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1 – 10 of over 149000Habeeb Kusimo, Lukumon Oyedele, Olugbenga Akinade, Ahmed Oyedele, Sofiat Abioye, Alirat Agboola and Naimah Mohammed-Yakub
The purpose of this paper is to identify challenges faced in resource management in the UK construction industry and to propose some solutions to these problems.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify challenges faced in resource management in the UK construction industry and to propose some solutions to these problems.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a qualitative research methodology, 14 experts from the UK construction industry were chosen to be participants in the study. The participants were equally divided into two focus groups to discuss resource management using five projects as case studies. Thematic analysis of the discussion reveals seven key factors that affect resource management.
Findings
The results show that most of the problems identified are due to poor data management processes and the practice of having data in silos. Overcoming this challenge requires the adoption of big data approaches for resource management to allow the integration of large and different forms of data.
Originality/value
This study seeks to bring to the fore challenges faced in resource management by the UK construction industry and to outline some solutions to address them.
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Pierre Hadaya, Luc Cassivi and Chahinaze Chalabi
The purpose of this paper is to identify the most important IT project management resources and capabilities, and rank them according to the extent to which they are valuable…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the most important IT project management resources and capabilities, and rank them according to the extent to which they are valuable, rare and inimitable.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a Delphi methodology, the data collection process was conducted with the collaboration of members of academia and professionals with expertise in IT project management.
Findings
The top ten most important resources/capabilities in IT project management were identified, the majority of which were capabilities; 80 per cent of the identified resources/capabilities were the same in the panel comprised of members of academia and the panel of professionals. Results showed that the two most valuable, rare and inimitable IT project management resources/capabilities were: the capability to understand and manage the needs, expectations, priorities and interests of project stakeholders; and the firm's capability to align IT projects to the strategy and business objectives of the organization.
Practical implications
This research guides managers in the development of key IT project management intangible resources/capabilities.
Originality/value
By simultaneously identifying a bundle of important IT project management resources/capabilities, evaluating the extent to which each resource/capability is valuable, rare and inimitable as well as displaying coherence between the results from the different steps of the Delphi method, the resources/capabilities identified in this study are likely to be those few that actually can influence the competitive advantage of the firm. Also, by demonstrating the less important role played by IT resources/capabilities, this study demonstrates that project management is a field of its own.
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The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual framework to classify project management resources as sources of competitive advantage.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual framework to classify project management resources as sources of competitive advantage.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on the resource‐based view of the firm and project management literature to explore the level of competitive advantage from 17 project management resources based on their degree of complexity and level of leverage in the project management process. This exploratory study drew on a small sample of practitioners in the classification.
Findings
The paper proposes a conceptual model to show the relationship between four categories of resources and their contribution to competitive advantage by being valuable, rare, inimitable, and organizationally supported.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is exploratory in nature and uses a small sample of practitioners.
Practical implications
The authors believe that the classification of project management resources based on complexity and leverage provides a useful framework for managers considering the impact of investment in these resources for competitive advantage.
Originality/value
This paper provides a classification of project management resources based on the complexity of the resource and its leverage in the project management process. It is posited that resources that are complex and can be highly leveraged to develop further resources warrant attention as sources of competitive advantage.
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This paper provides a case study of a previously unresearched industry, Engineering Process Plant Contracting, it examines how a project management firm responded to heightened…
Abstract
This paper provides a case study of a previously unresearched industry, Engineering Process Plant Contracting, it examines how a project management firm responded to heightened competitive pressures through a process of entrepreneurial innovation. A key component in this focused on the corporate human resource function as a full business partner in project management and its contribution to the “bottom line”, a clear recognition of its positive strategic significance. The evidence suggests that prevailing competitive conditions determine the nature and direction of HRM’s strategic integration with a firms entrepreneurial goals. Where cost reduction strategies prevail the function is likely to institutionalize entrepreneurial goals determined elsewhere. Where cost containment and the reduction of internal inefficiencies prevail a more positive integration between the function and the firms entrepreneurial goals is necessary.
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Gita Mathur, Kam Jugdev and Tak Shing Fung
The purpose of this paper is to examine characteristics of project management assets and project management performance outcomes as a step towards exploring the link between…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine characteristics of project management assets and project management performance outcomes as a step towards exploring the link between assets being valuable, rare, inimitable, and having organizational support and the achievement of competitive advantage.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper analyzes data from responses to an online survey by 198 North American Project Management Institute® members. Exploratory factor analysis is used to identify characteristics of project management assets and project management performance outcomes.
Findings
In total, six factors that comprised the characteristics of project management assets, three factors that comprised organizational support for project management assets, and two factors that comprised the project management performance outcomes were extracted.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations of this study include sample size, response rate, and self‐report bias, calling for a larger sample in ongoing research. This study is a step towards making the link between project management assets and performance outcomes.
Practical implications
This study draws managerial attention to project management assets as sources of competitive advantage, applying the resource based view of the firm that assets are sources of competitive advantage if they add economic value, are rare, are difficult to imitate, and have organizational support.
Originality/value
Few papers have applied the resource based view of the firm to examine project management capabilities as a source of competitive advantage. This paper contributes to the literature on the resource based view of the firm and contributes to an improved understanding of project management as a source of competitive advantage.
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Adonai Lacruz and Everton Cunha
The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of project management offices (PMO) in non-governmental organizations (NGOs), in fundraising linked to projects, under the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of project management offices (PMO) in non-governmental organizations (NGOs), in fundraising linked to projects, under the theoretical lens of the resource-based view.
Design/methodology/approach
Through a longitudinal analysis ex post facto study in a non-profit civil association, the authors examined by Mann-Whitney’s U tests the results before (2003-2008) and after (2009-2014) PMO implementation, to check if the office moderated the relationship between project management and fundraising for projects.
Findings
Mann-Whitney’s U tests showed that PMO had, in those periods, a statistically significant influence in increasing the number of projects and decreasing the mean value of their budgets (p-value<0.05).
Originality/value
Despite the wide range of studies on the contribution of PMOs to internal project management, there is a lack of empirical evidence on their moderation capacity, especially in NGOs. To fill this research gap, this study investigates the moderating role of PMO in NGOs, by examining their performance on fundraising processes, to contribute to a better understanding of potential PMO effects, particularly as a moderator of the relationship between project management and projects’ fundraising.
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Kam Jugdev, Gita Mathur and Tak Fung
The purpose of this paper is to study how project-level performance mediates the effect of project management assets on firm-level performance by examining the direct and mediated…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study how project-level performance mediates the effect of project management assets on firm-level performance by examining the direct and mediated relationships between the project management process characteristics: valuable, rare, inimitable and organizationally supported on project-level and firm-level performance outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper analyzes data from an online survey completed by 198 North American Project Management Institute® members. Linear regression and Sobel Tests are used to examine the relationships between nine factors extracted from an exploratory factor analysis that comprise project management asset characteristics, one factor that comprises project-level performance outcomes, and one factor that comprises firm-level performance outcomes.
Findings
Not only does project-level performance positively and significantly affect firm-level performance, but project-level performance also significantly mediates the effect of project management asset characteristics (for all nine factors) on firm performance.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations of this study include sample size and self-report bias, calling for a larger sample in ongoing research.
Practical implications
This study contributes to the stream of literature on project management assets as sources of competitive advantage and makes the case for sustained organizational investments in the project management process.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the limited, but increasing interest in applying the resource-based view of the firm to project management capabilities as a source of competitive advantage.
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The purpose of this paper is to offer and explore innovative strategies for building and sustaining digital initiatives at information organizations. Although the examples…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to offer and explore innovative strategies for building and sustaining digital initiatives at information organizations. Although the examples provided are based on case studies at an academic library, the practices are rooted in project management principles and therefore applicable to all library types, museums, archives and other information organizations. The innovative strategies on staffing and funding will be particularly useful to organizations faced with monetary and staffing shortages and highlights collaborative management practices.
Design/methodology/approach
Concept of strategic and collaborative management practices led by an experienced project manager cross-trained in management, technical and soft skills enables the successful development and sustainability of digital initiatives. A cross-trained librarian’s management practices of leading the Digital Scholarship Initiatives at a particular university will be examined as a case study and aided with literature supporting the need for digital initiatives leaders to have training beyond the credentials of librarian, curator, archivist or historian in the technologically savvy twenty-first century ecology of information centers.
Findings
The innovative strategies implemented in the case study yielded increases in the number of hours of digital lab usage, digital projects developed, seminars or workshops presented, attendance of library hosted events, number of programs implemented and awareness on campus, all with limited staff and funding. The variety and level of production and marketing is instrumental to the growth and sustainability of digital initiatives.
Practical implications
The innovative strategies emphasized in this paper use the concept of borrowed or shared time to start staffing needs and is particularly helpful to organizations that do not have a strong line of dedicated staffing or funding to begin building digital initiatives. Offers small ways to start immediately while setting the stage to plan for big ideas for the future.
Originality/value
This paper suggests a credentialed information expert, such as a librarian, archivist or curator, that is, also cross-trained in project management and technology is the key to not only successfully leading digital initiatives but is instrumental for its sustainability and the marketing, growth and future of digital initiatives.
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Ana Azevedo, Kam Jugdev and Gita Mathur
This research draws on the resource-based view of the firm from strategic management and applies it to a study of competitive advantage in the project management context. The…
Abstract
Purpose
This research draws on the resource-based view of the firm from strategic management and applies it to a study of competitive advantage in the project management context. The relationship between the characteristics of project management resources, focusing on organizational support for the project management process, and outcomes of the project management process are examined.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses data gathered from 437 North American project management professionals with an existing survey tool that was used in a prior smaller sample study. The study uses Barney’s VRIO framework that assesses resources as valuable (V), rare (R), inimitable (I) and organizationally supported to leverage their value (O). The conceptual model hypothesizes relationships between the project management asset characteristics (valuable, rare, and inimitable), organizational support for the project management process, and project management performance outcomes (both project and firm level). Hypotheses are tested using factors extracted from a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The factors extracted include two factors representing valuable project management asset characteristics, one factor representing rare project management asset characteristics, one factor representing inimitable project management asset characteristics, two factors representing organizational support for the project management process, one factor representing project-level performance and one factor representing firm-level performance.
Findings
Project management assets that are considered valuable and organizational support for the project management process are found to contribute positively to project management process outcomes. No advantage was perceived from rare and inimitable project management assets. Project-level performance was found to significantly mediate the relationship between organizational support and firm-level performance.
Practical implications
This study draws managerial attention to organizational support for the project management process as a source of competitive advantage through its positive affect on both project-as well as firm-level performance.
Originality/value
The study uses a survey tool from previous research with a new, larger dataset to contribute to the understanding of the importance of organizational support for the project management process in a quest for both project success as well as a firm's competitive advantage.
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Gita Mathur, Kam Jugdev and Tak Shing Fung
The aim of this paper is to examine the links between project management process characteristics and project-level and firm-level performance outcomes to test the hypotheses that…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to examine the links between project management process characteristics and project-level and firm-level performance outcomes to test the hypotheses that project management assets being valuable, rare, inimitable and having organizational support leads to competitive advantage.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper analyzes data from responses to an online survey by 198 North American Project Management Institute® members. Regression analysis is used to examine the relationship between six factors extracted from an exploratory factor analysis that comprise the three project management asset characteristics – valuable, rare and inimitable, three factors that comprise organizational support for the project management process, and two factors that comprise project management performance outcomes – project-level and firm-level performance.
Findings
Organizational support for the project management process, specifically project management integration, was found to significantly contribute to both project-level and firm-level performance. Of the asset factors examined, valuable project management knowledge was found to contribute to project-level and firm-level performance, though information technology (IT) tools did not. Inimitable proprietary tangible assets were found to contribute to both project-level and firm-level performance, and inimitable embedded intangible assets were also found to contribute to firm-level performance. Rare knowledge sharing tools and techniques were found to negatively contribute to project-level performance.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations of this study include sample size, response rate and self-report bias, calling for a larger sample in ongoing research.
Practical implications
This study draws managerial attention to project management assets as sources of competitive advantage, highlighting the need to have organizational support for the project management process through organizational integration, and emphasizing the importance of valuable project management knowledge-based assets and inimitable project management assets that are proprietary and tangible as well as those that are embedded and intangible.
Originality/value
Few papers have applied the resource-based view of the firm to examine project management capabilities as a source of competitive advantage. This paper contributes to the literature on the resource-based view of the firm and to an improved understanding of project management as a source of competitive advantage.
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