Abstract
Although value co-creation is often considered as achieving planned project outcomes, the impact of conflicting values-as-beliefs on those outcomes remains underexplored. A beliefs-rooted value conflict occurs when project actors hold competing beliefs about what is right or desirable to do, such that realising one constrains or undermines the other. This paper explores how a beliefs-rooted value conflict manifests in project processes and shapes project outcomes using the Fosen Wind project – a contested wind energy project in Norway. Adopting a valuation lens, we trace how actors' evaluative stances produce divergent engagements and practices, constituting an ongoing conflict process that shapes short- and long-term outcomes. We find a specific temporal dynamic: beliefs-rooted oppositions repeatedly deferred rather than resolved intensify across project stages, producing long-term legitimacy fragility despite achieving short-term delivery robustness. Our study shows that identifying value-conflicts’ true nature and addressing them accordingly is key to creating value for involved actors.