Fostering a Culture of Project Management Practices – A Maturity Model for Libraries

Abstract

Purpose

Libraries have a growing interest in project management; however, the application of formal project management practices remains small. Are libraries using formal practices and do different organizational cultures foster or hinder the use of project management?

Methodology/approach

A survey was used to investigate the prevalence of project management in the 14 Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) libraries and to assess the organizational culture of these libraries to identify whether the culture fosters project management. A two-part questionnaire included the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) by Cameron and Quinn (2011) and questions about project management practices. A project management maturity model was applied to determine the degree of project management maturity.

Findings

Even though libraries report perceived project management success, this is not often associated with the use of project management practices. Libraries with hierarchical organizational structures are less likely to have formal project management practices and libraries with clan cultures are more likely to use formal project management practices.

Originality/value

This study contributes to a small base of research on the use of project management practices in academic libraries. Specific suggestions on the value of including formal project management practices and the relationship between organizational culture and the use of project management could provide an impetus for libraries to explore the formal adoption of this practice.

Citation

Heyns, E.P. and Huijts, S. (2018), "Fostering a Culture of Project Management Practices – A Maturity Model for Libraries", Project Management in the Library Workplace (Advances in Library Administration and Organization, Vol. 38), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 19-35. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0732-067120180000038011