25 years of ‘sustainable projects’. What we know and what the literature says

Last few years have seen a huge increase of publications at the intersection of project management and sustainability. Nevertheless, this field has become increasingly fragmented undermining a steady and consistent development. Aiming at balancing tensions between authors' attempts for more ‘integration’ and the trajectories toward fragmentation, we employed an extensive, systematic literature review of 770 publications from the period 1993 to 2017. Therefore, this review offers guidance to scholars less familiar with this concept who encounter SPM in their research.We suggest that the SPM literature can be understood by answering the following questions: (1) Why adopt sustainable business practices into projects? (2) What is the impact of sustainability on traditional project management practices? And (3) how is sustainability embedded in project practices?The three narrative themes illustrate the diverse views on the different aspects of SPM, allowing divergences, such as different philosophical underpinnings or levels of analysis, to flourish without eroding the clarity of the field.     

Organisational capabilities and project organising research

The past two decades have seen a growing scholarly focus on applying concepts and theories from the strategic management field to explain how project-based organisations initiate and deliver projects. In this study, we focus on the increasing application of the concept of organisational capabilities. We employ a semi-systematic literature review to investigate how the capability-based view has been adopted and adapted in the context of project organising research. The findings are first presented through traditional quantitative measures. Selected articles are then categorised in accordance to how theoretically grounded they are, and are further divided into three main research themes: capability identification, capability development, and capability and performance. On the basis of these themes, we synthesise what we see as key issues in progressing capability research in the project organising domain; and provide suggestions for how future research can be developed in order to make broader theoretical contributions, whilst also remaining practically relevant.     

Measuring project team performance: A review and conceptualization

Performance measurement has been a central topic of study in project management research for many years. However, the literature on project team performance measurement is fragmented and underdeveloped. To address these limitations, we conducted a systematic literature review aimed at organizing the state-of-the art, providing a better conceptualization of project team performance measurement, and strengthening theory in the field. We used an inductive approach to synthesize the literature and, building upon the performance measurement design literature and the Input-Mediator-Outcome (IMO) model of team effectiveness, we propose a theoretical framework that organizes project team performance measures around two axes: the nature of performance (i.e., efficiency or effectiveness), and the nature of the measure (i.e., tangible or intangible). By combining these two axes, we propose a 2 × 2 performance measurement structure composed of four dimensions: (1) project team processes, (2) project team emergent states, (3) project team tangible outcomes, and (4) project team perceptual benefits. Our study advances theory by offering a comprehensive and integral understanding of project team performance measurement and providing an evidence-based framework that could help practitioners improve the design of performance measurement systems for project teams.     

Shared leadership in project teams: An integrative multi-level conceptual model and research agenda

Shared leadership has rarely been studied in the project management context, despite its proven performance-enhancing benefits in other management domains. Based on a systematic review of the salient literature from multiple disciplines, this paper develops a new multi-level conceptual model to advance a holistic understanding of how shared leadership develops and how it may impact individual, team, project and wider organisational performance. The conceptual model draws upon the input-mediator-output-input perspective of systems theory, which is well-established in the general team literature. The new integrative model identifies the potential multi-level antecedents, proximal team functioning outcomes, and the more distal multi-level outcomes of shared leadership based on findings from the shared leadership literature drawn largely from other domains. Potential boundary conditions of the model are identified. A future research agenda is recommended for empirically testing the new multi-level shared leadership model and its different elements in a diverse range of project contexts.     

Project team resilience: The effect of group potency and interpersonal trust

Project teams are likely to work under a high degree of stress and interpersonal demands that usually diminish performance. The ability of a team to prosper in these adverse conditions has been studied using the construct of team resilience, but there is still little knowledge about the determinants of team resilience in a project-based environment. Therefore, we propose a model in which interpersonal trust (i.e., cognition and affect-based trust) and group potency drive the perception of team resilience in project team members. We tested the model in a sample of 214 construction project management team members belonging to 50 teams. Our results suggest that affect-based trust and group potency mediate the relationship between cognition-based trust and project team resilience. We discuss the implications of these results for research on project team resilience and, more generally, how these findings could help enrich the literature on project management.     

Governing projects under complexity: theory and practice in project management

In this paper we argue that the fledgling field of project and program governance has the potential to make a major scholarly and practical contribution. One that not only has the potential to mainstream project management within the broader business and management field, but to also cement its place as a dominant voice in the successful governance of the strategic intentions of organizations, societies, and nations. With this argument in mind three themes organize present discussion in this issue of International Journal of Project Management: the first concerns how we should make sense of governance, something that is clarified through a review of the current state of play in the literature; the second theme comprises papers that report research conducted on governance in projects, using insights from surveys, case studies and other systematic forms of empirical observation. The third theme focuses on theoretical models of governance, ranging from distributed knowledge management and learning perspectives on project governance to systems engineering approaches. While we do not claim that this issue is exhaustive, we do believe it provides a sign post about the current state of play, and the potential future of governance in project and program management as a mainstream domain of research, theory and practice.     

Multi-level project governance: Trends and opportunities

Project governance is important in ensuring successful project delivery. In this article we conduct a systematic investigation of previous research to provide a content-driven review of the literature, and to provide future research direction. We use the textual data mining software Leximancer to identify dominant concepts and themes underlying project governance research. Our findings indicate that agency and stakeholder theories have been adapted to the project governance context to a greater extent than other theories. Furthermore, we find differences in project governance research, published in project management journals compared to general management, IT and engineering journals. We conclude the paper by presenting a framework that links governance theories to the multiple organizational levels relevant to project governance.     

情商视角下项目经理领导风格对项目绩效的影响研究

作为一种关键软实力,情商对领导行为及组织绩效的作用已受到广泛关注。为了研究情商、领导行为和项目绩效三者之间的影响路径,在工程背景下,重新定义了项目经理情商、领导风格及项目绩效的维度,构建出"项目经理情商-领导风格-项目绩效"的中介效应关系模型。运用SPSS软件进行实证研究,验证出转换型和积极交易型领导风格在情商与项目整体绩效、各参与方满意度的作用中起完全中介作用,在与多元化目标关系中起部分中介作用;消极交易型在情商与多元化目标、各参与方满意度的作用中起部分中介作用,在与项目整体绩效关系中无中介作用;放任型在情商与项目绩效的作用中无中介作用。同时,情商维度如团队管理等对领导风格及项目绩效的积极作用,对工程项目管理及项目经理的选择有指导意义。     

Development of a conceptual team integration performance index for alliance projects

Project alliancing, also known as collaborative contracting, is designed to foster integration practice between multidisciplinary teams involved in delivering construction projects. If continuous improvement in project alliances is to be achieved through the use of integrated teams, a means of assessing how well teams integrate and how that integration changes over time needs to be introduced. As part of a wider study to develop an assessment tool for team integration in road construction alliance projects, key indicators (KIs) are identified for measuring team integration practice. It is necessary to identify not only the relevant KIs, but also which indicators are dominant, thereby focusing the attention of owners and non-owner participants (NOPs) on those that will have the greatest impact on alliance team integration. Seventeen experienced road construction alliance practitioners participated in four rounds of a Delphi questionnaire to identify the KIs. The resulting seven team integration practice KIs were: team leadership; trust and respect; a single team focus on project objectives and key result areas (KRAs); collective understanding; commitment from project alliance board; creation of single and co-located alliance team; and free flow communication. A conceptual alliance team integration performance index (ATIPI) was then developed based on the identified KIs and their relative significance. The ATIPI takes the form of a linear additive weighting model, consisting of a measure for each of the identified KIs and a corresponding weighting coefficient, identified as part of this research. A linear additive weighting model is considered appropriate based on the lack of correlation between the KIs, thus suggesting that they can be considered as independent variables in the ATIPI. The measures for each KI will be determined as part of future research and will result in a fully working model for the ATIPI.     

Resilience and creative problem-solving capacities in project teams: A relational view

Teams often struggle with their assigned projects and evidence indicates relatively limited project success. Recent research advanced a behavioral perspective to the study of the variance in project performance. We seek to advance this literature by developing and testing a dual-pathway model of project performance. Specifically, we expand on relational coordination theory to suggest that teams can enhance their project performance through two knowledge creation mechanisms – access to knowledge and experiential learning – which underpin resilience and creative problem solving. Results of time-lagged data from project teams indicate that high quality relationships between team members facilitate both experiential learning and access to knowledge, which in turn are positively related to team resilience. Team resilience, in turn, is indirectly related to project performance, through creative problem solving. We advance the extant literature of project management by enhancing our understanding of how relationally coordinated project teams develop capabilities – resilience and creative problem solving – and improve their project performance.     

Risk perceptions and approaches in multi-organizations: A research review 2000–2012

Shared risks and opportunities set specific premises for risk management (RM) in temporary multi-organizations (TMOs). However, most project RM research is presented from the perspective of a single-organizational project delivery team or covers limited risk perceptions and RM approaches. This paper aims to address how well the body of knowledge on multi-organizational RM corresponds to a state-of-art understanding on project RM and to identify which gaps need to be addressed in future research. The review involves: 1) the preferred view of risk as threat and/or opportunity, 2) the nature of addressed risks as anticipated or unanticipated risks or unrealistic assumptions, 3) the role of the multi-organization as the source of risks and/or resources for risk management (RM), and 4) the allocation of risk responsibilities. The review covers research papers published between 2000 and 2012 in four journals: International Journal of Project Management (IJPM), Project Management Journal (PMJ), Journal of Construction Engineering and Management (JCEM), and IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering (TSE). 105 eligible research papers were identified. The results and conclusion outline the identified main gaps in multi-organizational RM research compared to the state-of-art RM research and TMO-specific characteristics. The results can be used to inform research agendas on more holistic and dynamic multi-organizational RM concepts.     

Enabling and measuring innovation in the construction industry

Innovation is vital to successful, long-term company performance in the construction industry. Understanding the innovation process, how innovation can be enhanced and how it can be measured are key steps to managing and enhancing innovation. The factors that affect innovation on a project were identified, as well as how these factors can be used to measure the level of innovation on a project, and the practices and processes that encourage and facilitate innovative changes. Case studies of construction projects in the United States revealed three necessary components of innovation: idea generation, opportunity and diffusion. A variety of practices are used to optimize each component including support and commitment from the owner/client and firm upper management, workforce and project team integration and diversity. Applying the practices identified in the research leads to enhanced innovation through better communication among project team members, integration of the design and construction disciplines, more efficient designs, development of unique ways of completing work and sharing of the lessons learned. The end result of innovation will be projects that successfully meet and exceed cost, quality, schedule and safety goals.     

Temporal leadership,team processes,and project team task performance

We disaggregate the overall conceptualization of temporal leadership into its two foundation facets: temporal planning and temporal reminders. We integrate these with a two-phase model of team processes during a time-limited project. Specifically, we suggest that leader temporal planning facilitates team transition processes early in a project, leader temporal reminders facilitate team action processes in the middle of the project, and both team processes mediate the effects of leader behavior on team task performance at the end of the project. Data were collected from the members of 51 teams at three points during an application development project and from team leaders at the conclusion of the project. As hypothesized, team transition processes mediated the relationship between leader temporal planning at project initiation and final team task performance. Leader temporal reminders predicted team action processes during project execution. However, team action processes failed to mediate the relationship between leader temporal reminders at the project midpoint and final task performance. We conclude with practical implications for project managers and suggestions for future research.     

Adaptive programme management through a balanced performance/strategy oriented focus

This paper explores how programme management (as opposed to project management) can contribute to the effective design and delivery of megaprojects. Traditionally, project management is considered to be performance focused and task oriented, whilst programme management entails a more strategic focus. The programme management literature suggests that this can result in tensions between the management of the projects and the programme as a whole. This paper uses the findings of the €2.4 billion Room for the River flood protection programme in the Netherlands as a case study, because indicators about its budget, time, quality and stakeholder satisfaction suggest high programme management performance upon completion of the planning and design stage of its 39 river widening projects. Based on a literature review, document analysis and 55 face-to-face interviews, we have analysed how the programme management of the programme contributed to this result. Six attributes for effective programme management that are identified from the project and programme management literature are used to structure the research data. Consecutively, the interactions between project and programme management are analysed. The analysis of Room for the River reveals a combined strategic/performance focus at the level of both programme and project management that enables a collaborative approach between programme and project management. This particularly enables effective stakeholder collaboration, coordination and adaptation of the programme to contextual changes, newly acquired insights and the changing needs of consecutive planning stages, which positively contributes to the performance of the programme as a whole.     

Examining the interdependencies among emotional intelligence,trust, and performance in infrastructure projects: A multilevel study

Regardless of the calls for a distinction between individual and team levels of analysis, studies regarding the multiple-level analysis of emotional intelligence are lacking in the project management literature. This research aims to address this shortcoming by examining the relationships between emotional intelligence, trust, and performance through multilevel analysis. Data were derived from 408 participants from 89 project teams in the large scale projects through three different surveys. We used hierarchical linear modeling and we found that emotional intelligence relates positively to performance and to trust at different levels of analysis. We also found that, at the team level, trust does not mediate the relationship between emotional intelligence and project team performance. This research offers a more realistic and comprehensive picture of the management and recognition of emotional intelligence in teams and individuals concurrently and addresses the implications for project leaders of inspiring individuals and teams.     

Relationships between project governance and information technology governance and their impact on project performance

This research endeavors to address the question of how to enhance project performance through exploring the relationships among information technology (IT) governance, project governance and project performance. The research utilizes an empirical survey methodology. The survey of 533 working professionals in various industries renders 282 usable responses or a response rate of 53.91%. The results suggest that both IT governance and project governance have a positive impact on project performance. Moreover, we found that three dimensions of IT governance (i.e., strategy setting, value delivery, and performance management) are positively associated with project performance while all three dimensions of project governance (i.e., portfolio direction, project sponsorship as well as project effectiveness & efficiency, and disclosure & reporting) are positively associated with project performance. Additionally, the alignment between IT governance and project governance is also found to be positively associated with project performance. These findings provide evidence to project management professionals in regard to IT governance and project governance being part of the operational strategy in facilitating the success of projects. It also demonstrates the importance of the alignment strategy between IT governance and project governance in enhancing project performance.     

Measuring construction project participant satisfaction

Construction projects involve numerous stakeholders, and their satisfaction could directly influence the performance of subsequent projects. Driven by a desire to improve project success, the critical satisfaction factors pertinent to the construction management process should be identified. In this paper, an overall study regarding the behavioural management mechanisms amongst project participants is presented. Eleven behavioural management mechanisms are identified and 15 hypotheses are established for this study. The concepts of satisfaction, project goals, various management mechanisms and their interrelationships are discussed and investigated in relation to construction projects. The results indicate that management mechanisms rather than particular project goal could directly affect the participant satisfaction. Cooperation/participation, task/team conflict and goal commitment are the critical factors influencing the final outcome (satisfaction) in the complicated management process. Moreover, conflict on the task amongst the participants is the moderation mechanisms for the relationship between goal commitment and participant satisfaction. There is a significantly positive relationship between commitment and satisfaction in construction project management, while high level of conflict is stimulated in the goal setting process amongst the participants.     

Effects of cooperative procurement procedures on construction project performance: A conceptual framework

In this paper, we develop a testable holistic procurement framework that examines how a broad range of procurement related factors affects project performance criteria. Based on a comprehensive literature review, we put forward propositions suggesting that cooperative procurement procedures (joint specification, selected tendering, soft parameters in bid evaluation, joint subcontractor selection, incentive-based payment, collaborative tools, and contractor self-control) generally have a positive influence on project performance (cost, time, quality, environmental impact, work environment, and innovation). We additionally propose that these relationships are moderated or mediated by the collaborative climate (i.e. the trust and commitment among partners) in the project and moderated by the overall project characteristics (i.e. how challenging the project is in terms of complexity, customization, uncertainty, value/size, and time pressure). Based on our contribution, future research can test the framework empirically to further increase the knowledge about how procurement factors may influence project performance.     

Performance measurement methods in megaprojects: An analytical review

It has been witnessed an increasing research interest on project performance measurement to achieve coordinated control and sustainable management of projects during the past few decades. Although a variety of methods have been applied to measure project performance as a prerequisite for successful performance management. No review has systematically described and analysed the current methods and related studies. Based on 35 relevant articles, this study presents an analytical literature review to collect and analyse the methods used in performance measurement in megaprojects. In addition, a selection tree is proposed to guide the selection of performance measurement methods in different conditions and contexts. Moreover, the limitations of current studies and the prospect of future research are further proposed. The outcomes of this study contribute to the method system of performance measurement and provide guidance for further research on project performance, as well as the selection of performance measurement methods.     

Mobile social media in inter-organizational projects: Aligning tool,task and team for virtual collaboration effectiveness

Inter-organizational projects face unique challenges and opportunities due to team diversities and task complexity. Mobile social media like WhatsApp and WeChat emerge as new-generation collaboration tools in such endeavors. Based on a literature review, this study posits that how well team-tool, task-tool and team-task relationships are handled shape virtual collaboration effectiveness. The conceptual framework, validated with the interviews from inter-organizational project team members in China and the USA, leads to a research model. The results of a larger-scale survey confirm that tool usability, task fit and team connectivity contribute to virtual collaboration effectiveness, which affects project management success and team appreciation. In addition, there are noticeable cross-country differences, especially the opposite moderating effects that degree of use imposes on the relationship between virtual collaboration effectiveness and project management success. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.