Additional important antecedent variables involved the engagement of external stakeholders. While the degree of public influence within the processes was not consistently associated with
positive or negative outcomes, IDTLs’ beliefs about the value of public involvement were. IDTLs who believed public involvement to be merely a requirement commonly reported less desirable
project outcomes than those with a more genuine belief in the benefits of conducting public involvement. While public influence may result from positive relationships, antagonistic conflict, or
neutral circumstances, disingenuous or insincere public involvement appears to consistently negatively influence process outcomes and other variables of importance (Innes and Booher,
2004; Predmore et al., 2011b; Reed, 2008). Similar to prior research, internal disagreement within the ID team was also strongly related to public relations problems, suggesting not only that external conflict can negatively impact intra-team relations, but also that internal conflict may bleed out into relationships with external stakeholders (Stern, 2010). The importance of effective
inter-agency coordination was also reflected in regression on most outcomes in the study as well, again suggesting the importance of genuine interactions with external stakeholders.