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The aim of the article is to analyse HR devolution from HR departments to the line. Two important problems are addressed. The first problem concerns the disregard for the changes in line management that comes with HR devolution. The second problem addressed deals with the lack of studies of organisational contingencies.

The paper presents and analyses an in‐depth case study of a radically projected firm within the Tetra Park group where a new HR‐oriented management role has been created to replace the traditional line management role. Based on the case study findings, the paper elaborates on the new approach to line management and how a new management role is moulded in the context of project‐based organisations.

Based on literature studies, the paper identifies four key challenges for HRM in project‐based organisations that are critical for the development of the new approach to line management in such settings. Based on case study observations, it analyses the creation of a new management role – the so called “competence coach” – in project‐based organisation within the Tetra Park group. It argues that the new approach adopted points to the need of breaking out of traditional conceptions of line management, and of developing the concept of an HR‐oriented management role that is a legitimate player in the HR organisation of a firm.

The paper provides a rich case description of a project‐based firm in a HRM perspective. The descriptions and the analysis give practical as well as theoretical implications of HRM issues that arise in project‐based firms, and of changes in line management as a way of developing the capabilities to handle these issues.

This study aims to explore how project-based firms, which generally organize most of their work around temporary projects in discontinuous and fragmented types of business contexts, proactively formulate and implement digital transformation strategies under institutional pressures in a predigital era.

An exploratory case study was conducted in a large-scale construction company in China using multiple data collection methods, including semistructured interviews, documentation collection and observation.

An integrated framework is developed to conceptualize three key dimensions of digital transformation strategies of project-based firms: strategic adaptation for organization-environment fit through balancing the internal efficiency needs with the external legitimacy pressures; proactive business transformation through comprehensively managing the roles of digital technologies in optimizing defined business processes and fostering new business models; and delicate organizational transformation to integrate temporary project-level operation processes with ongoing firm-level business processes.

This study represents an exploratory effort to empirically investigate how project-based firms strategically organize complex digital transformation imperatives in their discontinuous and fragmented business contexts. The findings contribute to deepened understandings of how complex organizational and environmental contexts can be comprehensively managed for systemic business and organizational transformations to leverage the value of emerging digital technologies for project-based organizations.

Resource allocation is challenged by dynamic environments where changes are frequent. The purpose of this paper is to identify resource allocation challenges and practices in service units that perform both project and non-project activities in dynamic environments. Its goal is to show that top-down mechanisms of project resource allocation need to be replaced by or supplemented with mechanisms that are more flexible.

A qualitative comparative case study was conducted in two service units of two project-based firms. The main source of data consisted of semi-structured interviews with 17 service managers and staff members.

This study shows that resource allocation is not necessarily a top-down process at all, and the practices are context-dependent. Two more flexible approaches are revealed – hybrid resource allocation and bottom-up resource allocation – as examples of managing resource allocation in service units that engage in projects under uncertain conditions. The results of the analysis highlight prioritisation and adapting to change and delay as the main issues that managers face in allocating resources to different types of projects and service activities in dynamic environments.

The two target companies chosen for the qualitative research design limit the analysis to project-based firms in a business-to-business context. Further, the viewpoint of the service unit is central to the study. Studying project resource allocation in different organisational contexts and uncovering the perspectives of product development and delivery units would offer promising directions for future research.

The study reveals that in dynamic project settings such as service organisations, top-down mechanisms of resource allocation need to be accompanied by other, more flexible approaches to ensure the sufficient resourcing of projects and related services in dynamic environments. Companies need to establish practices for resource allocation changes that are caused by re-prioritising tasks and accommodating changes and delays in their project and service activities.

Compared to a top-down perspective taken in previous research, the study proposes a more flexible approach for resource allocation in constantly changing environments with different project and service activities. Previous studies have focussed on resource competition between projects, placing project managers in the central role for resource allocation. By contrast, this study discusses hybrid and bottom-up resource allocation, both of which involve broader personnel engagement in resource allocation tasks, drawing on the experience of all employees.

An emerging stream of literature has observed that project-based organizations rely increasingly on a network of collaborations originating from the ongoing process of creating and dissolving relationships that bring new project opportunities. Project-based networks are widespread in knowledge-intensive and creative industries, such as life-science and biotechnology, nanotechnology, and software, film, and music industry. This chapter examines the structural characteristics of project-based network-ties in German biotech. We focus on the consequences of local versus international network ties for the innovative success of German biotechnology firms. The findings of our longitudinal event history analysis indicate that the most valuable learning drivers are international research alliances and centrality within the international research network. Surprisingly, we do not find any local effects: neither the density of a local research cluster, nor its diversity or age is of significance. Our results shed new light on the relevance of international linkages for firms that are engaged in project-based learning networks.

This study aims to examine the association of knowledge-oriented leadership (KOL), knowledge management (KM) behaviour and innovation performance in project-based small and medium-sized enterprises. It investigates the moderation of goal-orientation in the relationship of KOL with knowledge-acquisition, transfer, documentation and application.

Data are collected from 215 employees in 32 small project-based software firms in Pakistan. Partial least square is used to test the hypotheses.

KOL is positively associated with KM behaviour and innovation performance. KM mediates the relationship of KOL and innovation performance. Furthermore, goal orientations play a moderating role in the relationship of KOL with knowledge acquisition, transfer and application activities.

This study extends the literature on knowledge-based dynamic capabilities, by examining the relationship of KOL, KM behaviour and project-based innovation performance. Investigating the moderation of goal-orientation in the relationship of KOL with KM behaviour is also an original contribution.

Members in the international joint ventures (IJVs) for high-speed rail (HSR) projects usually engage in coopetition interactions to create common benefits (CB) and simultaneously safeguard private benefits (PB). Previous studies of coopetition and performance using variance-based methods usually ignore the combinational influence of diverse coopetition constructs on performance, which can be effectively compensated by adopting a configuration perspective. Therefore, this research aims to ascertain various combinations of three coopetition constructs (coopetition relationship, coopetition capability and coopetition strategy) that lead to high IJVs’ performance through a configuration approach.

First, the research framework of coopetition configuration was established, and the key constructs were operationalized, which were validated by expert interviews. Then the information on 12 HSR IJVs was collected and quantified through nine rounds of interviews and a questionnaire survey. Later, the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was applied to explore what coopetition configurations benefit the CB or PB achievement.

Configuration results indicate that six coopetition configurations lead to CB outcome and seven configurations lead to PB outcome. Based on the results, coopetition contexts are divided into four categories: firm-based coopetition, project-based coopetition, firm-project-based coopetition and none-based coopetition. Then, a selection scheme for coopetition strategies in various contexts has been developed. The results also show that the core conditions mostly appear in the coopetition relationships and coopetition strategies dimensions, and the optimal coopetition strategies vary in different contexts.

This study enhances the theoretical understanding of coopetition in HSR IJVs and assists relative HSR industrialists, as well as the mega infrastructure project managers, in IJVs’ implementation. The configuration perspective of this paper also contributes to a systemic and holistic view of coopetition in HSR IJVs.

This study examines the variety of cooperative strategies used to organize the international co-production of motion pictures. Motion picture production is a high-goal singularity, project-based industry in which the structure of relationships between companies involved in cooperative strategies is highly visible. Working from existing theories of co-production and drawing on the strategic joint ventures literature, I examine archival data, first for evidence of the strategies predicted by theory, and then for project participation strategies that theory does not account for. I identify four strategies on the basis of the ways that firms participate in international co-productions. A large number of relatively short-lived firms enact strategies of supplying resources and skills to the persistent firms dominate the industry. Two types of persistent firms cooperate with both direct competitors and complementors but pursue different markets, whereas a third type avoids cooperation with peers. The observed strategies constitute a hierarchy of strategic roles, and thus demonstrate the complexity of strategic behavior involved in project-based production.

This paper aims to explore the ways innovation becomes enabled through knowledge management and sharing which has important implications for establishing and sustaining the culture of innovative thinking in project-based construction firms. This study adopts a reflective practitioner perspective to explore this relationship.

In total, 30 semi-structured interviews were conducted with the construction sector professionals whose roles are most relevant in the connection between innovation and knowledge management. Thematic analysis and cognitive mapping techniques were used to analyse the interview data.

The research findings indicate that due to the complexity of project-based construction firms, a more holistic approach to knowledge management and organisational learning at the firm level is required. This would enable a culture of continuous and coordinated knowledge flow that facilitates innovation and continuous improvement in project-based firms.

This paper has important implications for practising managers in project-based construction firms. By better understanding the ways organisational knowledge can be managed to become an enabler of innovation would allow to build and enhance firms’ innovative capabilities, individual and team competencies. There is a real need for innovation knowledge managers as formal job positions in the construction sector.

This study contributes to construction innovation and project management research and practice by providing insights into establishing and sustaining the culture of learning and innovative thinking.

There has been a growing interest in the field of strategic management to understand the relationship between the organizational capabilities of firms and (a) the direction of strategies pursued and (b) the impact on competitive performance. Much of this literature has been influenced by the resource-based view of the firm. As indicated in early formulations of this theory, one implication is that the organization of resources is equally important as the resources themselves. Accordingly, the organizational and integration of resources and knowledge can be viewed as a core facet of the organizational capabilities of firms that are difficult to imitate for competitors. This paper explores a particular kind of organization referred to as the “P-form corporation” (Project-Form), its organizational capabilities and options for strategic alternatives. The chapter addresses three broad questions: (1) What are the main characteristics of P-form corporations? (2) What are the capabilities acquired and developed by P-form corporations and how are these acquired? (3) How do these capabilities vary across different strategic alternatives in the P-form corporation? The chapter concludes with a discussion about the implications for strategy and management.

Construction is an information and knowledge driven industry. Construction firms all over the world are increasingly being challenged by high‐cost pressure, shortened project cycles and increasing competition. Within a business environment, where fast and reliable access to knowledge is a key success factor, the efficient handling of organisational knowledge is crucial. The purpose of this paper is to look at ways knowledge and expertise are managed in project‐based firms, based on three case studies. The knowledge management (KM) effort established in these cases studies is analysed. Finally, the findings from the case studies from the perspective of the construction firm are presented.

The research methodology of the study is that of interpretative case study and grounded theory based on a strong empirical foundation, on which new theoretical insight into KM as an autonomous action is developed. Case study research is one of the most widely‐used research designs in qualitative research. The grounded theory method develops theory from data collected through direct contact with research situations. The methodology looks at large, successful companies already using KM, which not typical companies, but which provide useful insights for others.

This paper analyses KM effort, based on three case studies and offers recommendations and insights for enhancing KM in construction firms.

Construction firms need to be aware of the advantages of KM initiatives and practices. KM requires an environment that allows workers to create, capture, share, and leverage knowledge to improve performance. Firms are increasingly utilizing interdisciplinary organisational structures in which employees share knowledge and expertise within and between groups in order to cope with complex tasks.

This paper presents the findings from case studies of three large, high‐performing project‐based firms, involving exploratory, open‐ended interviews with managers at various levels, and identifies key KM implementation issues in construction firms; it also provides valuable insights and recommendations for enhancing the capture, sharing and use of corporate knowledge assets.