Project Stakeholder Management—Past and Present

In this special issue on project stakeholder management, the aim is to advance the understanding of this topic by looking into theory outside the project management field and by presenting findings from case studies. In this overview article, we identify the theoretical roots of the stakeholder concept and the current state of the field. We point to early proponents of stakeholder thinking. In addition, we point to recent concepts and developments outside the project management field that are relevant in the project management context; then, we introduce the articles included in the special issue; and, finally, we identify other relevant publications.