Enhancing Project Performance through Stakeholder Engagement: Unveiling the Mediating role of Project Communication and Innovation

Abstract

The present research investigates the crucial correlation between stakeholder engagement (SE) and project performance (PP) in the Pakistan IT sector, specifically considering the prevailing political instability in the nation. This study, utilizing stakeholder theory, investigates the direct impact of stakeholder engagement on project performance and explores the mediating roles of project communication (PC) and innovation (IN) in this connection. The research validates that stakeholder engagement greatly improves project performance, with actual data demonstrating that stakeholder engagement and innovation play crucial roles in converting stakeholder contributions into better project results. The results highlight the need to prioritize stakeholder engagement, project communication, and innovation, particularly in unpredictable settings like Pakistan's, in order to achieve successful project performance. This academic study employed a quantitative approach and a cross-sectional survey, involving 205 active practitioners in the IT industry. The SPSS software, version 27, significantly improved the analytical process by facilitating the development of thorough path analysis. To mitigate the possible distortions caused by common method bias, the research used a time-lagged data collection approach. The results demonstrate positive and significant correlations among the constructs.