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This paper discusses the effects of enabling conditions of project knowledge management in building volatile organizational memory. The theoretical rationale underlies a recursive relationship among enabling conditions of project knowledge management, organizational learning and memory.

This research employs a qualitative descriptive single case study approach to examine a mobile application development project undertaken by a major software company in Brazil. The analysis focuses on the project execution using an abductive analytical framework. The study data were collected through in-depth interviews and company documents.

Based on the research findings, the factors that facilitate behavior and strategy in managing project knowledge pose a challenge when it comes to fostering organizational learning. While both these factors play a role in organizational learning, the exchange of information from previous experience could be strengthened, and the feedback from the learning process could be improved. These shortcomings arise from emotional tensions that stem from power struggles within knowledge hierarchies.

Based on the research, it is recommended that project-structured organizations should prioritize an individual’s professional experience to promote organizational learning. Organizations with well-defined connections between their projects and strategies can better establish interconnections among knowledge creation, sharing and coding.

The primary contribution is to provide a comprehensive view that incorporates the conditions required to manage project knowledge, organizational learning and memory. The findings lead to four propositions that relate to volatile memory, intuitive knowledge, learning and knowledge encoding.

This study seeks to illuminate the managerial tensions inherent in implementing scaled agile (on the organizational, top management, middle management and team levels) and to frame these challenges within the broader context of project management.

The study adopts a grounded theory approach and delves into a qualitative dataset sourced from 34 interviews with subject matter experts actively engaged in scaling agile initiatives within large organizations spanning various industries. Additionally, the data have been enriched through a comprehensive literature review of the existing body of knowledge on scaling agile.

As a result of our investigation, we propose a framework of managerial tensions in scaling agile in large corporate settings and a series of research propositions and questions that may contribute significantly to the body of knowledge surrounding the phenomenon of “deprojectification” and propose agenda for the future studies in the field of project management.

The study also carries significant managerial implications. Firstly, based on the insights from the practice of scaling agile in large corporate setting, management can build awareness of the challenges inherent of transitioning to agile practices. This may help to anticipate the possible problems and proactively develop strategies how to address them. Secondly, management can be instructed about contingencies inherent in scaling agile, along with the potential disfunctions and side effects (unintended outcomes) that may emerge during the transition process. Thirdly, project management practitioners can gain insights on how scaling agile may cause shifts in the approach to managing projects, project team management and competencies that need to be developed to cope with environments where various approaches to managing projects coexist.

These insights can aid in the agile transition process, beginning with directing managerial attention toward contextual factors and progressing through potential challenges at the organizational, top management, middle management and team levels. Furthermore, the study highlights possible dysfunctionalities and side effects of scaling agile, shedding light on the “dark side” of agile.

The study contributes to the expansion of the empirical database on the implementation of agile practices in large organizational settings. It plays a role in defining and delineating the phenomenon of scaling agile within the context of project management and outlines a research agenda for future project management studies. Additionally, our study adds to the ongoing discourse surrounding the “deprojectification” effect that can occur during the scaling of agile. Lastly, it establishes connections between project management and software development literature regarding the implementation of agile at scale.

Inter-organizational collaboration is the organizational guarantee and key link to achieve the goals of megaproject management. Project governance has always played an important role in the construction of megaprojects, but the relationship between project governance and organizational collaboration is unclear. The purpose of this study is to explore the role paths of different project governance mechanisms in influencing the collaborative behaviors of stakeholders and collaborative performance and to elucidate the mechanism of project governance on inter-organizational collaboration.

A conceptual framework was developed based on a comprehensive literature review, termed the structural equation model (SEM). The hypotheses of the model were tested based on data obtained from a questionnaire survey of 235 experts with experience in megaprojects within the construction industry in China.

The results show that project governance positively contributes to the collaborative behavior of megaproject stakeholders and the collaborative performance of the project team. Collaborative behavior acts as a partial mediator between project governance and the collaborative performance of the megaproject inter-organization alliance. The complexity of the project modulates the relationship between the governance mechanism of the project and the collaborative behavior of the stakeholders, which affects the collaborative performance of the megaproject inter-organization alliance.

The findings provide theoretical and practical implications for promoting positive collaborative behavior among stakeholders in megaproject selection and improving the collaborative performance of megaproject inter-organization alliances.

This paper examines how expert practitioners define project governance and develop a project governance system that enables strategy implementation through projects.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with project governance experts and analyzed the data using thematic analysis. Subsequently, based on the stratified ontology of critical realism, retroductive theoretical triangulation was employed to explain the themes identified using five emergent theoretical perspectives.

By integrating the themes extracted from the data with the emergent theoretical perspectives, a framework was developed outlining the general process through which practitioners make sense of the concept of project governance, formulate an appropriate project governance system for their respective organizations and manage its evolution over time. Furthermore, a holistic approach to project governance was proposed that spans the entire investment life cycle of projects and enables the implementation of strategy through projects.

This study attempts to make sense of the diverse interpretations of the concept of project governance adopted by practitioners. It further summarizes valuable insights from expert practitioners for formulating and enacting effective project governance systems.

This study contributes to the governance-as-practice perspective and the growing stream of literature that views projects as investments. The project governance system is positioned as the steward of an organization's investments in projects.

Project-based organizations (PBOs) face challenges to enhance employee work engagement because of dynamic and constant role configuration. Accordingly, this study aims to explore how ethical leadership enhances employee work engagement from a sensemaking perspective.

This study used a questionnaire-based quantitative research design to collect data from 194 full-time employees in PBOs. The data were analyzed via partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique to test hypotheses.

The findings show a positive relationship between ethical leadership and work engagement. Additionally, the relationship between ethical leadership and work engagement is mediated by two sensemaking mechanisms, i.e. goal commitment and prosocial.

This study deepens the understanding of how ethical leadership enhances work engagement in PBOs by providing two sensemaking mechanisms. By exploring the sensemaking process through which ethical leaders help employees construct identity, the findings contribute to the current literature on how ethical leadership enhances work engagement in PBOs.

The purpose of this study is to examine the critical failure factors (CFFs) linked to various types of process improvement (PI) projects such as Kaizen, Lean, Six Sigma, Lean Six Sigma and Agile. Proposing a mitigation framework accordingly is also an aim of this study.

This research undertakes a systematic literature review of 49 papers that were relevant to the scope of the study and that were published in four prominent databases, including Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science and EBSCO.

Further analysis identifies 39 factors that contribute to the failure of PI projects. Among these factors, significant emphasis is placed on issues such as “resistance to cultural change,” “insufficient support from top management,” “inadequate training and education,” “poor communication” and “lack of resources,” as primary causes of PI project failures. To address and overcome the PI project failures, the authors propose a framework for failure mitigation based on change management models. The authors present future research directions that aim to enhance both the theoretical understanding and practical aspects of PI project failures.

Through this study, researchers and project managers can benefit from well-structured guidelines and invaluable insights that will help them identify and address potential failures, leading to successful implementation and sustainable improvements within organizations.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper is the first study of its kind to examine the CFFs of five PI methodologies and introduces a novel approach derived from change management theory as a solution to minimize the risk associated with PI failure.

The aim of this study is to report and reflect on the development of a tailored executive education programme rooted in state-of-the-art research and focused on enhancing and embedding project leadership competences in a multi-national project-based organisation.

Through a detailed description of an example of a leadership development programme, the paper reflects on the learning journey. Drawing on research in management education, leadership and project management competence development, the authors present the rationale, design, delivery and participant and organisational experiences.

Reflections on the learning journey identify five key points: a) the fundamental role of a programme champion, b) the importance of balancing rigour and relevance in executive education programme design, c) the importance of attending to the milieu of the clientele in terms of culture, demands and where they are in terms of their learning journey, d) the significant role that reflection can play in personal development and e) the competences necessary for project leadership.

This paper reflects on a single programme for a single organisation and is therefore at risk of being idiosyncratic and not generalisable. This is indeed a limitation. However, the authors are all experienced in delivering executive education – and therefore can use those experiences to view the reflections. Many of the considerations noted here resonate with other programmes (both in support and through experience of omission having detrimental effects).

The paper provides new insights into developing enduring and effective leadership competences in complex project management, i.e. one that has a lasting impact on the organisation and is recognised to provide benefits. The reflections on how the authors charted a course and embarked on a journey are deemed of relevance to academics and industry.

The paper provides, for both industry practitioners and academics, new insights into effective leadership development in complex project management, one that has a lasting impact on the individual and the organisation and is recognised to provide benefits.

This study aims to further the understanding of multi-level analysis in inter-organisational relationships by investigating the interplay of governance, cooperation and coordination in inter-organisational projects (IOPs) on sub-system and project levels.

The authors use the Viable Systems Model as a framework to analyse inter-organisational project governance, cooperation and coordination by adopting a multiple-case study.

The findings illustrate how governance and coordination mechanisms exhibit a filter-down effect on lower sub-systems while cooperation influence is confined within each sub-system. While remarking the importance of specific sub-systems on the overall project performance, the interplay of governance, cooperation and coordination across sub-systems appears to be complex, with governance influencing cooperation and coordination, whereas cooperation and coordination influence each other with an incremental effect.

This study defines two propositions that explain how multiple levels of analysis (project and sub-systems) can support the governance of large inter-organisational projects. The authors elaborate theory on the interplay of inter-organisational project governance, cooperation and coordination.

Earned value management systems (EVMS), also called integrated project and program management systems, have been greatly examined in the literature, which has typically focused on their technical aspects rather than social. This study aims to hypothesize that improving both the technical maturity of EVMS and the social environment elements of EVMS applications together will significantly impact project performance outcomes. For the first time, empirical evidence supports a strong relationship between EVMS maturity and environment.

Data was collected from 35 projects through four workshops, attended by 31 industry practitioners with an average of 19 years of EVMS experience. These experts, representing 23 organizations, provided over 2,800 data points on sociotechnical integration and performance outcomes, covering projects totaling $21.8 billion. Statistical analyses were performed to derive findings on the impact of technical maturity and social environment on project success.

The results show statistically significant differences in cost growth, compliance, meeting project objectives and business drivers and customer satisfaction, between projects with high EVMS maturity and environment and projects with poor EVMS maturity and environment. Moreover, the technical and social dimensions were found to be significantly correlated.

Key contributions include a novel and tested performance-driven framework to support integrated project management using EVMS. The adoption of this detailed assessment framework by government and industry is driving a paradigm shift in project management of some of the largest and most complex projects in the U.S.; specifically transitioning from a project assessment based upon a binary approach for EVMS technical maturity (i.e. compliant/noncompliant to standards) to a wide-ranging scale (i.e. 0–1,000) across two dimensions.

This research explores project manager (PM) behavior in their professional virtual communities (PVCs), using social identity theory as a theoretical foundation. The purpose is to examine the extent to which PMs seek information on key topics in the Project Management Body of Knowledge Guide (PMBoK).

A text data analytics methodology that uses quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques is followed. The research method reveals relationships in language-based data gathered from six project management forums and blogs.

Information related to all the PMBoK topics is sought in the project management virtual communities. People management topics account for a dominant portion of interactions. The findings enhance social identification theorizing for the PM role. From a practical standpoint, the findings shed light on focal areas for greater emphasis in PM PVCs.

Our people management finding constructively replicates existing findings via a large, global sample and strengthens calls for increased focus on people management matters in project management. As a result, we call for increased scholarly attention to people management in project management. Finally, we encourage pursuit of several research questions to enhance knowledge of PM information-seeking behavior.