The Moderating Influence of Project Scope on Leadership Skills, Stakeholder Management, and Execution of Fibre Optic Infrastructure

Telecommunication and Internet service enterprise has drastically evolved in the last 10 years across the globe. With demand for huge amounts of data and increased voice traffic, optical fibre is globally preferred technology to transmit high-speed broadband. Nonetheless, fibre optic infrastructure involves construction challenges and continues to fail for several reasons including ineffective leadership, poor stakeholder management, and unclear scope definition. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the moderating influence of project scope on leadership skills, stakeholder management, and execution of fibre optic infrastructure. The study adopted the pragmatism paradigm approach, with a cross-sectional survey design. Questionnaire, interview guide, and document review guide were data collection instruments. Census was used to select 187 respondents from a target population of 187 functional members of staff in fibre optic infrastructure departments of two mobile telecommunication, four Internet service companies, and two policy-making and regularity authorities in Nairobi County in Kenya. Quantitative data was analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics while qualitative data was analyzed by content analysis. It was demonstrated that project scope has a positive and significant moderating influence on the combined influence of leadership skills and stakeholder management on execution of fibre optic infrastructure. This study contributes to the literature in project management by not only providing empirical evidence on project scope, leadership skills, stakeholder management, and execution of fibre optic infrastructure but also by expanding research on project scope. The results may also help professionals in mobile telecommunication and construction industries by providing strategic guideline in effective, efficient, and sustainable execution of fibre optic infrastructure.

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