An integrative framework for managing project issues across stakeholder groups

•Proposes a multi-level framework for assessing the issue–stakeholder connections•Conceptualizes issues as stakeholder-owned knowledge relevant to project managers•Weights issues by the stakeholders' shared concern and self-perceived legitimacy•Demonstrates the framework's use in a complex hospital IS implementation setting

The stakeholders and the issues associated with a project are different concepts but closely interconnected. Despite this, the project stakeholder management literature falls short in analyzing the linkages between the stakeholders and the issues they bring. This paper develops a multilayered stakeholder–issue framework that makes the connections between stakeholders and issues explicit with the aim of helping project managers analyze and prioritize the issues that stakeholders confront them with. The framework's usability is preliminary evaluated through a case study of a multi-stakeholder implementation of an electronic health record (EHR) system in an institutionalized hospital environment. The framework enables a coherent assessment of stakeholders' issues. Using the case study, we discuss how such an assessment could improve the management of stakeholders' issues and their influence on a project's progress and outcomes.