7. Discussion and conclusion
Traditional efforts for improving risk and stakeholder management are largely undertaken in isolation. Instead, we proposed that integrated thinking and management of risks and stakeholders is feasible and may illuminate alternatives and new ideas for improving risk and stakeholder management effectiveness. The hypothesis was conceptually validated by the current results obtained with the systematic literature review method, namely, the thematic analysis of the four risk–stakeholder linkage modes identified in the existing literature and the future research agendas, which were proposed against the current status and the state-of-art research concerning the concept, management of risks and stakeholders and their similarities. This study thus suggests both researchers and practitioners be aware and find approaches for the connection and integrated management of construction risk and stakeholder, rather than merely managing risk or stakeholder in isolation. Below, we summarize the main findings and point out their implications for theory and practice.
7.1. Major findings and implications Using
a systematic literature review of 79 construction relevant papers, we found four risk–stakeholder linkage modes: (1) management of risk based on stakeholder identification, (2) internal stakeholders' responsibility and ability in the RM process, (3) management of stakeholder differences concerning risk, and (4) interrelatedness between RM and SM and effect on project performance. In the construction sector, RM has been frequently integrated into the fields of quality, cost, schedule, and safety management (Loushine et al., 2006; Love et al., 2016; Luu et al., 2009; Pawan and Lorterapong, 2016). The practices in construction project management also suggest that risk and stakeholder issues can be interwoven (Ward and Chapman, 2008; Zhang, 2011; Wang et al., 2017). However, these studies are scattered; a systematic clarification of how RM and SM connect to one another is lacking. The four linkages that were identified provide us a picture of how RM and SM can connect and will inspire future effort aiming to enhance the connection between construction risk and stakeholder management.