Stakeholder Dynamics in Development Projects

Abstract

This paper analyzes stakeholder interactions during localized land disputes using an emerging theory of property governance that links development disputes to the spatial dimension of land and resources. In 2001, Nestlé, the largest food and beverage manufacturer in the world, attempted to construct a water-bottling plant in the rural town of McCloud, California. Although the local government and most of the residents supported this development, Nestlé withdrew from its development plans after six years of fierce opposition fueled by members of the neighboring communities, competing businesses, and national environmental groups. Analyzing the stakeholder dynamics in this case study demonstrates why the emergent theory of overlapping property rights is displacing previous conceptions of property rights as bilateral negotiations between landowners and local government.

Keywords: anticommons, land development