Stakeholder Engagement and Infrastructure Project Completion: The Moderating Role of Funding Mechanisms in Public Junior Secondary Schools in Kenya
Abstract
Public educational infrastructure projects may face difficulties in achieving timely, cost-effective and quality completion despite substantial stakeholder involvement and financial investment. This study investigated the relationship between stakeholder engagement and infrastructure project completion and examined whether funding mechanisms condition this relationship in public Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) in Kitui County, Kenya. A quantitative analytical cross-sectional survey design was employed. The study covered 743 infrastructure support projects, with project development committee chairpersons serving as respondents. From a sample of 260, 233 completed questionnaires were obtained, representing an 89.6% response rate. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and hierarchical moderated regression. Stakeholder engagement was operationalized through communication, risk management and change management, whereas funding mechanisms comprised funding adequacy, fund disbursement and source of funding. Infrastructure project completion was assessed using time, budget and quality. The results indicated that stakeholder engagement was a significant positive predictor of project completion (? = 0.445, p < 0.001), explaining 19.8% of the variance. Funding mechanisms also significantly moderated the stakeholder engagement and project completion relationship (? = 0.701, p < 0.001), with the interaction accounting for an additional 4.9% of explained variance (?R² = 0.049, p < 0.001). The study concludes that the contribution of stakeholder engagement to infrastructure project completion is contingent on the availability and reliability of financial resources. The findings extend project management literature by demonstrating the importance of considering stakeholder processes and funding conditions jointly in implementing infrastructure projects in public educational settings. Received: 21 June 2026 / Accepted: 29 August 2026 / Published: September 2026