International Journal of Managing Projects in Business

Zhu, Fangwei; Wang, Linzhuo; Yu, Miao; Müller, Ralf; Sun, Xiuxia

2019 International Journal of Managing Projects in Business

doi: 10.1108/ijmpb-04-2018-0090

Silencing behavior among project team members (PTM) poses a potential threat to project results. Hence, breaking silence in projects is critical to motivate team members and beneficial for project outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between transformational leadership (TL) of project manager (PM) and silence behavior of PTMs. It proposes a mediating role of feeling trusted (FT) to fill this gap by conducting an empirical research.Design/methodology/approachA theoretical model was developed and a series of hypotheses were proposed based on existing literature. Then, regression analysis was conducted on a sample of 219 team members of a diverse set of projects in China.FindingsThe paper empirically shows that TL of PM is significantly negatively related to team members’ defensive and prosocial silence (PS), but not with their acquiescence silence. In addition, the study also discovered that team members’ FT mediates the effects of TL on team members’ defensive and PS.Research limitations/implicationsThis study contributed to the project management literature by showing that feeling trusted link the relationship between TL of PM and PTMs’ silence. The studies’ findings also contribute to the silence theory in project context through discussions of the rationale behind the main effects. Practical implication is provided for PMs that making the most of TL can reduce the silence of PTM, through building trusted feelings. The limitation to this study is the research setting regarding culture-related issues that focused only on projects in China.Originality/valueThis research is one of the early studies that address the issue of silence behavior in project context, which is a contribution to the coordination and communication in project management.

Podgórska, Marzena; Pichlak, Magdalena

2019 International Journal of Managing Projects in Business

doi: 10.1108/ijmpb-08-2018-0149

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the three dimensions of leadership competencies, which refer to the competency school by Dulewicz and Higgs (2003) and impact on project success as well as the moderating influence of project type.Design/methodology/approachThe mixed method was used and supported by survey questionnaire and semi-structured interview questionnaire. In total, 102 project managers as well as 11 senior project managers and people supervising project managers assigned to the projects participated in the study. Correlation analysis and regression analysis were performed to understand the relationship between leadership and project success.FindingsThe results provided empirical support for the influence of project manager’s leadership competencies, as well as their emotional and managerial skills on project success. What is more, the analysis of the results also pointed out that, depending on the type of the project, its success is influenced by other competencies.Research limitations/implicationsThe research results are restricted by several limitations, i.e., the research model does not include the influence of other variables on the project success as well as operationalization methods of leadership and project success are not exhaustive. These limitations create possibilities for further analyses in this area.Practical implicationsThe paper presented guidelines for the project management community concerning the proposals in terms of present management system modifications being about basing them on competencies and their development, as well as self-improvement of project managers.Originality/valueThe paper refers to the relationship between the leadership of the project manager and the success of the project in different types of projects and highlights how these relationships are formed in transitional economies.

Zheng, Junwei; Wu, Guangdong; Xie, Hongtao; Li, Hongyang

2019 International Journal of Managing Projects in Business

doi: 10.1108/ijmpb-04-2018-0068

The purpose of this paper is to examine the joint congruence effect of leadership styles and organizational culture on project members’ innovative behaviors in the construction projects setting.Design/methodology/approachThe proposed hypotheses are tested using polynomial regression with a sample of 217 project managers and employees of different construction projects in China, and plotted through response surface analysis.FindingsThe results of polynomial regressions support the congruence effect hypothesis, indicating that more innovative behaviors of the project members could be elicited by a high level of congruence between transformational or transactional leadership styles and organizational culture. Furthermore, asymmetrical incongruence effects are found wherein project members with lower levels of innovative behaviors when project organizational culture is stronger as compared with when two leadership styles are at higher levels. Specifically, the condition is found under the innovation dimension of organization culture, but higher level of innovative behavior conversely displays when the harmony culture is weaker than two leadership styles.Research limitations/implicationsThe conceptual model and hypotheses are examined by analyzing cross-sectional and self-reported data collected in China. The findings could be further examined through multi-source or longitudinal, more systematic research.Practical implicationsThe findings highlight the pivotal role played by the value congruence of leaders-organizations in motivating employees to be innovative in project organizations. This paper provides knowledge for project managers to help them understand whether and how project members’ innovative behaviors are better motivated by the fit or misfit between the styles of leadership and project organizational cultures. Besides, this study provides the approach or direction for the project leaders training.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first to examine the joint effects of leadership styles and organizational culture on innovative behavior based on the person-organization fit theory and from the perspective of value congruence.

Rezania, Davar; Baker, Ron; Nixon, Andrew

2019 International Journal of Managing Projects in Business

doi: 10.1108/ijmpb-03-2018-0037

Despite the importance of accountability for the oversight of projects, few studies have directly examined accountability mechanisms at the project level. While the literature already provides descriptions of governance and mechanisms of accountability, the purpose of this paper is to examine how project managers view their accountability relationships within their organizational context.Design/methodology/approachThe study is guided by critical realism as a philosophy of science. The authors interviewed 15 project managers from 12 organizations and analyzed the transcripts in the light of existing project management accountability literature.FindingsThe authors observe the practice of socializing accountability through face-to-face negotiation and symmetries of power due to interdependencies happen to some extent in management of projects. This suggests ambidexterity in accountability in project-based organizations. Therefore, the current models of project accountability and governance that are solely based on the agency theory are not sufficient to explain the accountability relationships in such organizations.Practical implicationsAccountability arrangements happen within a system for steering projects. Managers should be aware of how project managers view their accountability and how socializing practices of accountability can help the project’s management and the organization’s management interact in order to transform organizational systems by regulating issues of project concern and defining the process and direction of how project deliverables are produced, introduced, absorbed and used within the organization.Originality/value“Theory driven” interviews and analysis are used to confirm or refine conceptualization of accountability in management of projects. Most models of project governance are based on the agency theory or governability theory. The authors have demonstrated that socializing practices of accountability should be included in investigating project governance. The authors observe that project managers are often concerned with the interdependence with their principals and the socializing processes of accountability that arise from this interdependence.

Khawam, Abdullah A.; Bostain, Nancy S.

2019 International Journal of Managing Projects in Business

doi: 10.1108/ijmpb-04-2018-0087

The purpose of this paper is to address the primary research question, which is what is the relationship between the project manager’s (PM) possession of the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification and the level of the safety culture present in the construction project the PM manages.Design/methodology/approachThe research was based on a survey of a purposive sample, 109 engineers and first-line supervisors worked in 23 construction projects of which ten were led by PMP-certified PMs and 13 were led by PMs lacking PMP certification. Each PM completed a demographic questionnaire for the predictor variables of PMP certification controlled for age and experience. To assess the criterion variable of safety culture total score, engineers and first-line supervisors working in the same project completed the questionnaire of safety culture values and practices.FindingsResults of this study indicated the level of safety culture was significantly different, and improved, for engineers and first-line supervisors who work under PMs with PMP certification compared to the level of safety culture in projects managed by PMs with no PMP certification. Although alignment of safety culture perceptions among different levels in the organization helps to achieve a positive safety culture, the role of the PM in transferring, implementing and maintaining the safety culture in the construction project is fundamental, particularly in small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs).Originality/valueThis study addressed the role of the PMs managerial skills in the safety performance of Saudi Arabian SMEs. The principal finding was that PMs with managerial skills perform better regarding safety performance in SME construction projects than PMs lacking managerial skills. The primary recommendation is that leaders in construction projects must carefully evaluate engineers’ managerial skills before hiring the individuals as PMs. A PM’s promotion model developed in this study provides a suitable framework and business process component for construction leaders seeking to maintain safety performance successfully.

Cha, Jonghyuk; Maytorena-Sanchez, Eunice

2019 International Journal of Managing Projects in Business

doi: 10.1108/ijmpb-11-2017-0145

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relative importance of project management (PM) competences across the different stages of a software project life cycle to identify competence development gaps and opportunities.Design/methodology/approachA deductive and quantitative approach was adopted to address the research questions with a web-based survey for data collection.FindingsAfter reviewing the context of competences and PM competences, the importance of the PM competences overall and for specific stages in the project life cycle was analysed. The result highlights that functional and meta-competences are perceived to be the most important competence dimensions for software project practitioners.Originality/valueThis study makes three contributions. First, it consolidates PM competences into a set of 20 within four competence dimensions. Second, it prioritises these competences across the software project life cycle. Third, it identifies the significance of the inter-relationship between PM competences and project life cycle to reveal PM competence development gaps and opportunities.

Fernandes, Gabriela; Araújo, Madalena; Pinto, Eduardo B.; Machado, Ricardo J.

2019 International Journal of Managing Projects in Business

doi: 10.1108/ijmpb-11-2017-0143

The purpose of this paper is to develop and test an extension of a previously conceived framework for improving and embedding project management (PM) practice in organisations. The framework identifies the most useful project management improvement initiatives (PMIIs) and the key factors for embedding PM practice. However, professionals need guidance on how to operationalise such framework in their organisations, therefore a method for applying the framework is developed.Design/methodology/approachThe method being proposed for applying the framework is demonstrated and tested with a large University–Industry consortium case study. During the case study analysis three research methods were applied: participant observation, document analysis and focus groups.FindingsIn what concerns both the PMIIs and key embedding factors in the framework, the proposed method comprises their acknowledgement, scoring, relevance analysis, selection and planning. The detailed report on how the framework was applied in the particular case study also sheds light on how University–Industry consortiums can make use of PM to become more successful.Research limitations/implicationsThe research was performed using only one case study which limits the generalisability of its findings.Practical implicationsDetailed guidance is provided for applying the framework’s both constructs, “improving” and “embedding”, through a set of clear steps.Originality/valueThe paper shows the explanatory power of the framework for improving and embedding PM practice in a case study, demonstrating that the method for its application is practical and suitable.

Dandage, Rahul Vishwanath; Mantha, Shankar S.; Rane, Santosh B.

2019 International Journal of Managing Projects in Business

doi: 10.1108/ijmpb-07-2018-0128

International projects very commonly experience failure due to various factors at the global level. Especially, large projects at the international level virtually have no chance of meeting scope, time, cost and quality. This fact has been underlined by most of the international surveys and published literature. Effective risk management plays a vital role in preventing projects from failure by implementing appropriate risk response strategies. The success of risk management will be based on the understanding of various risk categories which specifically affect international projects, analysis of their interdependence, prioritize them according to their importance and develop strategies for risk management based on the prioritization. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approachThis paper represents typical eight risk categories frequently observed in the international projects through literature survey and feedback from project professionals. Interpretive structural modeling (ISM) and Matrice d’Impacts croises-multiplication applique´ an classment (MICMAC) analysis have been used to analyze the interactions among the risk categories and prioritize them. The strategy management tool threats, opportunities, weaknesses and strengths (TOWS) matrix has been used to develop the strategies for effective project risk management.FindingsThe analysis represents political risks, contractual and legal risks, cultural risks, and financial and economic risks as the highest priority risk categories, the mitigation of which should be paid the highest attention. The strengths-threats strategy has been applied to develop the strategies by identifying the various internal strengths of project organization to overcome the various threats caused by the eight risk categories observed in international projects.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper tries to represent the prioritization of international project risk categories which are generic in nature. For any specific international project, the risk categories as well as their prioritization may be slightly varying. The tool used for prioritization; Interpretive structural modeling (ISM) is more suitable for few numbers of variables as it becomes complex as the number of variables increases. The strengths and threats considered for developing strategies using TOWS matrix are based on the feedback from project professionals and may vary according to the nature of project.Originality/valueThis paper uses ISM and MICMAC for risk prioritization in international projects and TOWS matrix for developing risk management strategies. This may trigger new opportunities for in-depth research in the risk management strategy development for international projects.

Idler, Boris David; Spang, Konrad

2019 International Journal of Managing Projects in Business

doi: 10.1108/ijmpb-04-2018-0082

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the relevant determinants of IT project decision making and their relevance in corporate practice.Design/methodology/approachThe empiric analysis used in-depth expert interviews (n=18) as method for data collection and qualitative content analysis using evaluative categories for analysis.FindingsCorporate practice is strongly influenced by descriptive decision making. There is only little use of normative decision models in decision making. In corporate practice little use is made of evaluations to analyze achieved project outputs and impacts to improve decision-making practice. This is the result of several evaluation barriers in organizations.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample is restricted to IT projects as the experts are responsible for IT project portfolio management. Also, an industry comparison is not included in the study.Practical implicationsThe analysis shows that IT project decision making in corporate practice should include results from descriptive decision theory into project decision processes in corporate practice. More effort should be made in challenging project input data which is relevant for project decision making. By systematically including evaluations for relevant projects, the deviations between planned and achieved project impacts offer valuable feedback for estimators and decision makers.Originality/valueThe paper presents detailed analysis on decision variables and their relevance for IT project decision making in corporate practice. Critical aspects of decision making become clear, such as the aspects of evaluation barriers and the need to incorporate descriptive decision-making aspects into corporate decision processes.

Sailer, Patrick

2019 International Journal of Managing Projects in Business

doi: 10.1108/ijmpb-05-2018-0094

Ambidexterity has been shown to contribute to project performance. Recent studies of ambidexterity on the project level focus on multilevel knowledge resources, individual actions and structural ambidexterity. However, the role of project management methods remains unclear. This is surprising because project management methods are broadly disseminated as standards. The purpose of this paper is to theorize how project management methods affect ambidexterity on the project level.Design/methodology/approachIt is demonstrated how routine theory adds to a better theoretical conceptualization and understanding of project management methods. The analysis of this paper contains, first, the reconstruction of the contribution of each action in “Scrum” to either exploitation or exploration and, second, the discussion of roles in Scrum. To conclude, a “big picture” of what ambidexterity in projects can look like is developed.FindingsThe main findings suggest that Scrum facilitates sequential and contextual ambidexterity by producing a pattern of alternating exploitation and exploration actions and by assigning specific roles.Practical implicationsFor practitioners this leads to steps they can take to enhance ambidexterity in projects. It is suggested to staff explicitly ambidexterity-related roles like a Scrum Master and to persist on explorative actions like adaption of project goals and Customer Feedback.Originality/valueFirst, the present paper contributes an analysis of the underlying micro-mechanisms of sequential and contextual ambidexterity in projects. Second, it informs practitioners on what aspects of project management methods they should pay attention to.

Wang, Aimin

2019 International Journal of Managing Projects in Business

doi: 10.1108/ijmpb-06-2018-0116

The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework for assessing the vulnerability of projects to crises. The study seeks to clarify the cascade effects of disruptions leading to project crises and to improve project robustness against crises from a systems perspective.Design/methodology/approachA framework for assessing project vulnerability to crises is developed using complex network theory. The framework includes network representation of project systems, analyzing project network topology, simulating the cascade of unexpected disruptions and assessing project vulnerability. Use of the framework is then illustrated by applying it to a case study of a construction project.FindingsProject network topology plays a critical role in resisting crises. By increasing the resilience of the critical tasks and adjusting the structure of a project, the complexity and vulnerability of the project can be reduced, which in turn decreases the occurrence of crises.Research limitations/implicationsThe proposed framework is used in a case study. Further studies of its application to projects in diverse industries would be beneficial to enhance the robustness of the results.Practical implicationsProject crises can threaten the survival of a project and endanger the organization’s security. The proposed framework helps prevent and mitigate project crises by protecting critical tasks and blocking the diffusion path from a systems perspective.Originality/valueThis paper presents a novel framework based on complex network theory to assess project vulnerability, which provides a systemic understanding of the cascade of disruptions that lead to project crises.

Van, Sang Quang; Le-Hoai, Long; Dang, Chau Ngoc

2019 International Journal of Managing Projects in Business

doi: 10.1108/ijmpb-04-2018-0071

The purpose of this paper is to predict implementation cost contingencies for residential construction projects in flood-prone areas, where floods with storms frequently cause serious damage and problems for people.Design/methodology/approachExpert interviews are conducted to identify the study variables. Based on bills of quantities and project documents, historical data on residential construction projects in flood-prone areas are collected. Pearson correlation analysis is first used to check the correlations among the study variables. To overcome multicollinearity, principal component analysis is used. Then, stepwise multiple regression analysis is used to develop the cost prediction model. Finally, non-parametric bootstrap method is used to develop range estimation of the implementation cost.FindingsA list of project-related variables, which could significantly affect implementation costs of residential construction projects in flood-prone areas, is identified. A model, which is developed based on an integration of principle component analysis and regression analysis, is robust. Regarding range estimation, 10, 50 and 90 percent cost estimates, which could provide information about the uncertainty levels in the estimates, are established. Furthermore, implementation cost contingencies which could show information about the variability in the estimates are determined for example case projects. Such information could be critical to cost-related management of residential construction projects in flood-prone areas.Originality/valueThis study attempts to predict implementation cost contingencies for residential construction projects in flood-prone areas using non-parametric bootstrap method. Such contingencies could be useful for project cost budgeting and/or effective cost management.

Jünge, Gabriele Hofinger; Alfnes, Erlend; Kjersem, Kristina; Andersen, Bjorn

2019 International Journal of Managing Projects in Business

doi: 10.1108/ijmpb-08-2018-0170

The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate an effective project management practice focusing on planning and control. By doing so, it contributes to the debate on rethinking traditional project management practices and accentuates the need for adjustments based on the project context.Design/methodology/approachThis paper extends the project management theory by proposing a lean project planning (LPP) and control framework, developed and tested in collaboration with ten engineer-to-order (ETO) companies. By following a design science research approach, elements from lean thinking and current project planning and control practices are combined into a maturity model (MM).FindingsETO project characteristics are identified, and their implications for planning and control are discussed. Nine enablers that transform current project planning and control approaches into a lean approach are defined, allowing the analysis of the underlying complexity of planning and controlling ETO projects and thus facilitating the determination of the actions required to improve project performance.Research limitations/implicationsOnce fully embedded in an organization, the presented MM can provide a safe framework for self-criticism and can be used to conduct self-assessments without the need for an external facilitator. Thus, this paper is of particular interest to practicing project managers who aim to implement LPP and control.Originality/valueTo the authors’ best knowledge, this paper is the first to empirically examine the journey toward LPP and control from a MM perspective. This research attempts to describe the enablers of LPP and control.

Ong, Choon Hee; Bahar, Taufik

2019 International Journal of Managing Projects in Business

doi: 10.1108/ijmpb-09-2018-0200

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between top management support, project mission (PM), synergy and project management effectiveness (PME) in the Malaysian local councils. It also attempts to analyze the relative importance and performance of the predictor constructs on the target construct for managerial actions.Design/methodology/approachPrimary data based on 169 respondents were collected and analyzed using PLS-SEM to assess validity, reliability, hypothesis testing and importance-performance matrix analysis (IPMA) of the study constructs.FindingsPM and synergy were found to be significantly and positively associated with PME. However, top management support was not related to PME. Synergy has the highest relative importance level in influencing PME and it is regarded as the most relevant construct for managerial actions.Research limitations/implicationsThis study examines the significant factors that contribute to the effectiveness of project management in the local councils. It forms a basis for other state local councils to emulate the research model and compare the findings among different project teams in different locations.Practical implicationsThe IPMA identifies synergy as a primary important construct for project management activities. It explains PME is linked with extensive collaboration, inter-departmental relations, interpersonal coordination and close liaisons.Originality/valueThis study is among the few that examines factors influencing PME in the Malaysian local councils. Inclusion of synergy as one of the predictor constructs will definitely help to improve the well-functioning and coordination of the project.