical

research. Section 2 also includes a narrative on the data collection instruments and

technique, data organization technique and analysis, and the research reliability and

validity. Section 3 contains an overview of the stud, the presentation of the research

findings, application to professional practice, implications for social change,

recommendations for action and further research, my reflections on the study, and

summary and study conclusions.

Section 2: The Project

This section provides the methodology for the single qualitative case study that

addressed the communication strategies project managers use to engage stakeholders and

improve project performance. I restate the purpose statement; discuss my role as the

researcher; and describe the research participants, research method and design, study

population and sampling, and ethical considerations of the study. Other subsections

include data collection instruments and techniques, data organization techniques, data

analysis, and the reliability and validity of the study.

Purpose Statement

The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the

communication strategies some project managers use to engage stakeholders and improve

project performance. The target population consisted of five project managers selected

from a Nigerian oil and gas company who had used effective communication strategies to

engage stakeholders and improve project performance. The implications for social

change include the potential to improve provisions of social amenities, educational

empowerment through university scholarship awards, and small-scale enterprises’

funding by organizations in the Nigerian oil and gas industry that may become more

profitable through improved project performance.

Role of the Researcher

The researcher is the main instrument for conducting qualitative research and has

the role of assessing the thoughts and feelings of the study participants professionally and

ethically in collecting the research data (Combs, 2017; Yin, 2018). The researcher is

responsible for selecting the research participants; collecting the research data through

interviews, document reviews, and observations; and analyzing the data collected

(Merriam & Grenier, 2019). The researcher is the primary data collection instrument in a

qualitative study and collaborates with the study participants to compile findings (Moser

& Korstjens, 2018). In the current study, I was the primary data collection instrument.

As the researcher for the current study, my role was to identify and select five

project managers as participants from an oil and gas company in Nigeria who had used

stakeholder communication strategies to engage stakeholders and improve their project

performance. My additional roles as the researcher included interviewing the selected

participants; taking notes during the interviews; audio-recording participants’ responses

to interview questions; and transcribing, coding, and organizing collected data into

themes. As the primary data collection instrument, I ensured the collection and analysis

of rich, informative, and unbiased data for the current study. I used interview questions

(see Appendix A) to answer the research question and the interview protocol (see

Appendix B) to collect data from participants. I sent a letter of invitation (see Appendix

C) to access the participants and secured their consent with the informed consent form.

In qualitative research, researchers must explain any prior personal or

professional relationships between the researcher and participants before commencing the

data collection (Corlett & Mavin, 2018). I had no prior personal or professional

relationships with the participants in the current study. As a project manager delivering

information technology projects in the oil and gas industry for over 15 years, I perceived

that project managers struggle with establishing the appropriate communication strategies

to engage stakeholders and improve project performance. Therefore, my primary

motivation for the current study was to establish a robust understanding of

communication strategies project managers in the Nigerian oil and gas industry use to

engage stakeholders and improve project performance.

Personal perspectives and biases may influence data collection, analysis, and

results of qualitative study interviews (Karagiozis, 2018; Yin, 2018). Researchers must

clearly state their experiences, biases, and personal background so these considerations

can add value to the research rather than undermine the researcher’s interpretations and

propositions (Kaiser et al., 2018; Karagiozis, 2018). To mitigate bias and avoid using my

personal experience, assumptions, and beliefs, I stated my experiences, biases, and

personal background. I used recordings from participants’ interviews and data collected

from company documents for data analysis in the current study. I interviewed the

participants until no new themes emerged to ensure data saturation. I also avoided

including my opinions in the collected data.

Qualitative researchers should ensure the protection of the ethical and moral

rights of the participants by choosing a research methodology that is protective of the

participants from the beginning to the end of the research process (Abdalla et al., 2018;

Collins & Stockton, 2018). I informed the participants about the risk and benefits of their

participation in the study and guided, respected, and protected them according to respect

for persons, beneficence, and justice in the Belmont Report (1979). I also conducted the

current study in full compliance with the Walden University research protocols and the

Institutional Review Board (IRB) regulations.

Participants

The participants for the current study were five project managers from a Nigerian

oil and gas company who had successfully used communication strategies to engage

stakeholders and improve project performance. Researchers must select participants with

the requisite knowledge and experience on the research topic (Saunders & Townsend,

2018). Researchers also need to ensure the participants fit the study to ensure the

credibility and acceptability of the findings (Yin, 2018). To ensure the selection of

participants aligns with the research question, the researcher needs to establish criteria for

participants’ selection (Moser & Korstjens, 2018). Project managers were required to

work in a Nigerian oil and gas company and to have used communication strategies to

engage stakeholders and improve project performance to participate in the current study.

I used a purposeful sampling technique to select participants who had used stakeholder

communication strategies to engage stakeholders and improve project performance.

Qualitative researchers use the purposeful sampling technique to choose participants who

can provide in-depth information about the phenomenon under investigation (McInnes et

al., 2017; Onwuegbuzie & Hitchcock, 2017).

Researchers should respectfully contact and connect with the study participants

(Riese, 2018; Saldana, 2018). Contact with the potential participants for the current study

was through emails. Then, I made introductory phone calls to confirm that prospective

participants had successfully used stakeholders’ communication strategies to engage

stakeholders and improve project performance. Following the phone discussion, I

introduced my research objective and confirmed the participants’ ability to provide the

required data. A researcher should create an atmosphere of trust with the participants to

get their best responses (Madikizela-Madiya, 2017). I explained the purpose of the study

and sought their willingness to participate in the study to create an atmosphere of trust

with them. I did not impose my views on the participants but engaged them in making

decisions in the conduct of the current study.

Researchers must also establish a working relationship with the participant to

encourage openness in sharing information about the research topic (Kraft et al., 2019). I

established good working relationships with all of the participants before the interviews,

respecting their views and cultural backgrounds and ensuring the protection of their

confidentiality to stimulate their confidence and build trust. Building trust with research

participants is necessary to ensure that the participants provide information to facilitate

the research outcomes (Devlin, 2018; Wall et al., 2018). Researchers use the case study

design to explore complex social practices or systems delimited by time and place (Yin,

2018). For the current single case study, I focused on a single oil and gas company with

consistent project performance records operating in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

Single case studies provide valuable information about the consistency of performance in

a particular domain (e.g., a company) and give the researcher an in-depth understanding

of the subject (Diop & Liu, 2020).

Research Method and Design

The three research methods that researchers use are qualitative, quantitative, and

mixed methods (Abutabenjeh, 2018). I used the qualitative method for the current study.

Qualitative designs include case study, phenomenological, and ethnographic designs

(Castleberry & Nolen, 2018). I used the single case study design to explore the

communication strategies project managers in a Nigerian oil and gas company use to

engage stakeholders and improve project performance.

Method

Research methods and design are fundamental to attaining reliable and credible

research outcomes, which are vital components of the research process (Abdalla et al.,

2018). Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods are the three research methods that

researchers use (Corlett & Mavin, 2018). Researchers may select any of the methods for

their study (Merriam & Grenier, 2019). Factors that can guide the researchers’ choice of

research method include the research question, study phenomenon, and personal

experiences (Devlin, 2018). Researchers use the qualitative research method to identify

new views on a topic under study (Chih & Zwikael, 2015). Researchers also use the

qualitative method to understand problems in their natural environments, focusing on the

why and how of the study phenomenon (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).

Qualitative methodology is appropriate for analyzing social issues that are not

quantifiable (Glaser & Strauss, 2017) and is based on research questions focusing on

applied and theoretical findings through a field study in natural conditions (Park & Park,

2016). Additionally, the qualitative method enables the researcher to take a holistic view

of the topic (Park & Park, 2016). The qualitative method was the most appropriate

research methodology for the current study. Using open-ended interview questions and

taking a holistic view of the topic, I sought to identify the communication strategies

project managers used to engage stakeholders and improve project performance.

The quantitative method involves obtaining, analyzing, and interpreting data to

test hypotheses and generalize results to a broader population (Yin, 2018). Researchers

use the quantitative methodology to generate proven and unproven results (Nan &

Sansavini, 2017). Quantitative research focuses on testing hypotheses and numerical data

collection to conduct statistical analysis (Sheppard, 2016; Yin, 2018). In the quantitative

method, open-ended questions are discouraged because the study’s purpose is not to offer

an in-depth understanding of a phenomenon (Yin, 2018). Mixed-methods research

involves combining quantitative and qualitative methods in a study, concurrently or

sequentially, to understand the phenomenon of interest (Almeida, 2018). The mixed-

methods approach requires extra time and financial investment to be effective (Ferro,

2017). I did not use quantitative or mixed methods because my intent was not to collect

and analyze numerical data or test hypotheses. I used the qualitative approach appropriate

for exploring social issues, obtaining in-depth information from the study participants,

and identifying communication strategies project managers use to engage stakeholders to

improve project performance.

Research Design

In qualitative research, alignment of the research design with the research method

is essential to answer the study's research question (Yin, 2016). The research designs in a

qualitative study include (a) case study, (b) narrative, (c) ethnographic, and (d)

phenomenological (Yin, 2016). I considered three research designs (case study,

ethnographic, and phenomenological designs) and selected the case study design for the

current study. The case study is the best design for conducting an in-depth and detailed

investigation of a single incident, circumstance, or individual within a defined period to

discover experiences in unique contexts (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016; Yin, 2018). The case

study approach focuses on understanding the characteristics and complexities of a

particular case or bounded system worth exploring (Park & Park, 2016). The case study is

also suitable for exploring the components, interrelationships, and contextual conditions

of the study phenomenon (Kegler et al., 2019).

The single case study design is optimal for contemporary and exploratory studies

to obtain a holistic, real-world perspective by collecting data from multiple sources (Yin,

2018). The single case study design is also justifiable when the case represents a

revelatory study (Yin, 2018). I chose the single case study over the ethnographic and

phenomenological designs because I explored the stakeholders’ communication strategies

that project managers from an oil and gas company in Nigeria use to engage stakeholders

and improve project performance.

In ethnographic research, researchers observe the participants’ lived experiences

and emphasize a group’s culture (Bevan, 2014; Taylor-Hyde, 2017). Ethnographic

research involves interpreting a phenomenon through a group’s shared beliefs, behaviors,

and experiences (Devlin, 2018). Ethnographic research requires long periods to gather

empirical evidence (Yin, 2018). The ethnographic design was inappropriate for the

current study because my intent was not to study a group’s culture. The

phenomenological design explores participants’ lived experiences (Saunders et al., 2016;

Taylor-Hyde, 2017; Yuksel & Yildirim, 2015). I did not select a phenomenological

design because my focus was not to explore the meaning of participants’ lived

experiences. I explored the communication strategies project managers use to engage

stakeholders and improve project performance.

Data saturation occurs when no new themes emerge with additional data

collection (Moser & Korstjens, 2018). Data saturation is a technique qualitative

researchers use to ensure the adequacy of collected data to achieve rigor and enhance the

credibility of the study findings (Cypress, 2017; Florczak, 2017). To enhance data

saturation, I continued collecting and analyzing data from the participants until I could no

longer uncover new information and no new themes emerged. Considering sample size in

qualitative research is essential to ensure adequate collection of information regarding the

phenomenon of the study (Abdalla et al., 2018). The sample size for the current study

consisted of five project managers from an oil and gas company in Nigeria. The study’s

research strategy was semistructured interviews to enhance credibility, reliability, and

validity.

Population and Sampling

Qualitative researchers need to define the target population of their study (Abdalla

et al., 2018) and align the sampling techniques with the research methodology and

phenomenon of the study (Schreier, 2018). Participants for the current study consisted of

five project managers from an oil and gas company who had successfully used

communication strategies to engage stakeholders and improve project performance.

Using the selection criteria in the current study facilitated selecting participants who

could provide the information required to achieve the research objective. Project

managers must possess the technical and soft skills to facilitate successful project

delivery (PMI, 2017a). Being members of the chosen PMI chapter enabled the selection

of project managers who were current with the trends in project management and could

provide information to facilitate the study.

In a qualitative study, the sample selection process ensures that the chosen

participants have the requisite attributes to contribute to a qualitative interview process

(Boddy, 2016; Robinson, 2014; Yin, 2018). Qualitative researchers use purposeful

sampling to select participants who can provide in-depth, detailed information about the

phenomenon under investigation (McInnes et al., 2017; Onwuegbuzie & Hitchcock,

2017). Researchers use the purposeful sampling method to choose participants with

diverse experiences and knowledge of the topic under consideration (Benoot et al., 2016;

Riley et al., 2018). I used the purposeful sampling method to select participants with

personal experience in developing using stakeholder communication strategies to engage

stakeholders and improve project performance. One limitation of the purposeful sampling

method is the lack of clarity on the specific sample to include in a research project

(Martínez-Mesa et al., 2016). I selected project managers who worked in an oil and gas

company and used communication strategies to engage stakeholders and improve project

performance.

Qualitative researchers must select a sample size for their purposeful sampling to

provide relevant knowledge, practices, and experiences that align with the phenomenon

under study (Devlin, 2018). The sample size in a qualitative study is a critical

consideration because it can affect the research outcomes, impact data saturation, and

possibly waste time (Malterud et al., 2016). The sample size used by a researcher in a

qualitative study depends on the degree of certainty the researcher aims to achieve in the

study (Schreier, 2018). The sample size suitable for a study depends on the research

purpose, the intended quality of the interviews, and the research theory to enhance the

research outcome (Malterud et al., 2016). The suitable sample size depends on the

context and scientific paradigm and can affect the reliability of the results (Boddy, 2016;

Tharenou, 2015). The sample size for the current study depends on the research purpose

and knowledge of the participants.

Qualitative research focuses more on the quality of the data, the wealth of

information from the participants, and the nature of the study than the size of the study

population (Guest et al., 2017; Roy et al., 2015). Having fewer than ten interview

participants can be sufficient, and large sample sizes do not necessarily increase the level

of accuracy in a data set (Morris et al., 2015). The sample size for the current study

included five project managers from an oil and gas company in Nigeria who had

successfully used stakeholders’ communication strategies to engage stakeholders and

improve project performance.

Data saturation in a qualitative study is the stage in data collection when

collecting additional data does not identify new themes and does not lead to new insights

or ideas (Colombo et al., 2016; Faulkner & Trotter, 2017). Data saturation has become a

gold standard in qualitative studies (Aldiabat & Le Navenec, 2018). Researchers should

end the data collection process once they attain data saturation (Tran et al., 2017). To

achieve data saturation, I interviewed the participants and collected data from the

company documents until I could not identify new themes.

Ethical Research

Ethical research refers to the moral principles that guide the research process to

ensure the researchers, participants, and the public’s protection throughout the research

process (Pandya-Wood et al., 2017). The current study complied with ethical research

standards and rules of conduct and aligned with the Walden University Institutional

Review Board (IRB) requirements in participant selection, data collection, data

protection, and confidentiality. Data collection began after I had obtained the IRB’s

approval. Walden University’s regulations do not permit students to collect data before

receiving approval from the IRB (Walden University Center for Research Quality, 2020).

The Walden University IRB also requires that researchers ensure confidentiality of

information collected or generated during the research, and I complied with this

requirement. Walden University’s IRB approval number for the current study is 03-28-

22-0564727.

Researchers should obtain the consent of research participants before

commencing data gathering for their study. Participation in research should be voluntary,

and participants’ recruitment should be without any form of coercion (Kanonuhwa et al.,

2018; Marshall & Rossman, 2016; Syrdal & Briggs, 2018). Qualitative researchers

should meet the ethical research obligation by providing adequate information about the

study so that potential participants can independently decide their participation in the

research (Chesser et al., 2019). I used the informed consent form to secure the

commitment of potential participants for the study. The informed consent form contains

the purpose of the study, nature of the study, my contact information, and participants’

signature. The informed consent form also included the procedure for consenting, right to

voluntary participation, option to withdraw at any time from the study, protection of

participant’s right to privacy, risk, and benefit of participating in the study.

In qualitative research, participants are at liberty to withdraw before or during the

data collection process by informing the researcher of their decision to withdraw

(Merriam & Grenier, 2019). I assured the participants that their participation was

voluntary and that they could withdraw from participating before, during, or after the

interviews if they wanted to do so. I explained to the participants that signing the

informed consent form was an agreement to abide by the stipulations in the form,

including their right to withdraw their participation without any recourse. Signing the

informed consent form shows that the participants and the researchers have agreed to

pursue the interview following the terms identified in the consent form (Dekas &

McCune, 2015). None of the participants indicated an interest in withdrawing from the

current study.

Each participant received the consent form through email, which they signed and

returned before I interviewed them. Research participants were informed that the

information they provided and all study-related data would remain confidential and kept

secured for five years, in compliance with the IRB requirements, in an encrypted and

password-protected device that I alone could access. After the five-year IRB retention

period, I will reformat the storage device to erase the data stored permanently. The

participants did not receive any incentives to participants in this research. Giving benefits

and incentives to participants could lead to a compromise (Phillips, 2015). I conducted

the interviews respectfully and professionally, informed the participants that the study

poses no potential risks to their participation, and advised them to contact the IRB if they

have any concerns regarding their participation or conduct of the interview.

Qualitative researchers face ethical challenges such as withdrawal, anonymity,

and confidentiality of the participants (Ngozwana, 2018). I protected the participants’ and

organization’s anonymity and maintained the confidentiality of the information collected

through the current study. I used alphanumeric codes (PT1, PT2, … PT5) to identify the

participants and used a hypothetical name for the chosen company for the research.

Researchers are responsible for protecting the identity of study participants and the

companies they represent while ensuring the proper use and safekeeping of the collated

data (Marshall & Rossman, 2016). I ensured data security by safekeeping all collected

data on an encrypted universal serial bus (USB) device for five years. After the stated

duration, I will destroy all the collected data by reformatting and destroying the USB and

shredding all the papers. I will also shred and discard all paper documents, notes, and

journals used for the study. I ethically protected the participants’ rights following the

guidance of the IRB.

Data Collection Instruments

In a qualitative study, the researcher is the primary instrument for data collection

and analysis (Karagiozis, 2018). I was the primary data collection instrument in this

qualitative single case research. Qualitative research involves observing the participants,

developing the interview questions, conducting the actual interviews, and reviewing and

interpreting the collected data (Yin, 2018). The most common case study research

methods are interviews, focus groups, reviewing documents, and observations (Yates &

Leggett, 2016). I used semistructured interviews and a review of organizational

documents for the data collection in the current study.

Semistructured interviews are qualitative study instruments for data collection,

allowing researchers to achieve consistency and flexibility (Dikko, 2016). Karagiozis

(2018) asserted that the results of semistructured interviews collaborate ideas between the

researcher and the participant, leading to a unified view of reality. For the current study, I

used semistructured interview questions as a data collection instrument (see Appendix A)

to obtain information from participants. I conducted the semistructured interviews for the

current study using open-ended interview questions to explore communication strategies

project managers used to engage stakeholders and improve project performance. Open-

ended questions in semistructured interviews are ideal for exploring in-depth knowledge

and uncovering rich descriptive data from each study participant (LaDonna et al., 2018;

Rosenthal, 2016).

Each participant in the current study responded to the interview questions

designed to answer the research question. I scheduled the interviews with each

participant, informed them of the interview’s expectations, and shared the interview

protocol (see Appendix B) in advance. Each interview session lasted 45-60 minutes,

scheduled at the convenience of the participants. I used the interview protocol (see

Appendix B) to facilitate the discussions during the interview process. After the

interviews, I used member checking to authenticate my understanding and capture

participants’ responses. Member checking is when the researcher returns their

interpretations of the collected data to the participants asking them to review, iterate, edit,

add, or delete information (Madill & Sullivan, 2018). Researchers use member checking

to facilitate the elimination of anomalies by aligning the researcher’s understanding of the

participant’s responses to the interview questions (Yin, 2018). Researchers also use

member checking for quality control to enhance accuracy, validity, and credibility

(Abdalla et al., 2018). The member checking process allows research participants to

affirm the accuracy and completeness of the transcribed interview responses summarized

by the researcher and identify any misrepresentations of their responses, thus improving

data reliability (Birt et al., 2016; Thomas et al., 2017).

The second data collection instrument for the current study was the project-related

company documents in the chosen organization. Document review is vital in grasping the

facts, history, policy environment, and operationalization of a particular initiative

(Hamilton & Finley, 2019). I reviewed project-related company documentation such as

project charters, policies and project delivery standards and procedures, status reports,

audit reports, and after-action review (AAR) documents as secondary data collection.

Collecting various documents as a secondary data source helps provide the depth of

evidence in research, develop a comprehensive understanding of the research phenomena,

and test validity through the convergence of information from different sources (Hussein,

2015; Yin, 2018).

In a qualitative study, data triangulation allows researchers to use multiple data

resources to understand the problems they want to solve and improve their interpretation

and analysis of the data they collect (Forrest, 2017; Saunders et al., 2016). The data

triangulation process enables the researcher to compare data through multiple information

sources and build a comprehensive perspective of the phenomenon (Yin, 2018).

Methodological data triangulation and member checking enhance the accuracy,

strengthen the validity and reliability of research findings, and reduce biases (Abdalla et

al., 2018; Devlin, 2018). For the current study, I used the methodological triangulation of

multiple data sources and member checking to enhance the reliability and validity of the

data collected. I examined the various project-related company documents from the

selected company. I used member checking to verify the accuracy of the information

collected from the various participants during the interviews.

Data Collection Technique

Data collection techniques that qualitative researchers use include surveys,

interviews, direct or participant observation, site visits, video recording, review of

company documents, and a sample of existing data or records (Anselmi et al., 2018). For

the current study, I used the semistructured interview as the primary data collection

technique to answer the research question. I explored the various communication

strategies project managers used to engage stakeholders and improve project

performance. Semistructured interviews allow researchers to extract in-depth and rich

information from participants about the phenomenon under the study through open-ended

questions (Oltmann, 2016). Researchers can also gain insight into the study’s phenomena,

and participants are allowed to describe what was essential to them (O’Keeffe et al.,

2016).

A key advantage of semistructured interviews as a data collection technique is

that researchers could develop open-ended questions around predetermined themes,

which facilitates flexibility of the interviews and encourages follow-up questions to

clarify points the participants made (Barrett & Twycross, 2018). A vital disadvantage of

the semistructured interview technique is the potential to introduce bias in the study due

to the poor structure of questions (Draper et al., 2018). Another disadvantage of

semistructured interviews is the high cost and the potential to delay completing the

interview process (Brinkmann, 2016). Researchers may influence participants’ responses

through interjections, especially when the participant makes statements that may imply

personal opinions (Draper et al., 2018).

Due to the increasing wave of the global coronavirus (COVID19) pandemic, face-

to-face interviews are not a good option for the interviews. I conducted the interviews

through telephone communication and teleconferencing. Qualitative research interviews

can be face-to-face or telephone conversations between the researcher and the

participants (Farooq & de Villiers, 2017; Marshall & Rossman, 2016). Teleconferencing

is a data collection technique with shortcomings like poor (weak) internet connections

that could significantly impact video and audio quality leading to a communication

breakdown during the interviews (Almalki, 2016). To mitigate this challenge of the poor

network connection, I switched to direct telephone calls, which provided a more stable

connection. I also had a backup internet connection and a standby telephone. I advised

the participants to have a backup phone number if we lose the internet connection on the

primary device.

I conducted the interviews using the same interview questions (see Appendix A)

for all participants and followed the guidelines in the interview protocol (see Appendix

B). I provided all participants with the informed consent form to understand the purpose

of the study and sign the document as legal consent to participate in the study. Using the

same interview questions and following the guidelines of the interview protocol for all

participants enhances consistency in a study (Mulder & de Bruijne, 2019). During the

interviews, I recorded the participants’ responses using two audio recording devices to

mitigate the potential risk of data loss due to device failure. Using two audio recording

devices ensured the accuracy and credibility of the collected data. Recording of the

interviews started after the participants had agreed to the recording. During the interview,

I periodically checked the recording devices to ensure they were working correctly and

politely informed the participant when it was time to move to another question, thereby

maintaining focus, controlling the process, and ensuring a successful meeting. I used

methodological triangulation of multiple data sources and member checking to verify the

accuracy of the information collected from participants to enhance the validity and

reliability of the data collection process. Researchers use member checking for quality

control to enhance accuracy, validity, and credibility (Abdalla et al., 2018).

I reviewed project-related company documents to search for communication

strategies project managers use to engage stakeholders and improve project performance.

First, I requested and secured access to the company document archive through the

government parastatal regulating oil and gas companies in Nigeria. Next, I requested the

project-related documents through the document archive manager. Once granted access, I

gathered relevant documents and extracted the essential data to support the data collated

during the interviews. Documents are valuable data acquisition sources with standard,

diverse, readily accessible, and reliable data. (Harrison & Walker, 2018; Walker, 2018).

Documentation review comes with advantages: constantly referring to the documents

whenever necessary, having consistent content, being inexpensive, and being a reliable

source of truth (Harrison & Walker, 2018; Walker, 2018). A significant disadvantage of

documentation review is that collecting, reviewing, and analyzing many records to

consider can be time-consuming and not necessarily a good experience for researchers

(Harry & Fenton, 2016). I mitigated this disadvantage by requesting project

communication protocol documents and other documents related to project

communication and information sharing with stakeholders.

Data Organization Techniques

Research data organization is a process researchers use to enhance the reliability

and credibility of the study (Lindlof & Tylor, 2019). Effective organization and

documentation of research data are essential for ease of data retrieval and enhanced

confidentiality and protection of research participants (Barrett & Twycross, 2018). For

ease of accessibility, data protection, and data loss prevention, I collected, labeled, and

stored all collected data in folders on my computer, with backup copies in multiple

external hard drives.

Audio recording, taking notes, and collecting data from multiple sources enhance

qualitative data analysis and enable researchers to organize research data (Devlin, 2018).

In the interview protocol for this research, I specified the procedure for organizing data

and documents such as digital recording, notes taking, data transcription, and data

analysis using NVivo 12 software. Qualitative researchers use the NVivo software to

code a large volume of textual data into themes and organize data in hierarchical order

(Lowe et al., 2018). I used the NVivo 12 software to code and categorized the collected

data into themes and analyzed and interpreted the data to establish the communication

strategies project managers use to engage stakeholders and improve project performance.

Participants’ identity protection through coding and labeling is one primary

element of the data organization process (Lindlof & Tylor, 2019). I assigned unique

codes to interview data for analysis, and during the coding process, I protected the

participants by not using any individual or company names. Researchers are responsible

for protecting the identity of study participants and the companies they represent while

ensuring the proper use and safekeeping of the collected data (Marshall & Rossman,

2016). I used alphanumeric codes (PT1, PT2, …PT5) to identify the participants and

protect their identities. Data masking provides data security and hides the participants’

identities, and data encryption and storage in password-protected devices ensure data

security (Adams, 2017; Ogigau-Neamţiu, 2017).

Researchers must maintain records to keep track of their data (Marshall &

Rossman, 2016). I organized the research data using a research log created in Microsoft

Excel to capture the participants’ responses in the rows and the interview questions in the

columns of the Microsoft Excel file. Organizing the participant’s responses to the

interview questions in the Microsoft Excel file makes it easy to import into NVivo for

analysis. I safely locked all collected material from the interview, including the audio

records, notes from document reviews, and all digitized data, in a passworded electronic

storage device for five years. All data collected in hard copies were stored in a

confidential file, locked in a fireproof safe, and accessible to me alone. After five years, I

will delete all the audio records, digitized data, and electronic records and shred all the

paper documents.

Data Analysis

Using multiple data sources in a qualitative case study ensures the findings’

richness, validity, and reliability (Yin, 2018). The data analysis process converges several

information sources, making the research findings more convincing (Archibald, 2016;

Saunders et al., 2016; Yin, 2018). The qualitative researcher analyzes data to identify

patterns and themes to help answer the research question (Devlin, 2018). Data collected

through semistructured interviews are narrative. To analyze the data collected through the

interviews and review of company documents for the current study, I used the

methodological triangulation process to enhance the credibility of the study.

Methodological triangulation includes the combination of data collection methods like

interviews, review of company documents, observations, and focus groups to compare

data from multiple sources, improve interpretation and analysis of the data and

understand a phenomenon (Abdalla et al., 2018; Forrest, 2017; Gibson, 2017). I analyzed

the data collected through the interviews and reviewed company documents to identify

common themes.

I used NVivo software to import collected interview data captured in Microsoft

Excel, organized the imported data, and evaluated and analyzed the data to develop and

record themes relevant to answering the research question. Using NVivo facilitated the

reviewing, refining, and merging of the collated data into themes. The NVivo software

package was user-friendly, can analyze open-ended questions, and enables the thematic

coding of categories. Researchers use NVivo to process non-numeric data such as

interviews, surveys, literature reviews, and data extracted from reviewed company

documents (Zamawe, 2015). NVivo is also used in qualitative research to review, merge,

and refine collated interview data, enhancing research information (Harif & Hoe, 2018).

After establishing and recording the key themes using NVivo, I looked for emerging

themes that would facilitate answering the research question and were relevant to the

study’s objective. I compared the emerging themes from the data analysis with the

conceptual framework, which was the stakeholders’ theory. Researchers must establish a

correlation between the conceptual framework and the study findings (Sutton & Austin,

2015). I further used member checking to authenticate the data analysis process.

Reliability and Validity

Reliability and validity are two significant aspects of qualitative research.

Demonstrating validity and reliability in a qualitative case study helps ensure the

research’s correctness and accuracy (Combs, 2017; Yin, 2018). Validity and reliability

are crucial to managing researchers’ biases which can easily influence data

interpretations and the results of qualitative research (Cypress, 2017). Reflexivity,

member checking, and triangulation are strategies researchers could use to improve

research validity and reliability significantly in qualitative studies (Caretta & Pérez, 2019;

Madill & Sullivan, 2018).

Reliability

Reliability in qualitative research involves obtaining consistency in the quality of

research outcomes to produce a meaningful explanation of the phenomena (Collingridge

& Gantt, 2019). Researchers achieve reliability in the qualitative study when the results

are consistent, dependable, and replicable by other researchers over time (Cypress, 2017).

Reliability in qualitative research depends on the adequacy of data that consistently

supports the research procedures and analysis (Spiers et al., 2018). Data collection and

analysis techniques are essential in achieving reliable and consistent results in qualitative

research. Qualitative researchers must apply rigorous data collection and analysis to

demonstrate research credibility (Cronin, 2014).

Research credibility is necessary because qualitative research is descriptive,

subjective, and prone to biases. Researchers use the concepts of dependability,

creditability, transferability, and confirmability to demonstrate credible alignment

between research data and study findings (Devlin, 2018). For the current study, I used the

interview protocol (see Appendix B) to ensure the consistency of the research data. I

provided evidence of reliability by documenting each step of the research process.

Qualitative researchers show reliability in their study by documenting the research

process and demonstrating consistency using the interview protocol (Hadi & Closs,

2016). I applied member checking to foster the validity and reliability of the current

study's findings.

Dependability in qualitative research reflects the transparency and accuracy of

research procedures, consistency in research methodology, data collection, and data

analysis (Tong & Dew, 2016). Researchers use strategies to address the dependability of

qualitative research and improve research accuracy, validity, and reliability, including

methodological triangulation, member checking, audit trail of field notes, and interview

protocols (Combs, 2017; Dikko, 2016; Forrest, 2017). For the current study, I established

the dependability of the findings through member checking and interview protocol.

Member checking is a method for validating researcher interpretations during data

collection and analysis (Doh & Quigley, 2014). I performed member checking to enhance

the validity and reliability of the data from the interviews, deepen knowledge, and

enhance the credibility of the data.

Researchers use member checking to facilitate the elimination of anomalies by

aligning the researcher’s understanding of the participant’s responses to the interview

questions (Yin, 2018). The member checking process allows research participants to

affirm the accuracy and completeness of the transcribed interview responses summarized

by the researcher and identify any misrepresentations of their responses, thus improving

data reliability (Birt et al., 2016; Thomas et al., 2017). I offered the participants the

opportunity to review and verify the written summary of my interpretation of their

responses to the interview questions, which I recorded on the audio devices during the

interview process.

Validity

In qualitative research, validity refers to truthfulness in research quality and the

state of being justifiable, relevant, meaningful, and well-founded (Cypress, 2017).

Researchers define validity as rigorously choosing a suitable research methodology and

justifiably applying the chosen methodology to answer a research question (Collingridge

& Gantt, 2019). I l established validity in the current study through member checking by

sharing my written summary of the transcribed interview responses with the participants

to confirm the accuracy. In a qualitative study, research validity can influence reliability,

credibility, transferability, and confirmability (Beato, 2017; Thomas et al., 2017). In the

following subsection, I discussed how I established credibility, transferability,

confirmability, and data saturation.

Credibility

Credibility is about the research’s trustworthiness and acceptability of the

research findings (Hadi & Closs, 2016; Keil et al., 2014). The credibility of a study

depends on the accuracy, consistency, and interconnections of the concepts with research

findings (Yin, 2018). Merriam and Tisdell (2016) suggested that researchers achieve

credibility and triangulation using multiple methods, multiple data sources, and cross-

checking the primary data source against other sources. I achieved credibility in the

current study through triangulation by comparing participants’ responses to project-

related company documents.

Transferability

Transferability is the possibility of transferring the findings from a given context

into another (Keil et al., 2014; Noble & Smith, 2015). Qualitative researchers could

achieve transferability through purposeful sampling (Tran et al., 2016) and a detailed

description of the phenomenon (Bradshaw et al., 2017). Transferability is also the extent

to which the findings of a qualitative study apply to other contexts, settings, or

participants (Devlin, 2018). To achieve transferability, I gave a complete description of

the research design, the data collection processes, the participant population, and their

experiences in applying stakeholder communication strategies to engage stakeholders and

improve project performance.

Confirmability

The confirmability of research refers to the extent to which the study is unbiased

and objective (Ibrahim & Edgley, 2015). Most qualitative researchers use confirmability

to ascertain the data, the interpretations, the transcriptions, and the findings that originate

from the information collected on the phenomenon of inquiry. Bradshaw et al. (2017)

argued that member checking is one way to support confirmability. Through member

checking, I achieved confirmability and precluded any biases I might introduce in the

current study.

Data Saturation

Data saturation enhances research validity and occurs when data and information

from new themes or categories have been exhausted in data analysis (Fusch & Ness,

2015; Hennink et al., 2017; McCrae & Purssell, 2016). I achieved data saturation by

exhaustively conducting the interviews following the interview protocol (see Appendix

B), asking the interview questions (see Appendix A), and extracting detailed information

from the participants by asking follow-up questions until no new data or themes emerged.

I also extracted relevant data from company documents and conducted a detailed analysis

of the collected data using the NVivo software.

Transition and Summary

The current study aimed to explore the stakeholder communication strategies that

project managers use to engage stakeholders and improve project performance. Section 2

contains discussions on the reason for the study and why a qualitative case study was the

best option for the research. Section 2 covers discussions on the research methods and

design, the population and sampling, the ethical research process, the data collection

instruments and techniques, data analysis, data organization techniques, and data

analysis. I concluded the section with the study’s reliability and validity. In Section 3, I

presented the overview of the study and research findings, application to professional

practice, and implications for social change. Finally, I concluded the study by making

recommendations for action by the project managers and future studies, reflections, and

summary and study conclusions.

Section 3: Application to Professional Practice and Implications for Change

In this qualitative single case study, I explored project managers’ communication

strategies to engage stakeholders and improve project performance. Five project

managers from an oil and gas company in Nigeria who had successfully implemented

communication strategies to engage stakeholders and improve project performance

participated in the current study. I identified four themes based on data analysis from

participant interviews and company document reviews. These themes were (a) clear

message and written communication, (b) frequent engagement, (c) transparency and

sincerity, and (d) active listening and communication plan. The study findings indicated

that some project managers use a combination of established communication strategies to

engage stakeholders and improve the project performance of their oil and gas company in

Nigeria. Section 3 includes the presentation of findings, application to professional

practice, implications for social change, recommendations for action and further study,

reflections, and a conclusion.

Presentation of the Findings

The overarching research question was: What communication strategies do

project managers use to engage stakeholders and improve project performance?

Inadequate communication with stakeholders in a project can lead to project failure

(Biganeh & Young, 2021). Therefore, project managers could establish stakeholder

expectations by applying appropriate communication strategies (Rajhans, 2018). I used

the triangulation method to combine the data collected from semistructured interviews

and company archival documents. These documents included project charters, policies

and project delivery standards and procedures, status reports, audit reports, after-action

review documents, and field notes. Upon completing the interview with the fifth

participant, I concluded that no new information or themes were emerging, indicating that

I had reached data saturation. Using NVivo 12 software, I organized the study data and

conducted the thematic analysis to identify emerging themes and trends for data analysis

and interpretation.

In many organizations, project managers’ ineffective stakeholder communication

strategies have led to unsuccessful project performance (Gupta et al., 2019; Majeed et al.,

2021). Consequently, project managers must pay attention to communication with

stakeholders to understand their expectations, address issues that may arise, manage

conflicting interests, and promote stakeholders’ commitment to improving project

performance (Riahi, 2017). Effective communication is one of the main elements of

project management and the basis for project performance in any organization

(Samáková et al., 2018). The four themes I identified in the current study were (a) clear

message and written communication, (b) frequent engagement, (c) transparency and

sincerity, and (d) active listening and communication plan. Table 2 presents participants’

responses and the themes that emerged from the data analysis.

Table 2

Development of Themes

Theme

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Question 4

Question 5

Clear message and

written communication

Frequent engagement

Transparency and

sincerity

Active listening and

communication plan

P1, P4

P1, P3, P5

P1, P2, P4

P3, P4, P5

P1, P4

P1, P2, P3

P2, P4,

P4, P5

P1, P3, P4,

None

P1, P2,

P3, P4, P5

P1, P2,

P4, P5

P1, P3, P5

P2, P4, P5

Theme 1: Clear Message and Written Communication

Project managers could improve project performance by using effective

communication strategies to engage stakeholders (Lauren, 2018; Singh & Jankovitz,

2018). In project communication, project managers should clarify the project scope and

targets and provide information that identifies the project’s purposes, products, services

to deliver, and expected stakeholder benefits (Butt et al., 2016; Suleiman, 2022;

Verghese, 2017). The first theme from the interview data was a clear message and written

communication, reflecting the importance of clear communication with stakeholders.

Table 3 presents the frequencies of the responses by the participants on the theme of clear

message and written communication strategies.

Table 3

Clear Message and Written Communication: Participants’ Responses and Frequencies

Participant

Frequency of use by participants

The theme of a clear message and written communication emerged from the

interview data. All participants affirmed using clear messages and written

communications as a strategy to engage stakeholders and improve project performance.

Responding to Interview Question 1, P1 said “my two strongest strategies are frequent

connect with and clear message to the stakeholders.” According to P1, “also key to the

success of my project performance is the clarity of my communication with my project

stakeholders. Clarity of communication engenders the stakeholders’ visibility and

transparency of project progress.” On further inquiry, P1 assured “with clear

communication, project purpose and specific delivery expectations are well known to

internal and external stakeholders leading to excellent project performance.” In response

to Interview Question 1, P4 explained “I make sure my communication to them is clear. I

present a clear, concise, and purposeful message to them.” Responding to Interview

Question 2, P1 affirmed “my experience is that clear communicating help in building

trust and fosters transparency and authenticity with the stakeholders.” P4 stated that

stakeholders “are usually willing even to have one-on-one engagements with me to

clarify any grey areas they may have.”

In response to Interview Question 3, P1 noted “for some stakeholders, written

communication is better since you cannot speak their language.” Responding to Interview

Question 3, P3 remarked “the strongest challenge I have faced is that of stakeholders

misunderstanding the messages or report I sent to them. I discovered that this problem is

caused mainly due to my use of too many technical words.” In response to Interview

Question 3, P4 attested “a major challenge I have experienced in communication is the

misunderstanding of the report.” P5 asserted “major challenges I have faced

implementing these communication strategies are cultural differences and wrong

perception of the intent of the message.” The participants acknowledged that clear

messages and written communications are critical in engaging stakeholders and

improving project performance.

Responding to Interview Question 4, P1 opined “the challenge with language is a

matter of clarity in communication.” Providing further narrative, P1 added “as a project

manager, I try to focus on the clarity of my language when communicating with

stakeholders, and that is because I am accountable for what I say, how I say it, and even

how my stakeholders understand it.” On further inquiry, P1 explained “if they

misunderstand it, I will be the one to correct the impressions later, and that would have

possibly impacted by project negatively if not detected and corrected on time.” In

response to Interview Question 4, P2 asserted “I also try to make them sign that any

change to the agreed expectations may require change management.” P3 noted

“nowadays, I ensure the reports I send to the stakeholders are written with simple words

that are easy to understand.”

Responding to Interview Question 4, P4 remarked “I try to write my project

reports and any communication to the stakeholders in a very simple format to

understand.” In response to Interview Question 4, P5 affirmed “through sending clear

messages, I have been able to manage the wrong perceptions of the intent of the

messages.” Responding to Interview Question 5, P4 commented “I can easily refer to past

communications and agreements to prevent misunderstandings of my messages.” P4

noted “showing to the stakeholders what was agreed in the past that they endorsed helps

prevent delays in the decision by the stakeholders, especially with multiyear projects that

may have experienced some scope or timeline changes.”

The company document provided by P2 was the project communication plan that

contained the communication protocol. The communication protocol contained the

process of communicating with the stakeholders and who is responsible for reviewing

and approving the written communication before sharing it with the stakeholders. The

communication protocol also contained information about what to share with each

stakeholder or stakeholder group and the communication’s time, method, and frequency.

The participants’ responses to the interview question confirmed knowledge of the

discipline aligning with Rankinen et al.’s (2022), Suleiman’s (2022), and Verghese’s

(2017) statements that project managers use clear messages and written communications

to engage stakeholders and improve project performance. The current study findings

demonstrated that project managers used clear messages and written communications as a

communication strategy for engaging stakeholders and improving project performance.

All participants attested to using clear messages and written communications as a

communication strategy to engage stakeholders and improve project performance.

Theme 2: Frequent Engagement

Consistent engagement of stakeholders throughout a project life cycle is critical to

improving the project performance. Conversely, if project managers fail to adopt

effective communication strategies or apply incomplete or ineffective communication

with the stakeholders, it could lead to project failures (Storey et al., 2017). Frequent and

effective stakeholder communication is a strategy that project managers use to ensure

timely completion of projects and improved productivity (Parks, 2018). The theme of

frequent engagement emerged from Interview Questions 1–2 and 4–5. All but one

participant used frequent engagement as a communication strategy to engage

stakeholders and improve project performance. Table 4 presents the frequency of

participants’ responses to the frequent engagement theme.

Table 4

Frequent Engagement: Participants’ Responses and Frequencies

Participant

Frequency of use by participants

Project managers could gain the trust of their stakeholders by timely and accurate

sharing of work execution, delivery, and progress information with them, affirming the

need for project managers to build trust with their stakeholders through frequent

communication (Amiri et al., 2022; Ruben & Gigliotti, 2017). Responding to Interview

Question 1, P1 opined “my two strongest strategies are frequent connect with and clear

message to the stakeholders. I ensure regular and frequent communication with my

project stakeholders.” According to P1, “with this strategy, I give updates on the project

progress to the stakeholders and get inputs from them that help me progress my projects

in the right direction, leading to success.” P1 could connect with the stakeholders

“through meetings, email communications, or even conference calls.” In response to

Interview Question 1, P3 commented “my strategy is to identify all stakeholders early in

the project, engage them to understand their expectations, and establish their

communication requirements, mode, and frequency.” Responding to Interview Question

1, P5 remarked “during the project delivery, I make sure the communication plan is

implemented effectively so that all the stakeholders are engaged according to their

requirements and preferred methods.”

In response to Interview Question 2, P1 attested “my experience is that

communicating clearly and frequently with stakeholders helps build trust and fosters

transparency and authenticity with the stakeholders.” According to P1, “frequent

communication with stakeholders builds a dynamic relationship between the stakeholders

and the project managers to enhance stakeholder experience and align the project’s goals

with stakeholder expectations.” Responding to Interview Question 2, P2 stated “with

regular and timely sharing of project progress updates to the stakeholders, project

managers can ensure the effectiveness of the strategy.” In response to Interview Question

2, P3 noted “my experience is that I have been very successful with these strategies

because I involve them on time and communicate with them as they require.”

I reviewed 2 AAR documents for recently completed projects and one project

audit report from P1. The AAR documents were detailed and specific about the

recommendation from project stakeholders on the effective management of project

communication frequency. This document review made it apparent that although

stakeholders appreciate receiving frequent updates about the project, some may not

appreciate overly frequent reporting unless there are milestone achievements to be

shared. My findings from the review of the project audit report document also received

from P1 supported this position that neither infrequent nor too frequent communication

appeals to stakeholders.

In response to Interview Question 4, P1 noted “when I sense apathy caused by the

frequency of communicating with the stakeholders, I reduce the frequency to such

stakeholders. Instead of sending them weekly updates, I may send monthly summaries.”

In agreement, P2 stated “to manage the divergent expectation of the stakeholders, I

ensure timely involvement of the stakeholders and reach an agreement early in the project

of what they expect.” Responding to Interview Question 4, P4 attested “where I find out

that a stakeholder has had a bitter experience in the past, … I communicate with them

more frequently to give updates.” In response to Interview Question 4, P5 asserted

“through periodic communications of the project status, I have been able to manage the

wrong perceptions of the intent of the messages.”

Responding to Interview Question 5, P1 remarked, “I also use communication

methods that the stakeholders prefer.” According to P1, “recognize that each person or

community is different and select the most suitable communication channel - email,

online platforms, social media, phone, or in-person group meetings.” P1 advised, “offer

them the options and let them choose what works for them, including the frequency of

communication and how detailed they want the reports.” In response to Interview

Question 5, P3 affirmed, “I make sure I provide periodic feedback to stakeholders on how

their interest in the project is being covered and updates on how we are addressing any

issues they raised.” Responding to Interview Question 5, P5 affirmed, “offer the

stakeholders a variety of communication channels and frequency options and establish

what works best for each stakeholder group (email, social media, phone calls, and in-

person group meetings.).”

Parks (2018), Rankinen et al. (2022), and Ruben and Gigliotti (2017) stated that

project managers use frequent engagement as a communication strategy for engaging

stakeholders, building trust, and improving project performance. The participant’s

responses to the interview question aligned with the assertion by Parks, Rankinen, and

Gigliotti. The study findings demonstrated that project managers used frequent

engagement as a communication strategy for engaging stakeholders and improving

project performance. As applied in the current study, all the participants attested to using

frequent engagement as a communication strategy for engaging stakeholders and

improving project performance.

Theme 3: Transparency and Sincerity

Effective communication with stakeholders is essential for successfully delivering

any project (Badewi, 2016; Rajhans, 2018; Suleiman, 2022). Effective communications

management creates a culture that promotes trust between the project manager and the

stakeholders, encourages stakeholder participation in project decision making, and

improves project performance (Shakeri & Khalilzadek, 2020). The theme of transparency

and sincerity emerged from Interview Questions 1-2 and 4-5. Three participants

recognized the importance of transparency and sincerity in engaging stakeholders and

improving project performance confirming the assertion by Suleiman (2022) that poor,

infrequent, and unclear communication with stakeholders is one of the root causes of

project failure. Table 5 presents the frequencies of participants’ responses on the theme

“transparency and sincerity.”

Table 5

Transparency and Sincerity: Participants’ Responses and Frequencies

Participant

Frequency of use by participants

Effective communication with stakeholders in a project contributes to the

project’s visibility and drives transparency with internal and external stakeholders

(Ogrezeanu et al., 2017; Van Royen et al., 2022). In response to Interview Question 1, P2

attested, “transparency in communication is the major strategy I use for communicating

with my project stakeholders.” According to P2, “communicating transparently with

stakeholders makes them trust you and feel comfortable working with you as a project

manager and make them communicate their expectations clearly with you.” On further

inquiry, P2 explained, “project managers use transparent communication to ensure that

all stakeholders are aligned with the project objectives and their roles to ensure the

achievement of the project objective.” Responding to Interview Question 1, P4 said, “I

also try to be sincere and consistent in my communication to the stakeholders.” In

response to Interview Question 2, P2 stated, “project managers gain the trust of their

stakeholders by transparently and accurately sharing work execution, delivery, and

progress information.” Responding to Interview Question 2, P4 asserted, “because I tell

them the truth about the project, they trust their interests are covered.”

I reviewed the project delivery standards and procedures document provided by

P4. I also reviewed the AAR and audit report documents provided by P5. Findings from

the project delivery standards and procedures document I reviewed indicated transparent

and sincere communication with stakeholders as a requirement for project managers. My

findings from the reviewed AAR and audit report documents show that stakeholders also

appreciate honest and transparent communication from project managers and the project

teams. One of the recommendations in the reviewed audit report document was for

organizations to adopt project communication policies that demand honest and

transparent communication from project managers.

Responding to Interview Question 4, P4 remarked, “When I find out that a

stakeholder has had a bitter experience in the past, I try to be very transparent in

communicating with such stakeholders.” In response to Interview Question 4, P5

commented, “through transparency in communication, I managed the wrong perceptions

of the intent of the messages.” Responding to Interview Question 5, P2 advised, “be

open-minded and curious so you can better understand the concerns and requirements of

your stakeholders. Being open and curious will help to understand the stakeholders

better.” In response to Interview Question 5, P4 attested, “in addition, when sharing

information with stakeholders, I try to be honest, factual, and present the message in a

format that is easy to understand.” Responding to Interview Question 5, P5 opined,

“…telling the stakeholders clearly how you plan to achieve their goals on the project and

cover their interests along with that of your organization.”

The participant’s responses to the interview question aligned with Shakeri and

Khalilzadek’s (2020), Rajhans’s (2018), and Van Royenet al.’s (2022) statements that

project managers use transparency and sincerity as a communication strategy for

engaging stakeholders and improving project performance. The study findings

demonstrated that project managers used transparency and sincerity as a communication

strategy to engage stakeholders and improve project performance. As applied in the

current study, three participants used transparency and sincerity as a communication

strategy to engage stakeholders and improve project performance.

Theme 4: Active Listening and Communication Plan

Effective communication management is a strategic tool for managing

stakeholders and their varied requirements (Rajhans, 2018; Williams, 2017). Project

managers must agree on their projects’ critical success factors to achieve improved

project performance (Dziekonski, 2017). To communicate effectively, project managers

must establish a proper communication management plan that defines involved parties,

determine what information to share, and the appropriate tools and methods to facilitate

the sharing (Marcillo-Delgado et al., 2022; Taleb et al., 2017). The theme of active

listening and communication plan emerged from Interview Questions 1-2 and 4-5. Three

participants acknowledged using active listening and communication plan as a

communication strategy for engaging stakeholders and improving project performance.

Table 6 presents the frequencies of participants’ responses on the theme “active listening

and communication plan.”

Table 6

Active Listening and Communication Plan: Participants’ Responses and Frequencies

Participant

Frequency of use by participants

Project managers create communication plans to identify project stakeholders,

prepare a strategy to manage their expectations, and provide them with the correct

information at the right time through positive communication (Marcillo-Delgado et al.,

2022; Rajhans, 2018). A manager with active listening skills can effectively assess a

problem, diagnose a solution, and help minimize mistakes in the project team and the

larger organization (Sfantou et al., 2017). Responding to Interview Question 1, P3

opined, “all this information gathered is what I use to develop a communication plan that

addresses the communication requirement of all the stakeholders.” In response to

Interview Question 1, P4 commented, “I listen actively to the stakeholders. Actively

listening to them gives them a sense of trust when I communicate to them.” Responding

to Interview Question 1, P5 remarked, “then I use this established requirement to develop

a communication plan as part of my project setup.”

I reviewed the project delivery plan document provided by P5. My findings

indicate the need for project managers to develop a robust project communication plan to

engage their stakeholders and improve project performance effectively. My review of the

audit report document also provided by P5 indicates the need for project managers to

listen to their stakeholders to establish communication and other requirements they can

integrate into their project delivery and communication plan documents.

Project team members should have a better understanding of their tasks and

responsibilities and adopt a well-designed communication plan to increase their chances

of achieving their project goals (Kopmann et al., 2017; Mochales & Blanch, 2022). By

establishing clear communication strategies to engage their stakeholders, project

managers could improve their project performance (Oppong et al., 2017). In response to

Interview Question 2, P4 noted, “that tells me they also want to listen to me just as I

actively listen to them.” Responding to Interview Question 2, P5 asserted, “because I

capture the stakeholder requirements in my communication plan and implement

accordingly, I meet their communication needs, … they trust me, and I receive their

active support which helps improve my project delivery.” In response to Interview

Question 4, P3 said, “I also ensure that the reports cover the requirements of each

stakeholder as established in the communication plan.” Responding to Interview

Question 5, P5 advised project managers, “share your established communication plan

with the stakeholders.”

The participants’ responses to the interview question aligned with Kopmann et

al.’s (2017), Marcile-Delgado et al.’s (2022), and Sfantou et al.’s (2017) statements that

project managers use active listening and communication plan as a communication

strategy to engage stakeholders and improve project performance. The study findings

demonstrated that project managers used active listening and communication plan as a

communication strategy for engaging stakeholders and improving project performance.

As applied in the current study, three participants attested using active listening and

communication plan as a communication strategy to engage stakeholders and improve

project performance.

Findings Related to Stakeholder Theory

The stakeholder theory has evolved to ensure organizations’ full consideration of

stakeholder interests in their decision, thereby making the theory applicable to many

industries (Freeman et al., 2010). Stakeholders could play significant roles in the

performance of an organization (Mahalingam, 2022; Sancho et al., 2018); hence

organizations must integrate stakeholders into the decision making process (Marcillo-

Delgado et al., 2022; Mir & Pinnington, 2014). Mahalingam’s and Sancho et al.’s

elements of stakeholder integration were present in the theme of transparency and

sincerity in communication, which enables project managers to gain the trust of

stakeholders and improve project performance. Stakeholders could have varied

requirements yet interdependent relationships (Aaltonen & Kujala, 2016; Van Royen et

al., 2022). Project managers’ effective stakeholder communication may improve project

delivery and facilitate business performance (Thompson, 2016). The theme of active

listening and communication plan was present in Aaltonen and Kujala’s, Van Royen et

al.’s statement about varied stakeholder requirements and the need for project managers

to cover these varied stakeholder requirements in their communication plan adequately.

The study findings indicate that project managers could engage stakeholders and improve

project performance by implementing communication strategies based on stakeholder

theory. As applied in the current study, all participants affirmed using communication

strategies to engage stakeholders and improve project performance.

According to Thompson (2016) on stakeholder theory, effective stakeholder

communication is critical to successful business improvement through successful project

delivery. The primary purpose of communications within an organization for internal and

external stakeholders is for the stakeholders to understand and buy into the company

objectives to improve their performance and achieve the business goal. Based on the

themes presented by participants in the current study, Thompson’s elements were present

regarding the impact of effective communication. Also present was Stieb’s (2009)

element of securing stakeholders’ commitment to project delivery success. The theme of

a clear message and written communication, as was presented by the participants critical

in engaging stakeholders to improve project performance.

Stakeholders’ interests may change at different stages of the project delivery life

cycle (Aaltonen & Kujala, 2016). Adequately engaging stakeholders in the organization’s

processes could enhance stakeholders’ confidence, loyalty, and support to improve the

organization’s performance (Rankinen et al., 2022; Seay, 2015). As the current study

applies, project managers should establish communication strategies for engaging

stakeholders and improving project performance. Seay’s assertions on the adequate

engagement of stakeholders manifested in the theme of frequent engagement of

stakeholders to secure their support and improve project performance. All participants

confirmed the stakeholder theory regarding using communication strategies to engage

stakeholders and improve project performance. As applied in the current study, all

participants’ responses echoed Rankinen et al.’s (2022), Seay’s (2015), and Thompson’s

(2016) statements on using communication strategies based on the stakeholder theory to

engage stakeholders and improve project performance.

In applying the stakeholder theory, business leaders are encouraged to develop

business models that integrate stakeholders in the business decision making process to

enhance value creation and organizational sustainability (Freudenreich et al., 2019). The

stakeholder theory also indicates that firms focus on economic values and stakeholder-

based performance measures instead of only on economic factors and making money for

the shareholders (Suleiman, 2022; Wood et al., 2021). As applied in the current study,

project managers used various communication strategies to engage stakeholders and

improve project performance. All participants’ responses echoed Freudenreich et al.’s

(2019), Suleiman’s (2022), and Wood et al.’s (2021) assertions on the crucial roles

project managers play in engaging stakeholders and improving project performance. All

participants used a combination of strategies involving clear message and written

communication, frequent engagement, transparency and sincerity, and active listening

and communication plan to engage stakeholders and improve their project performance.

As applied in the current study, all participants applied the stakeholder theory principles

to engage the stakeholders and improve their project performance.

Applications to Professional Practice

Identifying the communication strategies that project managers use to engage

stakeholders and improve project performance is crucial to the global economy (Biganeh

&Young, 2021). Inadequate communication with stakeholders in a project can lead to the

failure of the project (Biganeh & Young, 2021; Suleiman, 2022). Effective

communications management creates a culture that promotes trust between the project

manager and the stakeholders, encourages stakeholder participation in project decision

making, and improves project performance (Shakeri & Khalilzadek, 2020). Stakeholders

can influence project delivery success by defining the success criteria for the project

(Slunge et al., 2017). Project managers could improve project performance by using

effective communication strategies to engage stakeholders (Lauren, 2018; Singh &

Jankovitz, 2018). All participants affirmed using communication strategies to engage

stakeholders and improve project performance. The current study’s findings could

contribute to business practice by providing project managers with a better understanding

and knowledge of communication strategies needed to engage stakeholders for improved

project performance. The findings from the current study could contribute to the literature

on project management and provide project managers with new insight regarding

communication strategies to engage stakeholders and improve project performance. New

and upcoming project managers may use the current study's findings grouped under the

four themes below to understand the communication strategies for engaging stakeholders

and improving their project performance.

Clear Message and Written Communication

To deliver a clear message, project managers should clarify the project scope and

targets and provide information that identifies the project’s purposes, products, services

to deliver, and expected stakeholder benefits (Butt et al., 2016; Rankinen et al., 2022;

Verghese, 2017). Project managers may need to identify project stakeholders, their

communication needs, preferred methods of communication, the level of details they

want, their education, their culture, and provide information that meets such

requirements. To deliver written communication, project managers need to improve their

writing skills, use a template, and develop a robust communication plan to gain the trust

of their stakeholders and improve their project performance (Amiri et al., 2022; Van

Royen et al., 2022).

Frequent Engagement

Project managers build trust with their stakeholders through frequent

communication (Rankinen et al., 2022; Vaz-Serra et al., 2022). To improve project

performance through frequent stakeholder engagement, Project managers may need to

define and identify their project stakeholders and analyze them to group them into

categories based on their established power, interest, and ability to influence the project.

Project managers may also need to establish a strategy for engaging the stakeholders

considering possible conflicts in stakeholders’ expectations, and schedule the key

communication activities.

Transparency and Sincerity

Project managers develop trust with the stakeholders through transparent

communication to improve project performance (Amiri et al., 2022; Rankinen et al.,

2022; Shakeri & Khalilzadek, 2020). To achieve transparency in communication with

stakeholders, project managers may need to adopt the transparency functions of timely

disclosing information to the stakeholders, being clear and concise in their information

sharing, and ensuring the accuracy of communication with the stakeholders. Project

managers may also apply the strategies of being consistent with messages shared with the

stakeholders, showing vulnerability by acknowledging mistakes and taking responsibility,

and leveraging technology such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to foster

transparency.

Active Listening and Communication Plan

Through active listening and a well-developed communication plan, project

managers identify project stakeholders, prepare a strategy to manage their expectations,

and provide them with the correct information at the right time (Marcillo-Delgado et al.,

2022; Mochales & Blanch, 2022; Rajhans, 2018). Project managers may develop an

effective stakeholder communication plan by identifying the internal and external

stakeholders to their projects, actively listening to the stakeholders to establish their

communication requirements, and setting the communication objectives that facilitate the

achievement of the organization’s set objective. Project managers may also need to

establish the communication methods that are most appropriate for each stakeholder

group, like email, bulletins, press releases, or online chat rooms. Finally, the project

managers may need to create a communication plan dividing the communication by

frequency (quarterly, monthly, weekly, daily) and channels according to the needs of the

stakeholders

The study results could help project managers understand communication

strategies’ role in engaging stakeholders for improved project performance. The study

findings might add value to the project management community through the

dissemination of information which could significantly contribute to information sharing

and networking among project managers who seek communication strategies to engage

stakeholders and improve project performance. Some project managers with weak

communication strategies may apply the current study’s findings to engage stakeholders

and improve their project performance. The study findings could significantly enhance

project managers’ performance on communication strategies for engaging stakeholders

and improving project performance.

Implications for Social Change

Knowledge of project performance improvement factors is valuable to project

managers, primarily as many organizations nowadays rely on project successes for

organizational growth sustainability (Sarja, 2018). By implementing excellent

communication strategies, project managers could improve their project performance and

ensure the sustainability of their organizations. With improved business performance, the

organizations would pay more corporate taxes, which the municipal government could

use to provide social amenities to the local community. Business growth and profitability

could contribute to social change by strengthening local economies, sustaining small and

medium enterprises, and creating job opportunities, thereby improving the welfare and

amenities of the local communities. The implications for a positive social change for the

current study include improved project performance and business sustainability, thereby

improving the living conditions and well-being of the local citizens.

The study findings might significantly contribute to the economy of the local

community. Organizations known for excellent project performance are more likely to

attract more business patronage than others (Chou et al., 2016). When organizations are

profitable, corporate social responsibility activities might increase, leading to

infrastructural and economic development in the rural communities playing host to the

companies. Adopting communication strategies to engage stakeholders and improve

project performance might assist project managers in increasing their company

performance, thereby boosting the economic growth of the local community. New

aspiring entrepreneurs could use the information from the current study’s findings to

implement new projects that could create job opportunities for local citizens, thereby

promoting socioeconomic growth in the local community. As illustrated in the current

study, using effective communication strategies to engage stakeholders might assist

project managers in improving project performance and continue to provide job

opportunities to the local community.

A primary function of projects is to provide firms with the opportunity to create

and retain business value, therefore making the performance of the projects critical to the

success of the organizations (Horning, 2018). Profitable organizations might expand

further into more rural communities, leading to more employment opportunities,

infrastructural and economic development, human capital development, and possibly

improving the country’s gross domestic product. The current study’s implication for

positive social change was engaging stakeholders to improve project performance and

sustain the business, thereby maintaining socioeconomic stability for benefiting citizens,

families, and communities. By engaging stakeholders and improving project

performance, businesses could accomplish their corporate social responsibilities to the

local citizens through awards of scholarships, sponsorship of local events, and the

building of social amenities such as healthcare, libraries, and schools. The public might

learn from the communication strategies project managers use to engage stakeholders and

improve project performance.

Recommendations for Action

An effective communication strategy is fundamental in engaging stakeholders and

improving project performance. Researchers have demonstrated that cultural differences,

trust, geographic distance, and stakeholder expectations significantly affect

communication management (Muszyńska, 2018). One major cause of project

performance is the lack of communication strategy to engage project stakeholders leading

to poor decision making (Buettner, 2017). The growing complexity of stakeholders’

requirements in project management calls for unique strategies to achieve effective

communication (Bourne, 2016). I recommend that project managers implement a

combination of communication strategies to engage stakeholders and improve project

performance for their organizations’ sustainability. I recommend that project managers

adopt a clear message and written communication strategy to engage stakeholders

frequently and improve their project performance.

Project managers could improve project performance by using effective

communication strategies to engage stakeholders (Lauren, 2018; Singh & Jankovitz,

2018). Despite several decades of a consistent reduction in project failure rates, research

shows that 5% to 42% of projects still fail (Rosato, 2018). Most project failures are due to

poor communication with project stakeholders (Rosato, 2018; Shahzad et al., 2017). A

strategic approach to stakeholder communication is the key to successful project

performance, notwithstanding that the stakeholders might have complex communication

needs (Bourne, 2016). I recommend that project managers establish, implement, and

maintain an effective communication plan and active listening to engage stakeholders and

improve project performance. To sustain their businesses, project managers should

establish guidelines for improving transparency and sincerity in engaging stakeholders

and improving their project performance.

Effective communication management is a strategic tool for managing

stakeholders and their varied requirements (Rajhans, 2018; Williams, 2017). Researchers

should identify communication strategies project managers could use to engage

stakeholders and facilitate successful project performance (Rosato, 2018; Shahzad et al.,

2017). Researchers have identified some negative impacts of project failures, including

financial losses, lost investment opportunities, and political and reputational damage to

organizations (Buettner, 2017; Hughes et al., 2017). To succeed in their project

management careers, project managers must be skilled in communication (Samáková et

al., 2018). I recommend that project owners adopt appropriate communication strategies

to engage stakeholders and improve their project performance.

Project failures have huge impacts on organizations, such as financial losses, lost

investment opportunities, political damage, and other losses that may be difficult to

quantify (Buettner, 2017; Hughes et al., 2017). Effective communications management

creates a culture that promotes trust between the project manager and the stakeholders,

encourages stakeholder participation in project decision making, and improves project

performance (Shakeri & Khalilzadek, 2020). The study findings indicate that project

managers use communication strategies to engage stakeholders and improve project

performance. I recommend that project managers should have adequate skills,

knowledge, experience, and competency to identify the appropriate communication

strategies for engaging stakeholders and improving project performance. I will

disseminate the current study’s findings to interested groups through presentations in my

workplace, social media and network, conferences, seminars and training, and

publications in academic and business journals on project management.

100

Recommendations for Further Study

The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the

communication strategies some project managers use to engage stakeholders and improve

project performance. The study findings, recommendations, and conclusions might

contribute to existing and future research and close gaps in business practice regarding

communication strategies that project managers use to engage stakeholders and improve

project performance. Effective communication is one of the main elements of project

management and the basis for project performance in any organization (Samáková et al.,

2018; Suleiman, 2022; Van Royen et al., 2022). The current study was limited to a

qualitative exploratory single case study involving semistructured interviews to collect

primary data from project managers in Nigeria’s oil and gas company. I recommend that

future researchers replicate the current study using qualitative multiple case studies

involving project managers from multiple companies in the industry and quantitative or

mixed methods involving project managers from diverse industries and varying

geographical locations.

Another limitation of the current study was participants’ reluctance to share

sensitive information about their projects to protect their organization’s interest and fear

of competition. Employees’ loyalty to their organization usually depends on their

satisfaction with working for such an organization (Biganeh & Young, 2022). When

employees are deeply committed to their organization, they may be reluctant to share any

information about their projects to protect their organization’s interests and for fear of

competition. A similar limitation is that participants share information from limited

101

experiences acquired from the single organization selected for the research. I recommend

that future researchers embark on multiple case study research that cuts across several

organizations to mitigate these limitations.

The sample size in a qualitative study is a critical consideration because it can

affect the study outcomes, impact data saturation, and possibly waste time (Malterud et

al., 2016). The sample size used by researchers in a qualitative study depends on the

degree of certainty the researcher aims to achieve in the study (Schreier, 2018). A

significant limitation of the current study was the small sample size of five project

managers from an oil and gas company in Nigeria. Researchers who use larger or smaller

samples could generate different themes that might show significant differences in the

study phenomenon. Therefore, I recommend further studies with a larger sample size

from various geographical locations such as Asia, America, and Europe to provide

helpful insight into communication strategies project managers use to engage

stakeholders and improve project performance.

The Researcher is the main instrument for conducting qualitative study and has

the role of assessing the thoughts and feelings of the study participants professionally and

ethically in collecting the study data (Combs, 2017; Yin, 2018). Because I am a novice in

academic study, my competency and knowledge of doctoral study are evolving.

Therefore, the study was limited to my subjective evaluation and accurate interpretation

of the participants’ responses to the interview questions. Also, the study was limited to

my personal beliefs and professional background with the topic involving the

communication strategies project managers use to engage stakeholders and improve

102

project performance. Finally, the study was limited to the accuracy of information from

the participants and the availability of company archival data. I recommend that future

researchers comprise experts from related multi-disciplines in project management to

divulge some details I must have omitted in this doctoral study.

Reflections

The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the

communication strategies some project managers use to engage stakeholders and improve

project performance. I completed the CITI web-based training in compliance with ethical

study and Walden University IRB’s requirements. I secured IRB approval before

engaging the participants, improving my understanding of the requirements for using

human beings in the study. I used emails and telephone to contact the participants, which

allowed me to improve my collaborative, empathy, inspirational, negotiation, innovation,

and communication skills. Using the purposive sampling technique, I selected five

project managers from an oil and gas company in Nigeria. The purposive sampling

enabled me to select five project managers with relevant knowledge, experience, training,

skills, and competency to answer the overarching study question.

In conducting the current study, I used the qualitative study method to explore the

communication strategies that project managers use to engage stakeholders to improve

project performance. I conducted semistructured interviews and interacted with the

participants, which improved my self-confidence, networking, emotional intelligence,

listening, observation, interpersonal, inspirational, communication, and problem-solving

skills. Because I interviewed the participants at their preferred time and date, they

103

expressed themselves freely, enabling me to gain in-depth knowledge and understanding

of the study problem. The organization and data analysis enabled me to understand the

study problem, identify the themes and patterns, and establish the study findings. A

reflection of my experiences in the current study indicates that I gained a better

understanding of the doctoral study process, thereby improving my skills in conducting

academic study work.

From the study findings, I gained an in-depth knowledge of the study problem

from five project managers in an oil and gas company in Nigeria regarding their use of

communication strategies to engage stakeholders and improve project performance. I

learned that project managers use a blend of communication strategies involving clear

message and written communication, frequent engagement, transparency and sincerity,

and active listening and communication plan to engage stakeholders and improve their

project performance. My new knowledge and understanding of the study problem

positively changed my preconceived beliefs, ideas and values, personal bias, and

perceptions of communication strategies project managers use to engage stakeholders and

improve their project performance.

Conclusion

Project managers in the oil and gas industry face challenges in using

communication strategies to engage stakeholders to improve project performance. Many

projects fail in the oil and gas industry because the project managers fail to use the

appropriate communication strategies the engagement of their stakeholders. In this

qualitative case study, I engaged five project managers with five open-ended questions to

104

explore communication strategies they use to engage their stakeholders to improve their

project performance. The four themes that emerged from the thematic analysis of data

gathered were (a) clear message and written communication, (b) frequent engagement,

These findings could potentially provide project managers with the

communication strategies to engage their stakeholders and improve project performance.

Application of the identified communication strategies by the project managers could

facilitate increased productivity for the organization, business growth and profitability,

economic growth for the government, and improved social amenities to improve the

living conditions and well-being of the local citizens. The use of stakeholder theory as

lenses for the current study might fill a gap in the literature on project management. The

study findings align with previous scholars’ conclusions regarding implementing

effective communication strategies to engage stakeholders and improve project

performance. There is hardly a singular communication strategy that could enable project

managers to achieve improved project performance through effective stakeholder

engagement. Project managers need to invest time in selecting the most effective

communication strategies they can use to engage their stakeholders and achieve improved

project performance.

105

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Appendix A: Interview Questions

1. What communication strategies are you using to engage stakeholders and

improve project performance?

2. How effective are the communication strategies you use to engage

stakeholders and improve project performance?

3. What are the challenges you face in using the communication strategies to

engage stakeholders and improve project performance?

4. What steps did you take to overcome the challenges you faced in using the

communication strategies to engage stakeholders and improve project

performance?

5. What additional information can you provide regarding communication

strategies project managers can use to engage stakeholders and improve

project performance?

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Appendix B: Interview Protocol

My name is Joshua Ukoha. I am completing a Doctor of Business Administration

(DBA) requirements at Walden University. I request your assistance with collecting data

for my doctoral study. The purpose of this qualitative single case study is to explore

communication strategies project managers use to engage stakeholders and improve

project performance. Your participation in the current study may provide information that

would help explore communication strategies project managers use to engage

stakeholders and improve the performance of their projects.

Participation in the current study is voluntary, and you can withdraw anytime.

Participation in the current study is confidential; I will not share your name, location,

position, and other personal information that may identify you.

Background Information on Interviewer:

• I will introduce myself to the participants, send them a printed copy of the

consent form by email, and review and sign the form with them as a

commitment to proceed with the interview.

• I will clarify any concerns raised by participants, seek their permission to turn

on the audio recording device, and turn on the audio recording device.

• I will introduce the participants with aliases (PT1, PT2, PT3, etc.) and

identification codes and note the date and time.

Background Information on Interviewee:

Participant’s Numeric Identifier:

Date of Interview: Gender:

146

I will appreciate the participants for contributing to the study.

End of the interview protocol.

147

Appendix C: Letter of Invitation

November 10, 2021

Letter of Invitation

Dear Sir/Madam,

As part of my doctoral study at Walden University, I would like to invite you to

participate in a study to explore communication strategies project managers use to engage

stakeholders and improve project performance. The current study's findings may help

project managers in the Nigerian oil and gas industry improve project performance. The

participants for the current study will comprise five project managers from an oil and gas

company that have successfully used communication strategies to engage project

stakeholders and improve their project performance.

The mode of data collection shall be via audio/video conference and telephone interviews

of approximately 45 minutes. You may also be requested to provide documentation that

is otherwise made available to the public regarding communication strategies you have

used to engage stakeholders and improve the performance of your projects. The

audio/video conference and a telephone interview will be voice recorded. All data

collected will be treated as confidential, and your participation in the study is voluntary.

Soon after I complete the interview transcription, I will ask you to verify that I correctly

transcribed the interview. I will send you the transcript electronically via email and

request a response within three days if revisions are needed.

Enclosed with this letter is the Participant Consent Form. If you are interested in

participating in the study, kindly review the form and send an email with the words “I

148

consent.” If you need any clarifications about the study, you may contact the researcher

via phone at (+234) 8120366099 or email at [email protected].

Best Regards,

Joshua Ukoha