Inkeri Ruuska

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

Purpose – While earlier literature has focused on the management tactics of unexpected events, this paper employs an inter‐organizational network perspective to the study of unexpected events in international projects. The paper aims to illustrate how a focal projects local stakeholder relationships are associated with the emergence and management of unexpected events in the context of international projects.Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative, multiple case study of three international projects conducted in challenging institutional environments.Findings – The findings of this paper reveal the different mechanisms through which the local stakeholder relationships affect the emergence and management of unexpected events in international projects. Owing to differences in the amount and quality of local stakeholder relationships, the management, nature and number of unexpected events that are encountered differ from project to project. The findings of this paper reveal a paradox – both the existenc...

How governmental stakeholders influence large projects: the case of nuclear power plant projects

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to increase understanding on stakeholder influence in large projects, using nuclear power plant projects and a governmental stakeholder that influences them as the empirical example. The authors focus on examining the means used by the stakeholder to influence the projects.Design/methodology/approach – This paper adopts the descriptive single case study approach, using data from 18 semi‐structured interviews. The authors interviewed experts at a governmental stakeholder organization, but in order to gain insight from outside the governmental stakeholder, they also interviewed two other organizations: an energy company, and the highest administrative ministry in the nuclear industry.Findings – The governmental stakeholder bases its influence on regulations and laws. This paper points out the distinct means that are used by the governmental stakeholder to influence nuclear projects: means that restrain, and also means that enable and advance projects. Both types of mea...

Governmental Stakeholder and Project Owner’s Views on the Regulative Framework in Nuclear Projects

This article aims at increasing the understanding of a specific type of stakeholder, namely governmental stakeholders who have significant influence over projects and base their influence on a regulative framework. Various parties in nuclear projects create their own interpretations of the framework. To understand why there are differences in these interpretations, we used three institutional elements: (1) laws and rules, (2) practices, and (3) values for analysis. This article uses interview data from a nuclear industry governmental stakeholder and a project owner. The results show that interpretations are not always coherent, and the incoherencies are clearest in the practice element.

Environmental impact assessment of infrastructure projects: a governance perspective

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) has been promoted as an instrument for preventive environmental management in construction projects, but its performance in safeguarding the environment through influencing project decision-making is questioned. This paper probes the underlying reasons from a governance perspective as an important supplement to the regulatory and technical perspectives. A framework, with process integration, professional governance, and public engagement being its key components, is proposed to analyze the governance arrangements that enable or inhibit the effective functioning of EIA, based on which a comparative study of three infrastructure projects in China, the United States and Finland was conducted. The results reveal that, while the level of process integration and public engagement of EIA determines the degree to which EIA influences project decisions, it is the professional governance that controls the accountability of EIA. The paper has implications on institutionally where efforts should be directed to improve the performance of EIA.