Mega infrastructure project affordance: A new perspective to improve stakeholder management and project sustainability

Abstract

Mega infrastructure projects (MIPs) play crucial roles in promoting social development, regional growth, and disaster and crisis resilience. These complex projects frequently face challenges in stakeholder management, which might be a risk for their sustainability. Hence, this paper proposes affordance theory as a new theoretical framework, particularly on the basis of understanding and managing MIPs. This paper aims to achieve three main objectives: 1) conceptualizing MIP affordance, 2) documenting the influence of MIP affordance on stakeholder management and project sustainability, and 3) developing strategies for managing MIP affordance. It applies critical realism to conceptualize MIP affordance and its mechanism, and employs the expectation-confirmation theory to identify critical determinants for managing MIP affordance. The paper thus provides new knowledge and insights into the management of MIP stakeholders concerning project sustainability.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

mega infrastructure project / affordance / project sustainability / stakeholder management / social lock-in

References

[1] Bhaskar R, (2016). Enlightened Common Sense: The Philosophy of Critical Realism.

[2] Bhattacherjee A, (2001). Understanding information systems continuance: An expectation-confirmation model. Management Information Systems Quarterly, 25( 3): 351–370

[3] Chong I, Proctor R W, (2020). On the evolution of a radical concept: Affordances according to Gibson and their subsequent use and development. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 15( 1): 117–132

[4] DhimanNGuptaAAroraNGeorgeB (2022). User attitude towards E-learning platforms: An insight through the expectation confirmation model and the affordance theory lens. FIIB Business Review, doi: 10.1177/23197145221130666

[5] Fletcher A J, (2017). Applying critical realism in qualitative research: Methodology meets method. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 20( 2): 181–194

[6] Floricel S, Brunet M, (2023). Grandstanding? The elusive process of shaping megaproject symbolism. International Journal of Project Management, 41( 5): 102498

[7] Fouquet R, (2016). Path dependence in energy systems and economic development. Nature Energy, 1( 8): 16098

[8] GibsonJ J (1977). The theory of affordances. In: Shaw R E, Bransford J, eds. Perceiving, Acting, and Knowing: Toward an Ecological Psychology, Hillsdale, N.J. : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 67–82

[9] GibsonJ J (2014). The ecological approach to visual perception. New York: Psychology Press

[10] Gil N A, (2023). Cracking the megaproject puzzle: A stakeholder perspective. International Journal of Project Management, 41( 3): 102455

[11] He Q, Tian Z, Wang T, (2022). Performance measurement methods in megaprojects: An analytical review. International Journal of Project Management, 40( 6): 634–645

[12] He Q, Xu J, Wang T, Chan A P, (2021). Identifying the driving factors of successful megaproject construction management: Findings from three Chinese cases. Frontiers of Engineering Management, 8( 1): 5–16

[13] Hetemi E, Jerbrant A, Mere J O, (2020). Exploring the emergence of lock-in in large-scale projects: A process view. International Journal of Project Management, 38( 1): 47–63

[14] Kumaraswamy M, Wong K K W, Chung J, (2017). Focusing megaproject strategies on sustainable best value of stakeholders. Built Environment Project and Asset Management, 7( 4): 441–455

[15] Kundu O, James A D, Rigby J, (2023). Public opinion on megaprojects over time: findings from four megaprojects in the UK. Public Management Review, 25( 6): 1015–1038

[16] Li Y, Ouyang L, Zheng X, Liu Y, Zhu L, (2024). Value exchanges within stakeholder networks throughout a megaproject’s lifecycle. International Journal of Project Management, 42( 3): 102585

[17] Machiels T, Compernolle T, Coppens T, (2023). Stakeholder perceptions of uncertainty matter in megaprojects: The Flemish A102 infrastructure project. International Journal of Project Management, 41( 1): 102437

[18] Malhotra A, Majchrzak A, Lyytinen K, (2021). Socio-technical affordances for large-scale collaborations: Introduction to a virtual special issue. Organization Science, 32( 5): 1371–1390

[19] McGahan A M, (2021). Integrating insights from the resource-based view of the firm into the new stakeholder theory. Journal of Management, 47( 7): 1734–1756

[20] Norman D A, (1999). Affordance, conventions, and design. Interactions, 6( 3): 38–43

[21] Osiurak F, Rossetti Y, Badets A, (2017). What is an affordance? 40 years later. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 77: 403–417

[22] Robinson J A, Torvik R, (2005). White elephants. Journal of Public Economics, 89( 2–3): 197–210

[23] Shen G Q, Xue J, (2021). Managing stakeholder dynamics and complexity in mega infrastructure projects. Frontiers of Engineering Management, 8( 1): 148–150

[24] Volkoff O, Strong D M, (2013). Critical realism and affordances: Theorizing IT-associated organizational change processes. Management Information Systems Quarterly, 37( 3): 819–834

[25] Wang G, Wu P, Wu X, Zhang H, Guo Q, Cai Y, (2020). Mapping global research on sustainability of megaproject management: A scientometric review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 259: 120831

[26] WinchG M (2017). Megaproject stakeholder management, In: Flyvbjerg, B. (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Megaproject Management. Oxford University Press, 340–361

[27] Withagen R, Costall A, (2022). What does the concept of affordances afford. Adaptive Behavior, 30( 6): 505–507

[28] Xue J, Shen G Q, Li Y, Wang J, Zafar I, (2020). Dynamic stakeholder-associated topic modeling on public concerns in megainfrastructure projects: Case of Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao bridge. Journal of Management Engineering, 36( 6): 04020078

[29] Yan X, Gao L, Liu H, (2021). Adaptability evolution of financing systems of mega projects. Frontiers of Engineering Management, 8( 2): 258–270

[30] Zeng S, Chen H, Ma H, Shi J J, (2022). Governance of social responsibility in international infrastructure megaprojects. Frontiers of Engineering Management, 9( 2): 343–348

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to express our sincere thanks to Professor Graham Winch for his valuable comments and suggestions that are of great benefit to the development of this paper.

Competing Interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2024 Higher Education Press