The Stakeholder Perspective, Second Edition is both a continuation and a renewal. It preserves the spirit of the first edition—humanistic, systemic, stakeholder-centered—while taking it into the domain of data and intelligent systems. It recognizes that the biggest challenge in managing projects and stakeholders today is figuring out how to blend human skills with technology in smart systems so that people and machines work together to create and share value by balancing efficiency with purpose, understanding data analysis, and using AI responsibly and ethically. Nevertheless, the augmented capacity for managing relations effectively, interpreting and giving real meaning, and properly taking care of stakeholders’ increased requirements and expectations remains, as ever, absolutely human.

Aligned with the PMBOK® Guide, Eighth Edition, the book focuses on the determinant role of the stakeholders in the process of value generation, perception, and delivery. Taking the view that managing stakeholders is a “project in the project,” it explores how AI has entered the stakeholder domain, not just as a technical tool but as a functional agent that influences communication patterns, decision-making, and, ultimately, value creation. This second edition introduces AI stakeholders, which are non-sentient entities capable of shaping choices, mediating interactions, and amplifying narratives. These systems behave like stakeholders even though they are not human: they can advise, filter, prioritize, negotiate, or even contest information. They can support or disrupt strategic alignment, and they can take on such different roles as influencers, mediators, proxies, or collaborators.

The book presents a coherent vision of Stakeholder Management 4.0 as an intelligent, human-centered model in which data, technology, and consciousness form an integrated ecosystem. Rather than diminishing human relevance, using AI in stakeholder relations underscores the importance of humans because emotional intelligence, critical thinking, and ethical leadership are the defining competencies of project professionals today.