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The study aims to provide suggestions for project-based firms (PBFs) to create value through the development of social capital, collaborative environment and organisational learning (exploratory & exploitative learning). In this regard, a conceptual model is proposed that examines the interrelations between social capital, collaborative environment and exploratory & exploitative learning in the context of PBFs.

A semi-systematic literature review focussed on interrelations between social capital, exploratory & exploitative learning and collaborative environment was undertaken. Top ranked journals and highly relevant journal articles in the management domain were considered for the review. To analyse literature, the content analysis technique incorporating NVIVO 12 software was adopted.

Conceptual model suggests that social capital positively affects exploratory & exploitative learning through collaborative environment in PBFs. Three dimensions of social capital (network ties, trust and shared goals) create collaborative environment and collaborative environment enhances organisational learning in PBFs across different levels. Ultimately, social capital, collaborative environment and exploratory & exploitative learning contribute to value creation in PBFs.

Although the relationship between social capital and exploratory & exploitative learning has been researched previously, findings remain inconsistent. This study provides an alternative perspective to discuss this relationship with the proposed mediating construct: collaborative environment. Considering the context of PBFs, a conceptual model was developed to explain the interrelations between social capital, collaborative environment and learning. This study especially discusses collaborative environment as a value creation factor.

In the era of hyper-competitiveness, firms, especially project-based management structures, have to focus on ideas for both new and existing sets of products and services, i.e. ambidextrous innovation. The ambidextrous innovation can be helpful, but achieving such a level is a problem to be solved. This study aims to yield ambidextrous innovation by using innovative culture and knowledge that has been gained from learning.

The present research collected data from Saudi Arabian public-sector firms. The data collected is analyzed using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

The findings of the study suggest that a range of factors can be operationalized in project-based firms to establish organizational learning and innovation culture. These factors include agile-based project management, leveraging existing innovative capabilities and growth mindset in case of innovative organizational culture and additional factors of agile-based knowledge management along with others in case of organizational learning. The PLS-SEM further concluded that both organizational learning and innovative organizational culture, in turn, help project-based Saudi Arabian public-sector firms to develop their ambidextrous innovation capability.

The PLS-SEM further concluded that both the organizational learning and innovative organizational culture, in turn, help project-based Saudi Arabian public-sector firms to develop their ambidextrous innovation capability.

In today’s knowledge-based economy, knowledge networks (KN) increasingly are becoming vital channels for pursuing strategic objectives in project-based organizations (PBO), in which the project is the basic organizational element in its operation. KN initiatives often are started with the selection of a creation methodology, which involves complex decisions for successful implementation. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to address this critical selection of methodology and proposes a holistic framework for selecting an appropriate methodology in this kind of flatter, speedier, and more flexible organizational form.

In the first step, the study established a theoretical background addressing the problem of KN creation in PBO. The second step defined selection criteria based on extensive literature review. In the third step, a holistic framework was constructed based on different characteristics of existing methodologies categorized according to the selected criteria. Finally, the suggested framework was empirically tested in a project-based firm and the case study and the results are discussed.

A holistic framework was determined by including different aspects of a KN such as network perspectives, tools and techniques, objectives, characteristics, capabilities, and approaches. The proposed framework consisted of ten existing KN methodologies that consider qualitative and quantitative dimensions with micro and macro approaches.

The development of the theory of KN creation methodology is the main contribution of this research. The selection framework, which was theoretically and empirically grounded, has attempted to offer a more rational and less ambiguous solution to the KN methodology selection problem in PBO forms.

The authors argue that the construction industry is characterised by a fragmented business context with three main features: the project-based character, the strong focus on price in all parts of the supply chain along with the great importance of suppliers. This fragmentation has been identified as problematic for the industry’s ability to innovate and engage in renewal. The purpose of this paper is to investigate this further by focusing on how construction companies manage renewal in a fragmented business context.

The authors use an in-depth case study of a housing project in Sweden to discuss how firms manage renewal in a fragmented type of business environment. The authors identify the challenge of achieving renewal in an individual construction company as an issue of handling intra- and inter-organisational issues in both intra- and inter-project environments.

The case study indicates that renewal can be partly handled and managed through long-term business relationships and partly through opening up to new business relationships. Moreover, innovations and learning developed in other projects can be used in the focal project, and due to a repetitive task it is possible for the construction company to use a core network of individuals and organisations to enhance overall renewal among actors.

The study needs to be supported by further empirical observations. The paper encourages IMP scholars to further investigate projects from an industrial network approach.

The study shows that the internal resources of firms can be used systematically to create continuity in a multi-project organisation, and that relationships can be used to bridge learning and innovation among actors across projects.

The paper addresses why firms in fragmented (project-based) businesses might struggle with achieving renewal in a novel way by outlining and investigating four organisational challenges they must handle.

This theoretical paper aims to develop a model of how best to facilitate projects knowledge sharing within architectural firms to learn from lessons and improve the firm innovation capabilities, knowledge and skills.

A conceptual framework is developed by reviewing the literature in the fields of knowledge management (KM), the project-based organisation and communities of practice (CoPs) and linking these to the literature on the architectural firm.

In the architectural firm, KM strategy needs to be linked to the overall business strategy determining the balance of codification/personalisation. The firm needs to be structured as a double-knit organisation connecting projects with CoPs. This structure creates a social network that allows sharing the useful and innovative knowledge created through the design process. Success depends on building a knowledge environment, providing organisational support and building a learning architecture within projects. A balanced combination of information and communication technologies, lessons-learned, storytelling, conversational learning and dialogue are needed as knowledge sharing methods.

This paper's originality is in constructing a conceptual framework or model for knowledge sharing within the architectural firm with CoPs at the heart of that model. This paper is valuable to any architectural practice that aims to protect its reputation, improve its performance and increase its innovative knowledge base. It is also valuable to the construction industry by helping to minimise design mistakes and the consequent cost of construction rework.

This paper aims to prove that alliances in the construction industry can be used as vehicles to achieve sustainable competitive advantage.

The paper first sets out a theoretical proposition through a literature review and synthesis, then details an empirical case study in the construction industry to investigate the theoretical proposition.

The findings indicate the existence of the “project based mindset”, within the working practices of the different players in construction alliances. This overly narrow project focus constrains the process of achieving sustainable competitive advantage for alliances.

This research, in broad terms, provides insights on the value of long‐term orientated collaboration in construction alliances and specifically target practitioners by identifying benefits of balancing alliance tasks and activities among senior executives and project managers in an appropriate way.

The paper makes an original contribution to the general body of knowledge on alliances and specifically to construction alliances by identifying the core value addition in the process of long‐term orientated collaboration so that the processes are carefully designed, interpreted and nurtured in practice. Also, recommends initiatives by the alliance management to redesign tasks and activities such that collaboration becomes part‐and‐parcel of senior executives and project managers’ daily routine, rather than considering collaborative encounters as extra activities that need “slack” time.

The purpose of this study is to address the problematic yet under-researched issue of the disconnectedness of the temporary and permanent levels of organisation in project-based firms in terms of learning and innovation diffusion.

The paper is based on a longitudinal case study of a pioneering French construction firm introducing the partnering method in France. Based on an abductive approach, the analytical framework combines insights of the literature on community and networks of practice to investigate the processes and mechanisms of diffusion of innovation in project-based firms.

The function of semi-permanent organisational levels in connecting the temporary and permanent levels of the firm – the communities of practice (CoPs) and network of practice (NoP) exists besides the formal organization of the firm. As a social learning process, innovation diffusion involves both formal (i.e. vertical) and informal (i.e. horizontal) forms of organising and learning. Intermediary and informal ways of organising enables the embedding of innovation both in terms of content and connections. Foremost, CoPs/NoPs contribute to relational embeddedness. Boundary actors and objects are essential in crossing the different levels of embeddedness to overcome the learning boundaries between temporary projects and the permanent firm.

The investigation is built on a single case study and further empirical research is needed, preferably longitudinal case studies, as this allows greater capture of the diffusion process. The authors suggest further studies using practice-based perspectives to capture the formal and informal ways of organising innovation diffusion.

Managerial interventions should favour the development of the informal dynamics of community and networks to foster both innovation and its diffusion. The managerial challenge lies in creating the right prerequisites for the existence of both the informal community logics of organising and the formal top management decision-making, and to orchestrate their timing in the diffusion process.

The study reveals the importance of both formal and informal networks in driving innovation. As such, project-based firms should be aware of these dynamics when striving for change.

The study contributes to the literatures on diffusion of innovation, project marketing and construction management. It includes new insights related to the function of intermediary and informal organisational levels of project-based organisations, the dynamics and connection between the temporary and permanent levels of the project-based firm related to communities and networks of practice, and the boundary spanning activities that are involved between the formal and informal levels of the firm.

The purpose of this paper is to use an organizational design perspective to determine the scope of the state-of-the art of research into project-based organizations.

The paper follows a structured framework-based literature review approach. It uses an analytical framework from the organization design literature to assess 177 papers relevant to the design of the project-based organization that were published in four leading PM journals between 2008 and 2015. The authors determine which elements of organization design are covered in each paper and identify specific research themes for each of the element emerging from the literature. Finally, the authors examine the degree to which interdependencies among separate elements are addressed in the literature and discuss the most holistic papers in more details.

The results show that the literature on project-based organizations downplays broader organizational issues (such as organizational strategy, incentive schemes and performance management systems) while emphasizing research agenda inherited from research on single project management. In addition, the study highlights limited attention in the literature to the interdependence between separate design choices. Finally, it develops a research framework to map current themes in the literature and their relative importance and discusses a prospective research agenda.

Academic implications stem from looking at the project management literature from a fresh theoretical perspective and putting project-based organization as a whole in the focus. There is a great research potential in studying organization-wide aspects and interdependencies between various organization design choices in project-based organizations.

Reflective practitioners could benefit from a wider view on the project-based organization and its design. They could also use the developed framework in management discussions.

The paper offers a novel way of conceptualizing research on project-based organizations by linking it to an established stream within the field of organization theory and design.

Agile project management methods gain increasing attention of practitioners while they often remain neglected by scholarly research. Specifically, there is little known about how performance factors of agile firms differ from those of traditional firms. Scholars argue that these factors often relate to a firm’s human resource management (HRM). This study aims to analyze and compare the HRM architectures in agile and traditional project-based organizations that lead to high firm performance.

The authors apply fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis on data of 154 project-based organizations of diverse professional service industries in Russia.

This study’s findings suggest that HRM architectures of high-performance agile firms imply a broad use of ability-, motivation- and opportunity-enhancing practices and a high degree of HRM process centralization, while traditional firms adopt more diverse HRM architectures.

Based on this study’s results, the authors stress the importance of ensuring a good fit between a company’s project management approach and HRM architecture. The revealed configurations may also provide guidance for practitioners on designing effective HRM architectures in project-based organizations.

Projects almost invariably involve a variety of diversely skilled people from different national, organisational, and professional cultural backgrounds. These people come together for a specific period of time to accomplish certain unique, unpredictable, and complex objectives. These distinctive characteristics mean that project‐based firms require a particular approach to knowledge management (KM) and learning activities that differs significantly from prevailing strategies. This paper aims to explore the way in which these distinctive cultural issues (national, organisational, and professional) influence KM in project‐based firms.

The paper first looks at the general issues of KM and the “learning organisation”. Second, the study discusses the more specific issue of KM in project‐based firms. Third, the paper explores national, organisational, and professional cultures in the context of project‐based business. Finally, the paper draws the three preceding sections together to discuss the managerial implications of dealing with cultural issues in fostering KM in project‐based firms.

It is apparent that culture has a most significant influence on the KM capability of an organisation. The moral and budgetary support of senior management is essential for the success of any KM plan in project‐based business.

This paper puts forward a conceptually grounded argument by stressing on cultural complexities to KM and learning in project environments. The key cultural issues highlighted here need to be empirically tested in future studies.

At the organisational level, people and processes must be the first priority for project managers who wish to nurture a “KM culture” in project‐based business. At the team level, the project manager can help to create a team culture conducive to KM by transmitting appropriate values and beliefs to the team members.

The paper helps practitioners and academics to understand the complexities of cultural issues during KM initiatives in the context of improving project performance.