Cross-functional integration for managing customer information flows in a project-based firm

The delivery of integrated solutions calls for effective integration across the functional interfaces of the project-based firm (PBF) throughout the solution's life cycle. We scrutinize cross-functional integration in a triadic setting involving the PBF's sales, project operations, and services functions by focusing on the flow of customer information (information from and about customers) across three functional interfaces. Drawing on a qualitative case study, we develop a categorization consisting of four distinct types of integration mechanisms: meetings, IT systems, personal involvement, and processes and rules. Our results show that in the focal PBF, customer information flows are strongest in the sales–project operations interface and weakest in the sales–services interface. Furthermore, sales and services functions were found to rely predominantly on personal involvement mechanisms in transferring customer information. Our results highlight the need to integrate and manage customer information flows, especially between the sales–services interface, when delivering integrated solutions.     

Knowledge leadership to improve project and organizational performance

Conceptualizing knowledge leadership and customer knowledge management (CKM) in the project context is still rudimentary. Thus, the first objective of this study is to assess the associations among knowledge leadership, customer knowledge management, the performance of a precision instrument sales (PIS) project, and organizational performance. The second objective is to determine whether project performance may mediate the effect of customer knowledge management on organizational performance. The third objective is to examine the moderating role of data complexity in the relationship between customer knowledge management and project performance. This study empirically investigated a sample of precision instrument sales projects in Taiwanese high-tech industry. The findings indicate that adoption of knowledge leadership is associated with customer knowledge management. In addition, these analyses suggest that implementation of customer knowledge management influences organizational performance via project performance. The results also show that the positive relationship between customer knowledge management and project performance depends on data complexity.     

Impact of customer integration on project portfolio management and its success—Developing a conceptual framework

The growing number of company projects requires comprehensive management, project portfolio management (PPM), for strategic alignment and efficient use of resources. In parallel, companies face customers demanding higher value, and joint value creation with customers is considered a key success factor in the future. Project portfolios delivering products and services for customers implicate a link between PPM and an increased customer focus. Combining the research fields of marketing and PPM for the first time, this study proposes customer integration into PPM. I develop a framework describing the impact of customer integration into PPM on project portfolio success mediated through relationship value. Furthermore, the study describes relevant aspects for customer integration on the project portfolio level and identifies interfaces for cross-functional integration of a customer portfolio representative within the PPM process. The findings and limitations of this study are discussed, and further research is suggested.     

QLHY项目顾客满意度改进策略研究

首先论证了顾客忠诚度与顾客满意度之间的关系，结果表明二者之间存在较强的正相关关系，构建了顾客满意度模型框架；其次在对QLHY项目的顾客满意度评价的基础上，对该项目提出了相应的改进策略；最后，对QLHY项目本身提出了可持续发展建议并指出了下一步的研究方向。     

Impact of relationship value on project portfolio success — Investigating the moderating effects of portfolio characteristics and external turbulence

Companies today need project portfolio management (PPM) to cope with the increasing number of projects and use it to ensure comprehensive management, strategic alignment, and efficient use of resources. Moreover, customers are demanding more value from their suppliers. The management of a project portfolio and the corresponding customer relationship portfolio implies a link between PPM and relationship management. By combining the fields of PPM and marketing, this study hypothesizes a connection between relationship value and project portfolio success. Because both parties need to extract value from a relationship, relationship value is divided into relationship value for the customer and relationship value from the customer. The results are based on a cross-industry sample of 174 German, Swiss, and Austrian medium-sized and large companies and rely on two informants from each firm. We find a significant relationship between relationship value and project portfolio success as well as moderating effects of portfolio interdependency, portfolio size, and technological turbulence.     

The factors influencing the success of on-going agile software development projects

We propose a model consisting of five people-factors that influence the success of on-going agile software development projects, success being measured in terms of cost, time, and customer satisfaction. After surveying 216 agile practitioners, the results obtained using SEM-PLS suggest that “team capability” and “customer involvement” are the main factors contributing to the success of on-going agile software development projects. These results were triangulated with the mixed-methods approach of a focus group, which supported the findings. By knowing which factors are truly important to achieve success, managers and teams will be able to establish priorities, thereby improving project outcomes. We address this matter, along with research limitations and future work.     

基于客户关系管理的工程项目管理企业发展研究

在探讨了客户关系管理理论的基础上,分析了工程项目管理企业运用客户关系管理理论提高市场竞争力的必要性.摒弃传统的企业发展分析方法,而是从客户关系管理这个全新的角度出发,结合工程项目管理企业的特性,对工程项目管理企业的发展提出对策.     

建筑企业客户关系管理与项目决策平台研究

阐明了建筑企业应用客户关系管理的紧迫性,从客户关系生命周期的特征入手,分析了建筑企业和业主的关系,建立了基于CRM项目决策平台的框架,就决策平台的实施提出了建议.     

小型热电联产项目方案优化简析

文章从设计基本原则、用户负荷实际需求、系统的优化设计、项目可行性评估、动态运行评估及调度优化等方面进行分析，提出了小型热电联产系统方案优化的设想。     

Use of services to support the business of a project-based firm

Project-based firms that have traditionally focused on product-centric project deliveries as their core business are increasingly complementing their deliveries with different types of service offerings to create customer specific solutions. Such deliveries frequently encompass the design and delivery of a fully operational system with additional components such as maintenance and optimization of system during its life cycle. From the perspective of customer value, solution deliveries can be divided in to three elements: core project delivery, facilitating service products that are mandatory for use of the core project delivery and supporting service products that create additional value for the customer. In this paper we aim to increase the understanding on the impact of the addition of different types of services such as consultation, conceptual design, feasibility studies, training, maintenance, operation support, and production optimization may have on the business of a project-based firm. We analyze their contribution from five distinct perspectives: strategic, marketing and sales, project implementation, learning and innovation and financial. We carried out an empirical multi-case study within three large-sized project-based firms representing different industries. The results indicate that services play a versatile role in supporting the business of project-based firms — a role which goes beyond simply ensuring the short term profitability of the firm. Furthermore, delivering a specific service, such as consultation or process optimization, may often contribute favorably to more than one of the five perspectives analyzed in this study.     

Patterns of empowerment and leadership style in project environment

The current study explores the relationship of empowerment, leadership style and customer service as a measure of effective project management in projects with varying degree of virtuality. The study makes comparisons of empowerment climate in less and more virtual projects. Moreover, the study examines moderating effects of degree of virtuality on the relationship between empowerment and leadership style. We test our hypotheses with data collected from project management professionals working in five countries using linear regression and moderated regression analysis to analyze the proposed hypotheses.     

建筑企业客户关系能力研究

为建立与业主之间的良好关系、提高项目的合作绩效、促进企业的长期发展,建筑企业应培育强大的客户关系能力。在强调客户关系能力的重要性,分析建筑企业客户、客户关系、客户关系能力的内涵和特点的基础上,构建了包括客户关系支撑能力和客户关系行为能力的建筑企业客户关系能力要素体系。     

In favor or against: The influence of skeptical stakeholders in urban innovation projects for green transformation

Skeptical stakeholder involvement – collaborating with stakeholders who may harbor negative attitudes - is a complex, uncertain process that poses substantial challenges for innovation project management. Developing complex innovations like those in urban spaces requires engagement with knowledge, behavioral shifts, and resources from both public and private stakeholders. As a result, these stakeholders might oppose the project's objectives, thereby exerting a significant influence on the project. However, scant attention has been directed toward investigating the role of skeptical stakeholder involvement. The goal of this research is to address this research gap by examining the underexplored impact of skeptical stakeholder involvement on the project front end, thereby underscoring the importance of innovativeness and implementation intention as outcomes during these initial project stages. The study draws on a unique combination of text mining, text analysis, and survey data derived from 107 publicly funded urban innovation projects in Germany. These projects encompass diverse innovation types and technologies that may affect nearly all stakeholders within a given city district, thus making the context an ideal empirical terrain for investigation. The study's findings reveal that (i) skeptical stakeholder involvement positively influences innovativeness and implementation intention, and (ii) a robust reservoir of project management resources, coupled with moderate levels of formal management, facilitates the integration of skeptical stakeholders. The study advances current literature on project stakeholder management and project front-end dynamics by highlighting the positive influences of skeptical stakeholder involvement. Consequently, these outcomes contribute to the broader literature on sustainable urban transformation and enhance our understanding of stakeholder management mechanisms in the realm of urban innovation projects.     

Quality function deployment in construction

Quality function deployment (QFD) is a system for translating customer requirements (government regulations, operating conditions and buyer expectations) into suitable technical characteristics and ensuring that important ones are prioritized in the design. The method has been successfully applied in the manufacturing sector; however, its benefits have not yet been fully realized in construction. The House of Quality (HoQ), the most common ‘tool’ in QFD, has been used to identify and analyse customer requirements for a new children's nursery. A focus group was formed to gather these and a comparison made between an existing nursery and two competitors to ensure that the new build was designed to be at least as good as its competition. The results showed that QFD could be applied in construction projects as a tool for considering the most important customer requirements from the outset, with favourable indicators of project success (on‐time delivery and customer satisfaction). In addition, the case study company considered it to be an innovative approach and has used the results in its designs.     

栖息式养老项目的可行性研究初探

研究了A市发展栖息式养老项目的可行性,并以A市发展栖息式养老项目为背景对项目发展的市场需求、目标顾客定位、区位和资源优势、项目财务状况等多个方面进行了分析,表明在A市发展栖息式养老项目是对我国社会化养老发展模式的一种有益探索。     

重庆某项目商业定位研究及建议

结合重庆某项目周边商业情况,对该项目进行了优势、劣势、机会、威胁分析并给出了商业定位。指出项目定位应注重差异性,并结合区域市场形象、客户群、档次、功能等。     

The application of the risk management process in capital investment decisions for EHV transmission line projects

This paper reviews the viability of applying a risk management process to enhance capital investment decisions, when planning the construction of an extra-high voltage (EHV) overhead transmission line project that could be designed and built in the next 10 years by China Light & Power Company Limited, Hong Kong. Different project proposals will be considered for this transmission line as well as different completion dates. Each scenario will be investigated to determine the rate of return and expected cost to customer, using the net present value model. The lowest ‘cost to customer’ approach would be the normal criterion for project selection, assuming all proposals are technically viable and compatible with Hong Kong Government infrastructure plans.     

深圳“中海·月朗苑”项目定位研究

项目定位是房地产开发项目取得成功的关键环节。结合“中海·月朗苑”项目,从区域市场、项目SWOT 及整体定位策略、客户定位、产品定位和价格定位等5 个方面进行分析,探讨了房地产开发项目定位的基本方法。项目定位的系统研究,确保了“中海·月朗苑”项目开发目标的实现,也为其他项目的开发定位积累了经验。     

Project planning practices based on enterprise resource planning systems in small and medium enterprises — A case study from the Republic of Macedonia

This paper examines whether Macedonian SMEs plan for the implementation of ERP projects and studies the effect of project planning practices on project success. Four project planning measures were taken into consideration: business case development, scope planning, baseline plan development and risk planning along with three measures of project success; customer satisfaction, perceived quality of the project and success of the implementation process. The study was based on a survey that was conducted on 30 SMEs in the Republic of Macedonia. Data dimensionality was reduced through factor analysis and relationships between the two sets of variables were analyzed by correlation and regression analyses. The findings demonstrated that Macedonian SMEs implemented general project planning practices, even though they did not consider the planning process as a separate phase of the ERP implementation. However, they did not use any particular project planning tools, such as the Gantt chart or WBS. Of the project planning practices that were surveyed, the most practiced were the development of a business case, project scope and baseline plan. The least practiced were risk planning practices. Considering the success of the ERP implementations, this study demonstrated that most of the companies' representatives perceive this undertaking as successful in terms of client satisfaction and perceived quality measures. A higher percentage of respondents found their ERP implementations unsuccessful in terms of implementation process measures, when compared to the previous two success parameters.     

The association among project manager's leadership style, teamwork and project success

This study aims to examine whether the impact of teamwork on project performance was moderated by the following data class variables: industry sector, total installed cost, owner regulation, initial site, team size, complexity, project type, and international involvement. Additionally, this study also investigated the relationships among the project manager's leadership style, teamwork, and project success. To address the primary aims, a questionnaire-based survey was used to measure the project manager's leadership style, teamwork, and project success in terms of schedule performance, cost performance, quality performance, and stakeholder satisfaction. The analyses suggest that increases in levels of leadership may enhance relationships among team members. The results also indicate that teamwork exhibits statistically significant influence on project performance. Finally, the findings suggest that project type has a moderating effect on the relationship between teamwork dimensions and overall project success.