Project ownership: implications on success measurement

Nils O.E. Olsson (Senior research scientist based in the Department of Productivity and Project Management, SINTEF Technology and Society, Trondheim, Norway.)
Agnar Johansen (Manager based in the Department of Productivity and Project Management, SINTEF Technology and Society, Trondheim, Norway.)
Jan Alexander Langlo (Research coordinator based in the Department of Production and Quality Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.)
Olav Torp (Associate professor based in the Department of Civil and Transport Engineering, The Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.)

Measuring Business Excellence

ISSN: 1368-3047

Publication date: 21 March 2008

Abstract

Purpose

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The purpose of this paper is to discuss measurement of project success in an ownership perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

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The research is based on a case study of owner structures in 11 projects. For each case, an analysis was made of which stakeholder that held six different roles related to project ownership. Multiple sources of information are used, including archives, interviews and observations.

Findings

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Results from the study indicate that owner responsibilities are not always concentrated to one individual stakeholder in a project. While a traditional owner can be identified for some projects, it is a more complex picture for many other projects.

Research implications/limitations

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This paper has primarily analysed project ownership on a macro level, between organisations. Challenges related to identifying owners can to a certain extent also be found on a micro level, within the most involved organisations, but this has not been the aim of the research.

Practical implications

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Measurement of project success in a project owner perspective needs to be adjusted to fit the projects in question. While the question “Who owns a project” is easy to answer in some cases, it requires a more differentiated answer in other cases.

Originality/value

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Most literature on project ownership focuses on one owner who has all the characteristics of the owner. It is based on one stakeholder who takes the risk related to the cost and future value of the project. The study shows that owner responsibilities are not necessarily concentrated to one individual stakeholder in a project.

Keywords

Citation

Olsson, N., Johansen, A., Alexander Langlo, J. and Torp, O. (2008), "Project ownership: implications on success measurement", Measuring Business Excellence, Vol. 12 No. 1, pp. 39-46. https://doi.org/10.1108/13683040810864378

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Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2008, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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