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This paper aims to examine project management segments based on customer satisfaction drivers and loyalty rather than traditional demographic or behavioural variables.

Data were gathered over 18 consecutive months, and 3,129 surveys were completed using a questionnaire. The statistical methods included partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modelling, finite mixture segmentation, prediction-oriented segmentation (PLS-POS) and multi-group analysis (PLS-MGA).

The findings indicate the existence of three segments among system delivery project customers based on the differences in the strengths of the path coefficients in the customer-centric structural model. In Segment 1, satisfaction based on the proposal was crucial for loyalty, with the value-for-money construct negatively impacting the repurchase intent construct. Segment 2 had a solid value-for-money orientation. In Segment 3, the critical path indicated that satisfaction drove repurchase intention, with satisfaction based mainly on the installation.

The research contributes to the segmentation theory by introducing a new way to segment the systems delivery projects customers based on the perceived strength of the relationships in a customer-centric structural model, which aligns with traditional segmentation theory in a way that most segmentation analyses do not. A new segmentation approach to the domain of project management theory is presented. Based on the results, treating the system delivery project customer base as a single homogenous group can lead to managerially misleading conclusions.

Drawing upon the relational exchange theory, the longitudinal relationship between various stages of project management customer satisfaction, value for money and repurchase intent are examined.

Using a survey questionnaire, data were gathered over four consecutive quarters (N = 2,537). The statistical methods included exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory composite analysis (CCA) and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

Project management was perceived as a three-dimensional construct (proposal, installation, commissioning/start-up). There was a significant longitudinal relationship between project stages and satisfaction in the complete data set. The results varied on the quarterly basis. The relationship customer satisfaction/repurchase intent was significant in the whole data set and during all quarters. This was the case for the relationships between value for money and customer satisfaction and between value for money and repurchase intent. The effect sizes were small between project management stages and customer satisfaction, small to medium for the value for money construct and large for the customer satisfaction construct.

An important implication is the significant relationship between the stages of project management and satisfaction. However, the effect sizes were small, however. The importance of the effect size in comparison to the significance of the relationships is highlighted especially when the sample size is large. The paper also confirms the linear relationship between satisfaction and repurchase intent. The nature of the relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty is based on a moderate exchange relationship in the relational exchange continuum. The study contributes to the relational exchange theory in the context of project management.

This paper aims to describe how performance in the project supply chain can be improved by implementing information technology solutions that track site installation and inventory.

The case study was initiated after observing unexpected problems and subsequent performance improvement in a very large project delivery. Personnel involved in the project were interviewed and project documentation was analyzed to identify the reasons for initial poor performance and the changes that lead to the observed improvement.

As the scale and complexity of a delivery project increases the role of accurate and robust tracking of installation work and inventory increases. Alignment between participants breaks down in the absence of reliable inventory tracking with potentially very adverse effects on project delivery operations. Introducing reliable inventory tracking can very quickly re‐align participants and improve overall performance in a telecom delivery project.

The findings are based on a case study, with particular characteristics: large number of dispersed installation sites, modular product, remote sensing. Topics for further research are suggested to assess the relevance of inventory tracking in different contexts.

The case shows how an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) can improve project delivery performance by investing in inventory tracking between inventory drop‐off and installation on the site.

Project delivery has received scarce attention in a supply chain management context. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge by showing how site inventory tracking affects performance and alignment of the whole project supply chain.

The requirements of various participants of a project may conflict with the strategy of the project's parent organization and, consequently, the project may form its individual strategy independently, to better align with the factors in its environment. The purpose of this paper is to describe the formation of the strategy of a project as a response to the project's environment, providing insight into a project's strategy formation, where the project does not merely reflect the strategy of the parent but where the parent is only one influential actor (of many) in the project's environment.

To increase understanding of the relationship between the project's environment, the strategy of the project‐based firm and the strategy formation of a project, the authors analyze a project of a metallurgy firm in an empirical case study. The authors use project literature and corporate venturing literature, look for the dimensions of project strategy and the factors in the project's environment and study how the factors in the environment shape the project's strategy.

The analysis suggests that factors in the internal and external environments affect the strategy formation with varying strength. The strategy of the case project was formed in micro‐level iterative processes, in interaction between dimensions of strategy of the project and factors in environment. The empirical case study suggests that a project initiated with strong influence of external factors has to face contradiction between the strategy and related influential factors in the parent organization of the project.

This paper contributes to our understanding of how the strategy of an individual project is formed through micro‐level processes that are related to external and internal factors that affect the strategy formation.

Although there is substantial practitioner evidence for changes in the role and functioning of sales in the twenty‐first century, there is little academic research charting new directions for the sales function in a business‐to‐business context. This paper aims to report on four case studies that illustrate how sales is changing.

The case studies involve large global companies who were changing their existing sales process to adapt to changing circumstances. The organizations comprised four global industries: construction, power solutions, building technology, and electronics and software.

The results demonstrate that sales is changing in three interrelated aspects: from a function to a process; from an isolated activity to an integrated one; and is becoming strategic rather than operational.

The results suggest that changes in the role of sales will affect sales processes and the way that the sales function liaises with other departments.

The purpose of this study is to present an empirical framework for changes, communication and team restructuring developed through a substantive theory that defines the relationships between Agile adoption and organizational strategies in the Brazilian marketplace, providing assertive propositions.

The research analysed five case studies of private companies in the Brazilian market, adopting the grounded theory (GT) method to examine the relationships between the categories. There was consistency in the reality of 22 participatory interviews with experts in Agile in the five case studies. The excellent integration between the chosen methodological approach and the organizations' characteristics reinforces a strategy focused on mixed methods.

As a result, the authors deploy an empirical framework, displaying new strategies that generate structural changes, obtaining Agile information technology (IT) project portfolio management (PPM) practices and strategies with superior performance. The necessary responses through organizational structural changes are observed, making it possible to notice changes in routines and contingencies.

Some limitations should be pointed out for this study. The case studies were carried out in private companies in Brazil, and cultural aspects must be considered if one wants to generalize. Furthermore, to underline the effects of time, a longitudinal study would have to be employed to improve the interpretation of the results. Another limitation applies to the framework proposed in our study and its reality-simplifying nature. Models and theories with these visible generic characteristics compromise understanding specific situations.

The authors strongly recommend that teams focus on communication among stakeholders to increase the ability to adopt Agile and create valuable knowledge inside the organizations, architecting process innovation.

The forged strategic Agile substantive theory contributes to the competitive Brazilian IT company departments. The need for velocity in organizing teams, accomplishing changes and efficient communication challenges connecting value creation with project results.

The purpose of this paper is to present a life cycle phase of a software development project which is substantial for the success of the project. This paper visualizes the project start-up phase from suppliers’ perspective.

The method is a theory building from case studies. The data were collected from three software supplier firms by conducting process modeling separately in each firm.

The study resulted in a model of a supplier’s software project start-up which includes start-up practices and involved roles. The results indicate that project start-up is an integral and structured phase of project life cycle, which influences the execution of a software development project, especially from the supplier’s perspective in the project business context.

The study focuses on the start-up phase of software development projects delivered to external customers. Therefore, developed project start-up model is applicable as such in software supplier firms.

The project start-up model presented in this paper indicates that project start-up is a complex and multi-dimensional activity in a supplier firm. This study suggests that if the project start-up phase is clearly defined, planned and followed in a supplier firm, it reduces confusion and miscommunication among the people involved in the project and helps to achieve the business goals of a project.

This study emphasizes that it is necessary to make a distinction between the perspectives of the customer and the supplier when studying projects in the project business context. The findings contribute the new knowledge for managing outsourced software development projects.

The recently constructed Museum of Tropical Queensland in Townsville is reviewed as a case study in research into re‐engineering the construction delivery process. The project involved an innovative approach to the procurement of a public building and resulted in a highly successful outcome. Several key areas which were identified as contributing to the success of this project need to be investigated further to establish their role in contributing to the success of other construction industry projects.

This paper aims to propose an integrated framework for digital project-driven supply chains (PDSC) to address multiple objectives in Architecture, Engineering, Construction and, Operations and Maintenance (AECO) value chain. Additionally, the following sub-objectives were also to be addressed: to assess emerging themes of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies in AECO and to identify lacunae in existing project supply chains.

The research relies on qualitative approaches and mixed methodologies, for building theories based on domain expert interviews and questionnaire surveys administered on industry professionals. Hypothesis testing has been used to analyze data and identify significant 4IR technology applications and evolve a PDSC framework to address multiple objectives in the AECO context.

4IR technologies can completely revolutionize AECO supply chains and catapult the discipline into a completely new paradigm. The immense computing power unleashed can contribute to enhancing effectiveness in delivery. Technologies such as the Internet of Things, Internet of Services, Cloud Computing, Big Data, Smart Factory, 3 D-Printing, Cyber-Physical Systems or Embedded Systems, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and Robotics hold immense future potential. The study proposes an integrated framework to address the multiple objectives of improved project delivery, increased productivity and cost savings, activity monitoring, reporting and agility, better workflow processes and reduction of wastage.

The study offers ideas for complete integration of the AECO supply chain to deliver value to end customers. It, however, relies on opinions, perspectives and recollections of respondents, which is its limitation. Their opinion is expected to be influenced by their domain and project expertise.

In today’s global environment, information and data management is a meaningful intermediary in 4IR. It can be delivered with the aid of the cloud to collect, appraise and evaluate data efficiently; faster machine operations to manufacture quality goods at a lower cost; boost productivity; and competitiveness in AECO companies. Appropriate exchange of information and knowledge transfer will lead to innovation, effective communication in terms of frequency and quality of information; willingness to share information to improve overall performance; commitment to a common goal and mutual support; and continuous innovative effort.

This paper suggests fresh perspectives to integrated digital project-driven supply chains propelled by 4IR technologies, with a purpose to deliver multiple project objectives and end-customer value addition.