Search results

Diverse cultures may make people behave differently and this, in turn, can impact project management. While the relationship between culture and project success has been widely explored, there is a need of addressing the gap in the relationship between culture and project management performance outcomes, that is, the performance in implementing project management processes and practices. The purpose of this paper is to investigate this gap by studying the role of cultural dimensions on project management performance.

An explorative survey including 200 observations relating to the experiences of project managers with a big experience on projects involving many different national cultures has been conducted to collect primary data on the relationship between the nationality observed and the project management performance outcomes shown. Nationality has been used as a proxy to link individual cultural dimensions and project management performance.

The results of this paper show that individualism impacts project dynamics and project control positively. Moreover, masculinity impacts project dynamics positively, and uncertainty avoidance impacts project control negatively. When recognized, different cultural dimensions can drive project management performance outcomes. The increasing awareness on this topic can be a valid instrument to control the cultural effect and take advantage of it to enhance project success.

This study contributes to the theory of project management by recognizing linkages between cultural dimensions and project management performance. Moreover, this study overcomes the concept of nationality, focusing on individuals and their unique set of cultural dimensions.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate additive manufacturing (AM) phenomenon extending previous research results by studying in-depth the economic sustainability of AM technology and bringing out the contextual factors that drive its superior performances in comparison with conventional manufacturing, and justify its adoption in rapid prototyping (RP) from an economic point of view.

Data have been collected through a worldwide survey. Respondents were from 105 companies adopting the technology from 23 countries worldwide.

The results of this research show that although AM-based prototyping leads to significant cost reduction, it is not as good as conventional manufacturing in terms of the profitability of investment. It also demonstrates how cost reduction depends on production volume and payback period depends on the types of material and scope of AM implementation after controlling for firm size and experience.

The performance indicator is measured using a Likert scale; however, more reliable conclusion could be made by real amounts. The research also took into account the economic aspects of performance; however, to evaluate the AM technology more comprehensively, other performance measures such as those of social and environmental ones should be considered.

The paper provides insightful implications for the adoption of AM. In particular, it reveals the contingent performance of the technology in RP.

This paper contributes to expand the literature by demonstrating how different circumstances affect the performance of AM technologies for prototyping and by linking the operational and organizational factors with its performance.

The paper explores the process of construction of the “accountable self”, particularly as this process engages with the spirituality of the self. This study examines the “space of accountability” within which the accountable self constructs itself as such and investigates how different accounts of the self are drawn upon in the making of this space, both defining and transcending it.

The paper relies upon archival material concerning accounting and accountability practices about the project for building the altar of St. Ignatius in the Church of Gesù, Rome, Italy (1691–1706). This study examines calculative and narrative accounts about the project from the perspective of the superintendent, who was the sole person accountable for the building works.

Whereas calculative accounts enabled the self to account for actions within the specific space of accountability of the project, narrative accounts opened up this space, providing for a testimony of actions and a gift of accountability towards future indefinite others. This process was prompted by the spirituality of the self and the narcissistic gratification of fulfilling this spirituality.

The paper adds to the literature on the accountable self and to theological perspectives into accountability. This study suggests exploring how different accounts of the self engage with each other through testimony, gift, narcissism and spirituality in the construction of the accountable self, providing for a “transcendent” space of accountability. This research also adds to studies on narrative accounts by showing that they are drawn upon alongside calculative accounts in the construction of the transcendent, accountable self.

The aim of this paper is to present the first diffusion analysis of ISO/IEC 27001, the fourth most popular ISO certification at global level and the most important standard for information security.

To achieve the purposes, the authors applied Grey Models (GM) – Even GM (1,1), Even GM (1,1,α,θ), Discrete GM (1,1), Discrete GM (1,1,α) – complemented by the relative growth rate and the doubling time indexes on the six most important countries in terms of issued certificates.

Results show that a growing trend is likely to be expected in the years to come and that China will lead at country level.

The study contributes to the scientific debate by presenting the first diffusive analysis of ISO/IEC 27001 and by proposing a forecasting approach that to date has found little application in the field of international standards.

After 15 years of research, this paper aims to present a review of the academic literature on the ISO/IEC 27001, the most renowned standard for information security and the third most widespread ISO certification. Emerging issues are reframed through the lenses of social systems thinking, deriving a theory-based research agenda to inspire interdisciplinary studies in the field.

The study is structured as a systematic literature review.

Research themes and sub-themes are identified on five broad research foci: relation with other standards, motivations, issues in the implementation, possible outcomes and contextual factors.

The study presents a structured overview of the academic body of knowledge on ISO/IEC 27001, providing solid foundations for future research on the topic. A set of research opportunities is outlined, with the aim to inspire future interdisciplinary studies at the crossroad between information security and quality management. Managers interested in the implementation of the standard and policymakers can find an overview of academic knowledge useful to inform their decisions related to implementation and regulatory activities.