Doing strategy in project-based organizations: Actors and patterns of action

In the project management literature, projects have often been conceptualized as mere implementation sites of organizational strategy. However, such rationalization seldom draws on empirical evidence of strategy as it unfolds at the micro-level and at the interfaces between projects and the organization. Drawing on rich case-study data, this article explores strategy as-it-is-practiced in a large project-based organization. Using a Strategy-as-Practice lens to identify key patterns of strategizing actions, we found that project mind-sets and skill-sets afforded project actors legitimacy to act as strategists on all organizational levels. Project actualities therefore broadly shape strategy in the organization, and play a much larger role in organizational strategizing than typically portrayed in the literature. The findings are used to suggest new perspectives regarding who are strategists and what strategy is in project-based organizations, and outline new directions for a revitalized research agenda on strategy in the project-management field.     

The project-oriented organization and its contribution to innovation

This paper presents a new conceptualization of the project-oriented organization. The project-oriented organization is conceptualized as an entrepreneurial, future- and stakeholder-oriented innovating organization, which uses projects as temporary, task-focused organizations, to define, develop, and implement its strategies, to transform its structure, culture and behavior, and to define and develop new products, services, and business models. The concept of the project-oriented organization consists of the three segments (1) values, (2) structures, and (3) people. For each segment three important areas are described, which characterize a project-oriented organization. The model is theoretically based on a wide spectrum of management disciplines: (1) The orientations in the value segment have been developed in entrepreneurship, strategic management and technology and innovation management; (2) The foundations for the design of the socio-technical artefacts in the structure segment of derived from organizational design, planning and controlling, and ICT systems theory; (3) The foundations for the elements of the human side come from organizational behavior, human resource management, and knowledge management theories. Our model shows a clear linkage to these theories, references key articles, and gives special consideration to empirical studies in the realm of projects, programs, project portfolios, and project-based or project-oriented organizations. Thus, our assumption that the elements of our model are supposed to increase project success, innovation success, and business success is based on empirical evidence.     

Privacy regulation in work organizations: A case study

This study identifies physical elements of design devised or deployed by designers, that the engineers perceive as regulating privacy. The information gathered by the author is directly applicable to space planning standards at the company and, pending further research, could be applied to other situations.     

项目驱动下的工程教育人才培养模式：欧美高校的实践与启示

当前新一轮科技革命和产业变革正在加速演进,在迈向中国式现代化的征程中,我国高等工程教育正肩负重要使命并迫切需要深化改革。项目驱动的人才培养模式作为工程教育改革的重要抓手,其影响力和应用范围正不断扩大。本文通过遴选三所工程教育具有传统优势并走在工程教育改革前沿的代表性欧美高校：麻省理工学院、代尔夫特理工大学和欧林工学院,从工程教育改革历程、人才培养理念和课程体系设置三个方面系统分析了三所高校的项目驱动人才培养模式,总结和分析了该模式以学生为中心的理念,在打破学科壁垒、培养工程技能、增强团队协作、体现人文素养等方面的特点,以及对我国工程教育改革的启示。     

Relational competence in complex temporary organizations: The case of a French hospital construction project network

Large and complex project networks are characterized by the collaboration of heterogeneous organizations and individuals. In addition to project management techniques and complementary skills, relational competence, i.e. the ability to actively create and develop collaborative relationships is an essential asset for managing project networks. Networks represent structured role systems which may be a substitute for stable organizational structures and routines. This study investigates relational competence in the network of a large construction project of a French hospital. Based on network data and qualitative interviews, we compare the formal roles and positions of actors in the network to their actual roles and positions and analyze how relational competence promotes the coordination of project work. We find several actors whose network position and relational competence correspond to the formal organization and several actors with a mismatch between the formal organization and the actual role and position. In the latter cases, other network members step in and contribute to an effective coordination. The concept of relational competence in combination with network analysis contributes to a better understanding of the functioning of project networks. In particular, it reveals dysfunctions in the project network and allows for identifying the reasons for failure.     

项目导向型管理的需求与实践

随着社会发展速度的加快,无论是公共事务还是日常生活,项目都已经渗透到了每一个角落。在项目化的时代背景下,社会及社会内的各种组织对项目导向型管理的需求与实践与日俱增。从项目导向型管理的概念阐释入手,描述了企业、政府、非政府组织对项目导向型管理的需求与实践情况,并通过两家公司的案例分析,阐释了项目导向型管理的创新实践与卓越成效。     

The strategy of parallel approaches in projects with unforeseeable uncertainty: The Manhattan case in retrospect

This paper discusses the literature on the management of projects with unforeseeable uncertainty. Recent work demonstrates that, when confronted with unforeseeable uncertainties, managers can adopt either a learning, trial-and-error-based strategy, or a parallel approach. In the latter, different solutions are developed in parallel and the best one is chosen when enough information becomes available. Studying the case of the Manhattan Project, which historically exemplifies the power of the parallel approach, has led us to show that the either/or logic underlying the existing literature on the parallel approach oversimplifies the question. The Manhattan case demonstrates that managers must not necessarily choose between solutions, but can also combine them or add new ones during the project.     

Understanding regional variation in entrepreneurial activity and entrepreneurial attitude in Europe

Differences in entrepreneurial activity and entrepreneurial attitude are substantial and persistent across nations and regions. However, studies on entrepreneurship that encompass regions and countries at the same time are lacking. This paper explains both national and regional differences in entrepreneurial attitude and activity for 127 regions in 17 European countries, based on Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) data. We reveal the importance of institutional factors and economic and demographic attributes to variations in regional entrepreneurial attitude and activity. Our findings point at the relevance of distinguishing between components of entrepreneurial attitudes, i.e. fear of failure in starting business, perceptions on start-up opportunities and self-assessment of personal capabilities to start a firm. We find different determinants of these components, suggesting that they reflect different aspects of entrepreneurial attitude. In explaining regional prevalence rates of phases in entrepreneurial activity (nascent, baby business, established business) we find significant contributions of entrepreneurial attitude components. Urban regions and regions with high levels of nearby start-up examples show relatively high rates of early-stage entrepreneurship. A large number of start-up procedures does not discourage early-stage entrepreneurship.     

The work–family interface and turnover intentions over the course of project-oriented assignments abroad

The work–family interface is a highly relevant, yet underexposed issue in project management. When projects require family-separation, work demands are likely to conflict with family life and the consequences may be neither beneficial for (project) organizations nor for families. The aim of this study was twofold: a) to assess within-person changes over time in employees' work–family conflict experiences, relationship satisfaction, and turnover intentions and b) to examine the interrelations between these variables, over the course of a project that requires family-separation. Quantitative data were collected among military personnel before and after their four to six months assignments abroad. The results revealed that relationship satisfaction among military personnel had decreased significantly and turnover intentions had increased significantly over time. Moreover, employees who experienced higher levels of work–family conflict reported lower levels of relationship satisfaction and higher levels of turnover intentions. Understanding the interrelations may help managing projects in a way that benefits project organizations as well as employees and their families, who are critical to its performance and success.     

The quality of integrated urban strategies in light of the Europe 2020 strategy: The case of Slovenia

European Strategy 2020, a series of priorities and initiatives that will transform the EU into a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy, with high rates of employment, productivity and social cohesion, recognized cities as units crucial for social, cultural and economic progress and sparked the development of new integrated urban strategies (IUSs) across the EU. By the end of 2016, 11 Slovenian cities had developed and ratified their own strategic plans in order to manage their urban development. We analyzed the content of the IUSs and supporting documents of Slovenian cities in order to evaluate the quality of IUSs in terms of empirical groundedness, logical consistency and structure and to assess the conformity of these documents with Europe 2020 strategy and national guidelines. Our results show that the IUSs of Slovenian cities are generally of low quality and that they conform to the Europe 2020 strategy poorly, but rather more to national guidelines defined by the Slovenian government. The implications of these findings for EU policy in the area of urban development are discussed.     

Relocation of state agencies as a strategy for urban development: The Swedish case

The late seventies and early eighties are regarded as a period of economic crisis in Swedish public housing. This notion is discussed in terms of objective and subjective crisis. The economic development of the aggregate of municipal housing companies (MHCs) is analyzed over the period 1971–87 by means of a number of economic ratios. No evidence of objective economic crisis is found. The subjective crisis was seemingly triggered by market and political change, and later subjective recovery was the effect of internal organizational change. It is claimed that the economically stable conditions of public housing make economic crisis—unless politically initiated—unlikely. On the other hand the rent negotiation system and the accounting practices of MHCs will give evidence of economic crisis at any time. Moreover, a cycle of subjective crisis and recovery may be the effect of intrinsic myths and mechanisms of non‐profit housing in general.     

The governance of knowledge in project-based organizations

This research investigates patterns of knowledge governance practices in project-based organizations (PBOs). Five propositions about knowledge governance in PBOs were deductively and empirically tested using qualitative data from 82 interviews. The results were triangulated with those of prior studies. Results indicate that knowledge governance practices in PBOs are impacted by structural and situational factors, such as being a subsidiary or standalone PBO, a PBO striving for excellence or not, as well as some preconditions, such as the executives' competence in project governance. The results show that informal governance mechanisms are more useful than formal when it comes to knowledge creating processes. Governance of informal knowledge creating mechanisms appears to be complex for executives and their preconceptions showed either to be enablers or barriers to productive knowledge governance practices. Executive's competence and preconditions, concerning aspects like human capabilities and attitudes to professional ethos, seems to impact knowledge governance strategies. In subsidiary PBOs knowledge governance provides practitioners with proper assistance to avoid unbeneficial situations of having knowledge silos among loosely coupled islands.     

The entrepreneurial city of Kelapa Gading,Jakarta

This article examines chronologically how Summarecon Company has transformed vast, unproductive lands into a satellite city of Kelapa Gading (300,000 population). The study was based on an exploration of the process through which the township was created and represented as a new city. Soetjipto Nagaria, the founding father of Kelapa Gading City, exerts his leadership as a coherent approach to account properly for the growth, development, and morphology of the city. The company’s achievement in generating profitability and sustaining Kelapa Gading’s growth rate is based on a paradoxical dualism between economic incentives and continual innovation. The company must adhere to the rigid formulas that govern the city’s profitability, but at the same time it needs to generate continual innovation in order to stay at the forefront of the constantly changing ‘state of the art’ development for an entrepreneurial city.     

Constructing a framework for building relationships and trust in project organizations: two case studies of building projects in China

A framework is constructed that can be used to foster trust and build relationships in construction project organizations in China. The research method was based on in‐depth study of two building projects in China and data were collected via face‐to‐face interviews. The results show that as the project progresses, the dominant relationship within each stage deepens. The deepening relationship gives rise to different types of inherent risks such as a partner's self‐interest seeking behaviour and opportunistic actions. To counterbalance these risks, trust fostering tools must be employed such as careful selection and effective management of partners. The framework for fostering trust and building relationship developed in the study suggests that (1) relationship deepens from shallow dependence to deep interdependence as the project progresses; (2) different relationships bring about distinct inherent risks; and (3) different trust‐fostering tools counterbalance specific inherent risks. This framework could aid in reducing adversarial relationships by suggesting ways to foster trustworthy relationships.     

塑料窗设计制作方面的质量要求

本文通过对塑料窗的主要性能特点、结构特点等的论述，指出了塑料窗设计时应注意的几个问题。     

Considering Human Resource Management when developing a project-oriented company: Case study of a telecommunication company

The paper reports on a longitudinal multi method case study of a company from the telecommunication industry. The company has developed into a project-oriented company during the last 12 years (1997–2009). In this paper the development is analyzed and structured into phases. The limits of planning and managing change processes in practice are reflected. The development of the case study company towards project-orientation was rather ad hoc than planned and structured. The findings indicate that in a project-oriented company Human Resource Management also needs to change from an administration function to become a proactive business partner supporting project-oriented management.     

建筑施工项目管理实施规划的作用及实施

介绍了建筑施工项目管理实施规划的内容，阐述了建筑施工项目管理实施规划在具体的施工管理过程中所起的作用，说明了要提高项目管理的综合效益，必须要做好项目管理实施规划的具体实施工作。     

The moderating effect of human resource management practices on the relationship between knowledge absorptive capacity and project performance in project-oriented companies

In response to recent calls for research on human resource management (HRM) in project management, this research investigates the links between HRM practices, the project team's knowledge absorptive capacity (ACAP) and project performance in project-oriented companies (POCs). Based on survey data from 198 projects in multinational companies (MNCs) in the Thai automotive industry, this research finds that HRM practices moderate the effects of a project team's knowledge ACAP on project performance, in particular of potential ACAP on long-run project performance. In addition, HRM practices covary with a project team's realized ACAP, the other dimension of ACAP, to affect short-run project performance. This research sheds light on the different roles that HRM practices play in a project, finding that HRM practices not only facilitate knowledge management from the current project to future projects but also strengthen the relationship between a project team's knowledge ACAP and long-term project performance. This research contributes to the understanding of HRM in the literature of project management.     

项目导向型组织中项目短期效应与组织长期战略矛盾的研究

通过咨询工作中的实践及调研分析,提出了项目短期效应与组织长期战略矛盾作为影响项目导向型组织发展的根源性因素,并对其进行了分析,从实施中长期激励以保留核心员工,根据组织特点选择合适的组织架构,调整绩效考核机制三个方面对如何协调这一矛盾展开了研究,相关的举措为项目导向型组织实施战略项目管理提供了借鉴。