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Article
Publication date: 17 May 2022

Martin Loosemore, Robyn Keast, Josephine Barraket, George Denny-Smith and Suhair Alkilani

This research addresses the lack of project management research into social procurement by exploring the risks and opportunities of social procurement from a cross-sector…

Abstract

Purpose

This research addresses the lack of project management research into social procurement by exploring the risks and opportunities of social procurement from a cross-sector collaboration perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

A content analysis of five focus groups conducted with thirty-five stakeholders involved in the implementation of a unique social procurement initiative on a major Australian construction project is reported.

Findings

Results show little collective understanding among project stakeholders for what social procurement policies can achieve, a focus on downside risk rather than upside opportunity and perceptions of distributive injustice about the way new social procurement risks are being managed. Also highlighted is the tension between the collaborative intent of social procurement requirements and the dynamic, fragmented and temporary project-based construction industry into which they are being introduced. Ironically, this can lead to opportunistic behaviours to the detriment of the vulnerable people these policies are meant to help.

Practical implications

The paper concludes by presenting a new conceptual framework of project risk and opportunity management from a social procurement perspective. Deficiencies in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) are also highlighted around an expanded project management role in meeting these new project management requirements.

Originality/value

Social procurement is becoming increasingly popular in many countries as a collaborative mechanism to ensure construction and infrastructure projects contribute positively to the communities in which they are built. This research addresses the lack of project management research into social procurement by exploring the risks and opportunities of social procurement from a cross-sector collaboration perspective.

Details

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, vol. 15 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8378

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 July 2020

Mogens Frank Mikkelsen

Project complexity has been comprehensively investigated over the last two decades, resulting in many descriptive frameworks and models. The common layout is a multidimensional…

Abstract

Purpose

Project complexity has been comprehensively investigated over the last two decades, resulting in many descriptive frameworks and models. The common layout is a multidimensional construct. While the perception of the complexity of projects is essential for a managerial approach, only scant research has been conducted into how practitioners perceive project complexity. The purpose of the paper is to fill this gap.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is a quantitative study based on a large survey among managers of projects with more than 1,000 participants. The questionnaire is designed based on a review of research literature on project complexity.

Findings

The findings indicate that practitioners' mental models are concentrated on only a few dimensions of the many found in descriptive models. Further, the findings indicate that the mental models are much influenced by the project role of the perceiver and less so by the type of project and sector.

Originality/value

This paper discusses the differentiation of concepts of perceived project complexity and provides a framework for a survey of the topic. The contribution of the paper is an increased understanding of practitioners' perceptions of project complexity as a concept very different from the descriptive frameworks that have been the focal point for research in project complexity thus far. The project complexity might be in the eye of the beholder; however, the findings indicate that the eyes are very much influenced by the project role of the beholder.

Details

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, vol. 14 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8378

Keywords

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