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The electric utility industry, unlike most other technology‐intensive industries, does not spend much money or effort on research and development. Many utilities do not possess an in‐house R&D facility, nor is there an R&D line item in their budgets. Over the last several decades the rate of change in the electric utility industry has been very slow and in‐house R&D efforts have not been required. As the rate of change in the industry is beginning to change, the need to pursue R&D is increasing. The electric utility industry is responding to this increasing requirement by increasing R&D budgets, and in some cases re‐initiating the R&D process within individual utilities. The purpose of this paper is to focus on R&D portfolio management efforts of various actors from different industrial sectors, to find out the best practices by using benchmarking method.

The paper used case study approach and on‐site interviews as research methods.

The authors found that R&D management is in its infancy in the electric utility sector, while the methods established in the manufacturing sector are applicable there.

This study is exploring R&D management in the electric utility sector and contributes to the service innovation research stream.

Despite an obvious connection, business process improvement and business process management (BPM) capability development have been studied intensely, but in isolation. The authors thus aim to make the case for the research located at the intersection of both streams. The authors thereby focus on the integrated planning of business process improvement and BPM capability development as this is where, in the authors’ opinion, both streams have the closest interaction. The authors refer to the research field located at the intersection of business process improvement and BPM capability development as process project portfolio management. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The authors structure the field of process project portfolio management drawing from extant knowledge related to BPM, project portfolio management, and performance management. The authors also propose a research agenda in terms of exemplary research questions and research methods.

The proposed structure shows which business objects and interactions should be considered when engaging in process project portfolio management. The research agenda contains exemplary questions structured along the intersections of BPM, project portfolio management, and performance management.

This paper’s main limitation is that it reflects the authors’ individual viewpoints based on experiences of several industry projects and prior research.

This paper addresses a neglected research field, opens up new avenues for interdisciplinary BPM research, and contributes a novel perspective to the ongoing discussion about the future of BPM.

The purpose of this paper is to situate project portfolio management practice and explore its improvisational nature. The overall aim is to deepen the knowledge of what project portfolio managers do when they manage portfolios based on an organizational theory perspective.

This research explores the situated actions of project portfolio managers managing project portfolios and is based on two different case studies. The approach is qualitative and interpretative, with the aim of gradually developing an understanding.

The primary contributions in this paper are insights that enhance the understanding of project portfolio management practice, and the differences in practice between portfolio managers and project managers when creating “action space” and improvising. This knowledge is important for both project theory and project practice, for example when developing managerial competences and sense making structures as well as organizational design in order to increase competitiveness. The findings also contribute to project theory in relation to research on the “Practice Turn” and the literature on re‐situating projects.

The research implications emphasize the need for a better understanding of project portfolio management in practice, and an awareness of the need of uncertainty management executed by the portfolio managers situated actions (i.e. fulfilled by walk‐tour and circle communication).

The practical implications are an awareness of the fact that project‐based organizational settings have to emphasize a holistic approach and acknowledge the need for situated leadership (in particular for their project portfolio managers).

This paper fulfills an identified need to study situated project portfolio management practice.

The purpose of this paper is to address the difficulties faced by manufacturing enterprises by providing a project portfolio management approach supporting the selection and prioritization of various Industry 4.0 projects where business process analysis is used to ensure the strategic alignment and value of the project portfolio.

The design research methodology, a mixed applied research methodology, was used to develop and test the proposed approach.

Despite the growing interest of the scientific and industrial communities in I4.0, it seems that there is no method by which manufacturing companies can select a large number of improvement projects. Moreover, studies tend to focus on the evaluation and implementation of a single technology, while the transformation of an intelligent plant requires the consolidation and coordination of many initiatives to achieve a global objective.

The proposed project portfolio management model offers support to enterprises during their digital transformation and improves their processes by integrating technology levers through consistent and achievable selection of I4.0 initiatives while meeting strategic goals and objectives.

Here's how top firms are using portfolio management processes to maximize their projects‘ fit, utility, and balance.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze some Brazilian companies’ use of the information technology portfolio management (ITPM) technique as an aid to their information technology (IT) investments management.

It was carried out in five case studies in different Brazilian companies from several economic sectors which were using ITPM or were in the initial implementation phase. Eight interviews were conducted. The persons interviewed were high-level executives working in the IT department in the studied companies.

Different levels of ITPM use was found with respect to IT investment management (planning, control and evaluation). It was observed, in the analyzed cases, that ITPM is used most frequently in IT investment planning, which is the process most discussed and used in analyzed companies. The ITPM technique is used more frequently in Company 2 than in the other cases because the organization of the IT area in the company is structured according to ITPM dimensions.

The ITPM technique has received little attention in IT research and research in this area identifying the use and applicability of ITPM in companies is still very limited in the information systems literature.

The paper presents IT investment management in different Brazilian companies and how ITPM was used to help companies in this process compose by planning, control and evaluation.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a better understanding of how the supply chain structure (i.e. degree of vertical integration) of a focal organization shapes the breadth of its portfolio of technologies.

In total, three case studies were conducted involving key players in the Australian mass grocery retail sector. Each had a distinct supply chain structure (i.e. totally vertically disintegrated, partially vertically integrated and totally vertically integrated). Each supply chain case study included manufacturers or suppliers, transport and logistics service providers, wholesalers/distributors, as well as the mass grocery retail organizations. Interviews with key personnel from these organizations and other relevant information informed the findings and conclusions.

The information technologies employed by the three focal case organizations and their extended trading partners varied in terms of level, type, complexity and sophistication. The authors highlight how the choice of supply chain technologies is affected by supply chain structure (extent of vertical integration). The authors found that disintegrated supply chain structures have a broader portfolio of technologies, whereas integrated supply chains have a narrow portfolio.

This study is confined to three organizations in the Australian mass grocery retail sector, so any extensions should be made with caution.

The framework presented in this study can guide organizations in assessing the appropriateness of their supply chain portfolios of technologies with the structure of their supply chains. For standard setting bodies, the findings of this study suggest that technologies need to be tailored to the requirements of the supply chains, with the level of vertical integration being one easy way to segment the supply chain types.

The study adapts and extends the “arcs of integration” framework. The propositions enhance the understanding of how supply chain structure, in the form of degree of vertical integration influences an organization’s supply chain portfolio of technologies.

The traditional approach and methodology can no longer cope effectively with the complexities and problems associated with large scale property investment. The level of sophistication of the analysis of property investments is still much lower than the analysis of investments in other media. There is a need to establish an analytical framework which could facilitate the management of the complex decision making and management problems associated with large property investment portfolios. The principal aim of this paper is to identify and rationalise the property portfolio problem in order to pave the way for the applications of recent developments in investment and portfolio theory. The definition of the general portfolio problem is followed by a comparison of the nature and characteristics of property portfolios and stock market security portfolios. The property portfolio problem is defined as a complex decision making problem requiring effective decision making in three stages: investment policy, selection and portfolio assembly, and finally management and portfolio rationalisation.

“MDCM, Inc. (B): Strategic IT Portfolio Management” examines the steps involved in developing a portfolio of IT projects aligned with a company's strategic objectives. Specifically, the case describes a situation where a firm has launched a transformation strategy but has yet to develop a complementary IT strategy. Students must select the optimal portfolio of projects aligned with the strategic objectives and define the global project execution strategy. The projects have both risks and dependencies. U.S.-based MDCM, Inc. specializes in medical device contract manufacturing and assembly. For the past five years, MDCM had grown by making more than twenty acquisitions of companies based outside the United States. This growth strategy enabled MDCM to better match its services to its customers, who had become larger and more global. In MDCM (A), the CIO of MDCM needed to determine the company's IT strategy and objectives. In doing so, he needed to ensure that they were properly aligned with the company's overall strategy and the new organization developed under an initiative called Horizon 2000. In a lecture prior to the cases, students should be introduced to the framework of IT portfolio management and how it can help focus IT efforts. In MDCM (B), the CIO has performed an audit of MDCM's IT and found twelve projects that are potential investment candidates for the next three years. The challenge for the IT Portfolio Management team is to identify the priority and appropriate sequence of investments to be made. The case assumes that students have knowledge of corporate IT. More specifically, the case is targeted for those who are or plan to become executives who would manage IT strategy and IT investment decisions either directly or in an oversight role. This case is the second in a series; the first is the case “MDCM, Inc. (A): IT Strategy Synchronization.”

For this case, students create a portfolio management process and apply it to the IT project portfolio of a global manufacturing company. Students will learn how to balance risk and return of projects and short-term vs. long-term wins. They also create an activity network diagram, stressing the importance of understanding global resource constraints and execution timing. Students also learn the nuances of portfolio selection, e.g., outsourcing decision making and build vs. buy for a global firm.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the implementation of IT portfolio management (IT PoM) and develop a framework guided by adaptive structuration theory to describe the key structures, features, and appropriation steps needed to effectively manage IT investments and assets.

Using a longitudinal case study approach, data were collected over an eight-month period from a US Fortune 500 company during its IT PoM implementation effort.

The case analysis highlights three major IT PoM features appropriated by the organization: creating the portfolio; assessing and analyzing the portfolio characteristics based on risk, benefits, alignment, criticality, and cost; and balancing decisions to start projects or terminate under-performing IT assets such as servers and applications. The spirit of IT PoM was interpreted differently by different stakeholders (data providers, business units, and IT PoM team) leading to resistance to implementation. The case data underscores the importance of establishing a governance steering committee and new internal structures to help push the balancing decisions across the organization.

The results are useful in developing guidelines and strategies to achieve successful implementation of IT PoM and to highlight critical factors that practitioners need to pay close attention to during an IT PoM implementation.

This study represents one of the first attempts to describe a detailed IT PoM implementation process and how IT PoM appropriation process can lead to improved decision making within the organization.