Editorial

Citation

Walker, D.H.T. (2014), "Editorial", International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, Vol. 7 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMPB-10-2013-0056

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, Volume 7, Issue 1

From the Editor

Derek H.T. Walker, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia email: mailto:derek.walker@rmit.edu.au

About this issue

This first issue for 2014, Volume 7 comprises eight papers. There are six regular papers and two thesis research notes plus one book review.

The first paper is entitled "Integrating service practice into project management: a matter of ‘do or die’"? and is co-authored by Mattias Jacobsson from Sweden, Thommie Allan Burström from Finland and Timothy L. Wilson from Sweden. The paper describes and analyses service management practices within a project management context. The research reported upon is from an in-depth qualitative exploratory case study of a Swedish major product development project. They developed and applied a conceptual framework to empirical observations of a product development project and concluded that elements of a service management approach appear to be viable in the description, managing, and control of projects. The paper contributes with a practice-based understanding of how project management is based on integrated service practice and presents a number of propositions for future research.

The second paper by Davar Rezania and Noufou Ouedraogo from Canada and is entitled "Organization development through ad hoc problem solving: a case of knowledge transfer capacity development in an ERP implementation project". Their paper reports on their research into ad hoc capabilities development problems for knowledge transfer between various constituencies of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation project and how an ERP project helps develop an ability to network, link, and integrate its various knowledge resources over time. They undertook a longitudinal case study research of a project initiated in 2008 and completed in 2011. The case demonstrates the dynamics of development of knowledge transfer capacities through ad hoc problem solving. They identify and discuss five mechanisms used in this case for the development of knowledge transfer capacities. This adds to our understanding of the mechanics of knowledge transfer and diffusion which is often a poorly handled part of project management in practice.

The third paper is entitled "A strategy-based method of assessing information technology investments" co-authored by Marisa Analia Sánchez from Argentina, Antonio Carlos Gastaud Maçada from Brazil and Marcela del Valle Sagardoy from Italy. The paper presents a theoretical framework and preliminary results of a research project on how to assess information technology (IT) investments to help deliver maximum business value. It investigates how a strategy map process can be used as a framework for defining the portfolio value and data envelopment analysis (DEA) for IT projects to measure the efficiency of project portfolios. An application of the approach that illustrates the value of the framework is described. Their suggested method could help CEOs to understand the interactions between projects and strategy to support decision making through prioritising and tracking IT investments. The paper illustrates how the proposed framework is applied.

The Fourth paper from Canada by Nathalie Drouin and Kam Jugdev is entitled "Standing on the shoulders of strategic management giants to advance organizational project management". The paper examines relevant issues within the strategic management domain related to concepts and terms used within the resource based view and dynamic capabilities theory. The paper explains how these theories from strategic management can be translated for organisational project management. The paper also shares lessons learned by the co-authors as used in project management. The paper bridges two theories from the strategic management field to organisational project management and demonstrates conceptual challenges experienced and also outlines how theories from strategic management can be adopted to organisational project management. They argue that since organisational project management is evolving, there is merit in drawing from a solid theoretical foundation such as those found in strategic management. This paper’s value rests in applying learnings from these fields to organisational project management and to develop a clearer understanding of concepts and emphasize their importance to project management.

The fifth paper also from Canada, is entitled "Effective multicultural project management: the role of human interdependence" by Olivier Mesly, Jean-Pierre Lévy-Mangin, Normand Bourgault and Veronique Nabelsi. This multidisciplinary paper investigates the role of human interdependence in project management and has its focus on the important dimension of team dynamics. This is an important paper because of the global emergence of dispersed or virtual teams. This paper applies concepts and a model of predation whereby individuals act as either predators or prey in their interactions with others. It uses an empirical study conducted in 2012. A group of 30 multicultural individuals were invited to implement a one-day food fair project. Their research results show that human interdependence acts as a moderating variable that must be taken into account in projects development and implementation and that the role of interdependence within multicultural team members provides a deep understanding in the motivational bases that ultimately affects project performance and outcome. While the "project" was very short and not the kind traditionally written about in journals, it provides interesting concepts applicable in global projects in general and provides a stimulating read. The paper raises cultural context issues and behaviours that are highly relevant in a wide range of project types.

The sixth paper provides a useful complementary perspective on culture to paper five. It follows the theme of cultural considerations of managing global projects and was co-authored by Wenche Aarseth, Asbjørn Rolstadås and Bjorn Andersen from Norway and is entitled "Managing organizational challenges in global projects". The research reported upon is based on data from 246 respondents, and 30 interviews with senior project team members working in a global environment. Organisational challenges within a global projects context are an underrepresented area of studies of projects, particularly for in-depth studies to enhance our understanding of organisational challenges. This paper makes a contribution to existing research by contrasting organisational challenges in global projects with traditional projects and outlining a framework for handling organisational challenges in global projects.

The seventh paper, also coming to us from Norway, is a thesis research note. It is Co-authored by Hans Petter Krane and Nils O.E. Olsson and is entitled "Uncertainty management of projects from the owners’ perspective, with main focus on managing delivered functionality." The purpose of the paper is not only to report the PhD research findings and conclusions, but also to give insight into the research process – the researcher’s "journey" in his work with the thesis is described and also some main issues regarding the context of the research. Readers that are interested in the full these can download it directly from the provided URL link. Dr Krane undertook his PhD at the Norwegian University of Technology and Science in Trondheim, Norway and is a mature experienced PhD candidate with much to offer the PM discipline through his thesis.

The eighth paper is also a thesis research note written by Chui-Ha (Tracy) Ng from Hong Kong, Derek H.T. Walker from Australia and Ginger Levin from the USA. The paper is entitled "IT project management capabilities enhancement impacts of contingent employment policy in Hong Kong organisations" and it reports upon Tracy’s doctoral thesis from RMIT University in Australia. Her thesis and journey as a doctoral candidate is presented together with a link to her thesis provided. Tracy has been an award winning doctoral candidate and her topic will be of keen interest to many project managers who are working from project to project rather than permanently as a company employee.

Finally we present a book review by Professor Rolf Lundin from Sweden on a new book written by Professor Peter Morris who will be well known to most if not all readers.

Derek H.T. Walker