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1 – 10 of 40Nathalie Drouin, Vedran Zerjav, Shankar Sankaran and Marie-Andrée Caron
Nathalie Drouin, Ralf Müller, Shankar Sankaran and Anne Live Vaagaasar
The purpose of this paper is twofold: to identify how horizontal leaders (within project teams) execute their leadership task in the context of balanced leadership; and to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is twofold: to identify how horizontal leaders (within project teams) execute their leadership task in the context of balanced leadership; and to pinpoint scenarios that can occur when horizontal leaders are identified and empowered by the vertical leader (senior or project managers) and a project task is handed over to them to lead. This research is based on the concept of balanced leadership, which conceptualizes leadership as a dynamic, situation-dependent transition of leadership authority from a vertical leader (like a project manager) to a horizontal leader (a project team member) and back again, in order to contribute positively to a project’s success. Balanced leadership consists of five events (nomination, identification, empowerment, horizontal leadership and its governance, and transition). This paper focuses on the fourth event, and its specific aspect of leadership distribution between horizontal and vertical leader. This event begins when a team member(s) accepts the empowerment to assume the role of horizontal leader. This paper explicitly links the leadership style of the vertical leader based on Frame’s (1987) leadership styles and the nature of decisions taken by both the vertical and horizontal leaders to deliver the project.
Design/methodology/approach
The method used for this paper is the qualitative phase of a sequential mixed methods (qualitative-quantitative) study. Data were collected through case studies in four different countries, using a maximum variety sampling approach. Data collection was through interviews of vertical leaders (senior leaders who were often sponsors of projects or members of senior management or project managers) and horizontal leaders (team leaders or members) in a variety of industry sectors. Data analysis was done through initial coding and constant comparison to arrive at themes. Thematic analysis was used to gain knowledge about the split of leadership and decision-making authority between the horizontal and vertical leader(s).
Findings
The results show that for Canadian and Australian projects, a combination of autocratic and democratic leadership styles were used by vertical leaders. In the case of Scandinavian projects, a democratic leadership style has been observed. Linked to these leadership styles, the horizontal decision making is predominantly focused on technical decisions and to daily task decisions to deliver the project. Delegation occurs most of the time to one specific team member, but occasionally to several team members simultaneously, for them to work collaboratively on a given issue.
Research limitations/implications
The paper supports a deeper investigation into a leadership theory, by validating one particular event of the balanced leadership theory, which is based on Archer’s (1995) realist social theory. The findings from this paper will guide organizations to facilitate an effective approach to balancing the leadership roles between vertical and horizontal leaders in their projects. The findings can also be used to develop horizontal leaders to take up more responsibilities in projects.
Originality/value
The originality lies in the new leadership theory called balanced leadership, and its empirical validation. It is the first study on the leadership task distribution between vertical and horizontal leadership in projects. Its value is new insights, which allow practitioners to develop practices to find and empower the best possible leader at any given time in the project and academics to develop a more dynamic and, therefore, more realistic theory on leadership as it unfolds in projects.
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Marie-Andrée Caron, Nathalie Drouin, Skander Ben Abdallah and Camélia Radu
Social needs of local community are highly essential in the context of public infrastructure and have an impact on their performance. This paper explores the local community…
Abstract
Purpose
Social needs of local community are highly essential in the context of public infrastructure and have an impact on their performance. This paper explores the local community subjectivity in interaction with primary stakeholders to deepen our understanding of social value and this category of misunderstood stakeholders.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents a partnership framework that aims to help stakeholders be reflexive and construct knowledge about social value of the infrastructure. The empirical material includes an extensive review of the public infrastructure documents published between 1981 and 2021 and 13 interviews with key members of local community.
Findings
The main contribution of this study is an integrated model to study the social value of an infrastructure and a dynamic approach to study how a local community engages and enacts social value. The dynamic approach highlights three plans of stakeholder’s subjectivity, which are relational, representational and operational plans to promote inclusive stakeholder’s management (“of” and “for”).
Originality/value
The study combines an analytical and a theoretical framework to investigate the enactment of social value.
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Nathalie Drouin and Claude Besner
The purpose of this paper is to introduce the papers comprising a special issue of the journal. The central theme of this special issue is “Projects and organisations: adding…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce the papers comprising a special issue of the journal. The central theme of this special issue is “Projects and organisations: adding rungs to the ladder of understanding project management and its relationship with the organisation”. It is dedicated to research that explores and proposes different avenues to contribute to the development of the field of project management from this perspective of projects and organisations.
Design/methodology/approach
The Guest Editors solicited academics and collaborators of the Project Management Research Chair at the École des sciences de la gestion, Université du Québec à Montréal (ESG UQAM). Following a call for papers, five were selected that underwent a double‐blind peer‐review process.
Findings
The five selected articles each provide unique perspectives and insights. Viewed as a set, their contributions view projects and organisations from three main perspectives: project management governance issues; management of innovative and IT projects; and processes, practices and tools. The set brings new empirical data, ideas and theoretical frameworks to bear that justify the extension of the current project management paradigm, and suggest that project management be viewed as a critical function of the organisation.
Practical implications
The set of papers encourages scholars to continue to examine organisational concerns related to project management with the goal of explaining and enhancing important relationships among organisational phenomena and the project management field.
Originality/value
By bringing this special issue together, the Editor played an important role in adding rungs to the ladder of understanding project management and its relationship with the organisation.
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Marie-Andrée Caron, Camélia Radu and Nathalie Drouin
The complexity of the integration of non-financial benefits (NFB) in major infrastructure projects (MIP) engenders the formulation of networked knowledge between researchers and…
Abstract
Purpose
The complexity of the integration of non-financial benefits (NFB) in major infrastructure projects (MIP) engenders the formulation of networked knowledge between researchers and practitioners. The authors’ research question is as follows: To what extent does scientific knowledge about the integration of NFB into MIP support engaged scholarship or co-construction of knowledge between researchers and practitioners?
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses a review of literature published in academic journals on the integration of NFB in MIP. Nearly 300 papers are analysed in depth, based on categories (aspects and sub-aspects) inspired from engaged scholarship and paradoxical participation approaches. The culture of collaboration and the notion of boundary objects are the two main aspects of this categorization of journal papers.
Findings
First, research on the integration of NFB into MIP is either project-oriented or society-oriented but in a larger proportion for society-oriented. Second, a lot of researches favour an analytic over a holistic approach, despite their openness to dialogue with practitioners through the complexity and conflict.
Practical implications
It contributes to the theorization of the engaged scholarship. It also provides insights about research avenues to be exploited where these aspects were not sufficiently exploited, as it is often the case with sustainability, for a better collaboration between researchers and practitioners. Linking the culture of collaboration, boundary objects and knowledge co-creation in the engaged scholarship setting encourages a better understanding of the needs (problem to be resolved) of practitioners, by themselves and the researchers.
Originality/value
The systematic review was conducted in parallel with the organization of two workshops with participants concerned by the integration of NFB into MIP. The paper identified four clusters from their level of compatibility with engaged scholarship.
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Shankar Sankaran, Stewart Clegg, Ralf Müller and Nathalie Drouin
The purpose of this paper is to investigate and discuss stakeholder issues faced by renewable energy megaprojects and in particular solar and wind power projects and their…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate and discuss stakeholder issues faced by renewable energy megaprojects and in particular solar and wind power projects and their relevance to socioeconomic evaluation of megaprojects.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses secondary data collected from the recent literature published on stakeholder issues face by mega solar and wind power energy generation projects around the world. The issues are then analysed across specific challenges in five continents where these projects are being developed. The paper then focuses on the literature on energy justice to elaborate the type of issues being faced by renewable energy megaprojects contributing to the achievement of UN Sustainable Goal 7 and their impact on vulnerable communities where these projects are situated.
Findings
Renewable energy megaprojects are rarely discussed in the project management literature on megaprojects despite their size and importance in delivering sustainable development goals. While these projects provide social benefits they also create issues of justice due to their impact of vulnerable populations living is locations where these projects are situated. The justice issues faced include procedural justice, distributive justice, recognition inequalities. The type of justice issues was found to vary intensity in the developed, emerging and developing economies. It was found that nonprofit organisations are embarking on strategies to alleviate energy justice issues in innovative ways. It was also found that, in some instances, smaller local projects developed with community participation could actually contribute more equitable to the UN sustainable development goals avoiding the justice issues posed by mega renewable energy projects.
Research limitations/implications
The research uses secondary data due to which it is difficult to present a more comprehensive picture of stakeholder issues involving renewable energy megaprojects. The justice issues revealed through thesis paper with renewable energy megaprojects are also present in conventional megaprojects which have not been discussed in the project management literature. Post-COVID-19 these justice issues are likely to become mor prevalent due to the pandemic's impact on vulnerable population exacerbating the issues and increasing their severity on these populations. Therefore it is becoming even more critical to take these into account while developing renewable energy megaprojects.
Practical implications
Proper identification and response to energy justice issues can help in alleviating stakeholder issues in renewable energy megaprojects.
Social implications
Contributes to the equitable achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7.
Originality/value
This paper addresses a gap in the project management literature on the exploration of stakeholder issues on renewable energy megaprojects. It also brings out the importance of justice issues which can assist in expanding stakeholders issues faced by megaprojects as these issues have not received sufficient attention in the past in the project management literature.
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Ralf Müller, Marie-Andrée Caron, Nathalie Drouin, Jon Lereim, Raimonda Alonderienė, Alfredas Chmieliauskas, Saulius Šimkonis and Raminta Šuminskienė
This study identifies the various governance dimensions for environmental, social and governance (ESG) implementations, including reporting. Subsequently, it investigates the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study identifies the various governance dimensions for environmental, social and governance (ESG) implementations, including reporting. Subsequently, it investigates the governance structures in place to steer these dimensions in project-based and project-oriented organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review identifies 11 organizational governance dimensions for ESG implementations, followed by a conceptual mapping of these dimensions to the most likely governance structures being set up for their implementation (i.e. single-level, multi-level and polycentric governance).
Findings
Eleven governance dimensions are identified and categorized under (1) organizational settings, (2) ESG strategy and (3) implementation. The conceptual mapping of these dimensions against the governance structures for their implementation identifies an inverse relationship between the governance level in the organizational hierarchy and the complexity of governance structures needed for steering these dimensions. The paper suggests a variety of context-dependent governance structures and contributes to the governance literature on the interface between projects and their parent organizations.
Research limitations/implications
Academics benefit from an organization-wide model and the first taxonomy on the relevant governance dimensions for ESG implementation and reporting projects, thus a first approach to theorizing the governance of ESG implementations.
Practical implications
The results are of value for practitioners by allowing them to understand the diversity of dimensions and the structural implementation of ESG and its reporting.
Social implications
One of the first studies to address governance of ESG implementation and reporting across intra-organizational boundaries between the permanent and the project-based parts of the organization. This provides for organization-wide improvements in the governance toward the UN Sustainability Goals.
Originality/value
The paper investigates the under-researched link of governance implementations from the corporate level to individual projects in the context of ESG implementations, including reporting.
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