Books and journals Case studies Expert Briefings Open Access
Advanced search

Increasing project benefits by project opportunity exploitation

Pernille Eskerod (Department of Business and Management, Webster University – Vienna Campus, Wien, Austria)
Karyne Ang (Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, School of Systems, Management and Leadership, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia)
Erling S. Andersen (Department of Leadership and Organizational Management, BI Norwegian Business School, Oslo, Norway)

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business

ISSN: 1753-8378

Publication date: 5 March 2018

Abstract

Purpose

Exploitation of project opportunities may bring more benefits than stipulated in the initial business case, and even stakeholder benefits that nobody thought of at the project initiation. The purpose of this paper is to suggest a new research area for megaprojects, i.e. the phenomenon of project opportunity exploitation as a means to increase the project benefits.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a single case study of an infrastructure megaproject, i.e. the construction and operation of a 50+ years old American bridge. Data cover information regarding 60+ years old historical documents, newspaper articles, interviews and video-recordings.

Findings

The findings of this paper are as follows: exploiting all opportunities created by the project and increasing project benefits require involvement from many categories of stakeholders; stakeholders get more involved in exploiting the opportunities created by the project when they are proud of the project; for some of the project-related opportunities, it might take a long time before they can be exploited (and related benefits achieved); and celebrating achievements of the project stimulate stakeholders to exploit opportunities created by the project and contribute to further project benefits.

Research limitations/implications

Only few interviews were conducted. Interviewees were biased as all were very proud of the bridge. This is a single case study of a “rare species”, not representing most megaprojects.

Practical implications

To enhance project opportunity exploitation and increased benefits, the project owner (team) must continuously communicate about the project, also after project execution.

Originality/value

This study contributes to a gap within the literature on the phenomenon “project opportunity exploitation”. This is a very rich case study and of a “rare species”.

Keywords

  • Stakeholders
  • Transformational
  • Megaproject
  • Project benefits
  • Project history
  • Project opportunity

Acknowledgements

A previous version of this paper was accepted and presented within the Strategic Interest Group: Project Organizing, Special Topic: Managing Major and Mega Projects: Opening up for new Research Eras at the EURAM Conference, Glasgow, 2017.

Citation

Eskerod, P., Ang, K. and Andersen, E.S. (2018), "Increasing project benefits by project opportunity exploitation", International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, Vol. 11 No. 1, pp. 35-52. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMPB-07-2017-0089

Download as .RIS

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited

Please note you do not have access to teaching notes

You may be able to access teaching notes by logging in via Shibboleth, Open Athens or with your Emerald account.
Login
If you think you should have access to this content, click the button to contact our support team.
Contact us

To read the full version of this content please select one of the options below

You may be able to access this content by logging in via Shibboleth, Open Athens or with your Emerald account.
Login
To rent this content from Deepdyve, please click the button.
Rent from Deepdyve
If you think you should have access to this content, click the button to contact our support team.
Contact us
Emerald Publishing
  • Opens in new window
  • Opens in new window
  • Opens in new window
  • Opens in new window
© 2021 Emerald Publishing Limited

Services

  • Authors Opens in new window
  • Editors Opens in new window
  • Librarians Opens in new window
  • Researchers Opens in new window
  • Reviewers Opens in new window

About

  • About Emerald Opens in new window
  • Working for Emerald Opens in new window
  • Contact us Opens in new window
  • Publication sitemap

Policies and information

  • Privacy notice
  • Site policies
  • Modern Slavery Act Opens in new window
  • Chair of Trustees governance statement Opens in new window
  • COVID-19 policy Opens in new window
Manage cookies

We’re listening — tell us what you think

  • Something didn’t work…

    Report bugs here

  • All feedback is valuable

    Please share your general feedback

  • Member of Emerald Engage?

    You can join in the discussion by joining the community or logging in here.
    You can also find out more about Emerald Engage.

Join us on our journey

  • Platform update page

    Visit emeraldpublishing.com/platformupdate to discover the latest news and updates

  • Questions & More Information

    Answers to the most commonly asked questions here