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Article
Publication date: 13 May 2019

Omar ElWakeel and Bjorn Andersen

The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of stakeholder dynamics and to show how stakeholders demonstrate their dynamic nature in the power/interest matrix. This, in…

1326

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of stakeholder dynamics and to show how stakeholders demonstrate their dynamic nature in the power/interest matrix. This, in turn, should assist project management and stakeholder management practitioners predict the behavior of different stakeholder groups in their projects, and strategize their stakeholder management approaches accordingly.

Design/methodology/approach

The findings in this paper are based on data collected from 12 diverse projects from five different business sectors executed in Norway by means of an online, closed-question questionnaire, which was analyzed using various statistical approaches.

Findings

Stakeholder dynamics is a contextual phenomenon, which takes different forms and shapes from one stakeholder group to the other, from one industry or business sector to the other, and even from one project to the other within the same industry or business sector. The stakeholder group of user(s) was the most dynamic in Norwegian projects based on their continuous repositioning on the power/interest matrix from one project phase to the other. Environmental activists/organizations were the least dynamic stakeholder group in the full sample of projects.

Originality/value

This paper presents the first more comprehensive empirically based findings about stakeholder dynamics in projects the authors have been able to find. The study gives project management practitioners insights from various industries and business sectors into how stakeholders change position over time. It also shows that the two attributes of power and interest are strongly connected and affect one another, which might make it possible to control and design a safer and less complex stakeholder environment for future projects.

Details

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, vol. 13 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8378

Keywords

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 5 March 2018

Gro Holst Volden and Bjorn Andersen

The purpose of this paper is to study public project governance frameworks in various ministries and agencies in Norway, following the introduction of such a framework on the…

7661

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study public project governance frameworks in various ministries and agencies in Norway, following the introduction of such a framework on the topmost level (i.e. the cabinet) which applies to the very largest projects.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is methodologically designed as a qualitative assessment of project governance frameworks that apply to state-funded investment projects in selected sectors, based on data gathered through document reviews and interviews.

Findings

The study finds that all of the agencies have introduced their own project governance frameworks, which are basically consistent with the recommendations from the project management literature and with the cabinet’s overall requirements in Norway. By contrast, only one ministry has taken a formalized role as a project owner. Governance tasks thus seem to be extensively delegated to the subordinate agencies. This even includes strategic tasks such as project selection and portfolio management, and implies there is a risk that public project governance has a narrow and internal focus.

Originality/value

The paper is a first step toward a better understanding of public project governance as a hierarchical system and the relationship between project owners on three levels, the cabinet, the sectoral ministry, and the government agency.

Details

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, vol. 11 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8378

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Article
Publication date: 25 April 2019

Gabriele Hofinger Jünge, Erlend Alfnes, Kristina Kjersem and Bjorn Andersen

The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate an effective project management practice focusing on planning and control. By doing so, it contributes to the debate on…

2335

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate an effective project management practice focusing on planning and control. By doing so, it contributes to the debate on rethinking traditional project management practices and accentuates the need for adjustments based on the project context.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper extends the project management theory by proposing a lean project planning (LPP) and control framework, developed and tested in collaboration with ten engineer-to-order (ETO) companies. By following a design science research approach, elements from lean thinking and current project planning and control practices are combined into a maturity model (MM).

Findings

ETO project characteristics are identified, and their implications for planning and control are discussed. Nine enablers that transform current project planning and control approaches into a lean approach are defined, allowing the analysis of the underlying complexity of planning and controlling ETO projects and thus facilitating the determination of the actions required to improve project performance.

Research limitations/implications

Once fully embedded in an organization, the presented MM can provide a safe framework for self-criticism and can be used to conduct self-assessments without the need for an external facilitator. Thus, this paper is of particular interest to practicing project managers who aim to implement LPP and control.

Originality/value

To the authors’ best knowledge, this paper is the first to empirically examine the journey toward LPP and control from a MM perspective. This research attempts to describe the enablers of LPP and control.

Details

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, vol. 12 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8378

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Article
Publication date: 16 April 2018

Youcef J-T. Zidane, Ole Jonny Klakegg, Bjorn Andersen and Bassam Hussein

With the aim of furthering the understanding of project speed and how to manage the urgent project, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the management challenges involved…

716

Abstract

Purpose

With the aim of furthering the understanding of project speed and how to manage the urgent project, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the management challenges involved in delivering a telecommunications infrastructure project in a period of much shorter duration than a similar project. The authors wanted to understand the reasons behind the urgency and how the project management team succeeds in delivering in such a tight time window. Finally, the authors assessed the consequences (negative and positive, during and after the project delivery), knowing that the project was considered a success at its delivery, but not that it was successful at the post-project evaluation.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study based on qualitative research interviews with management team including the client, the main contractor and some related stakeholders, combined with case archives and internal documentation from the case project.

Findings

The urgency of a project or programme may lead to some negative consequences and impacts. The success seen in a short- and mid-term view is not enough to justify making acceleration decisions: thus holistic thinking and a long-term sustainable approach are needed to ensure continuity and profits.

Research limitations/implications

This research is based on a single case study. There are some limitations regarding how urgent and unexpected the case was managed in comparing to normal case. A second limitation is that there is no clear definition of what are normal practices such that we can say what are a normal case and an urgent case.

Practical implications

There are some lessons learned from this case study about managing the unexpected and the urgent. Practitioners can obtain insight into positive and negative consequences of fast project delivery from this case.

Originality/value

This study is unique in its content and context, since it presents the first-hand insight into a case study that seemed to be successful to some extent (short-term impact); however, negative consequences appeared within a few years of its delivery.

Details

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, vol. 11 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8378

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Article
Publication date: 20 June 2019

Knut R. Fossum, Wenche Aarseth and Bjorn Andersen

The purpose of this paper is to explore scenario development (SD) as a method for engaging known challenges in collaborative research projects, i.e. SD is the construct under…

457

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore scenario development (SD) as a method for engaging known challenges in collaborative research projects, i.e. SD is the construct under investigation.

Design/methodology/approach

Criticism of the dominant, rational approach to project management (PM) and its underlying hypotheses highlights a considerable PM research gap for research projects (research problem). The authors undertake a six-step constructive research approach to investigate if SD (the construct) constitutes a fruitful method to support the management of collaborative research projects. A two-part literature review summarizes known challenges in collaborative research projects and introduces the history and application of SD methodology. The work includes participatory action research (PAR) in two case studies, constituting a qualitative research method.

Findings

The authors found the SD method to be useful for structuring and analyzing intuitive project processes. However, using SD in the management of single projects presents some fundamental challenges. SD, like PM, struggles with issues related to myopic decisions, a “predict and provide” attitude with clear aspects of path dependency in the project front-end as well as inconsistent and/or missing identification of success criteria among different stakeholders.

Research limitations/implications

This paper does not provide any comprehensive, normative account of scenario techniques or compare SD with other foresight and future studies methods. Although PAR is in itself a research method that demands systematic description and execution, the focus of this paper is the overall constructive research approach.

Practical implications

The paper offers a broadened repertoire of methods to describe and analyse project stakeholder situations (collaborative aspects) and to structure and balance the need for both rational and intuitive project processes (research aspects). The SD method also supports development of graphical storylines and facilitates the use of influence diagrams, event trees and cost/benefit analysis.

Originality/value

Although PM literature contains several references to SD, the practical application of SD at single-project level has, to the authors’ knowledge, never been described in the PM literature.

Details

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, vol. 13 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8378

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Article
Publication date: 23 April 2018

Youcef J.-T. Zidane and Bjorn Andersen

Projects often face delays and unnecessary use of time due to various factors and reasons, and hence suffer from unfavourable consequences. The purpose of this paper is to…

5532

Abstract

Purpose

Projects often face delays and unnecessary use of time due to various factors and reasons, and hence suffer from unfavourable consequences. The purpose of this paper is to identify the universal delay factors from an intensive literature review, complemented by delay factors in major Norwegian construction projects based on empirical data.

Design/methodology/approach

The study in which this paper is based includes an intensive literature review, and semi-quantitative open survey questionnaires. This paper addresses frequency and type of delay factors in construction projects, in Norway based on the survey, and worldwide based on the previous studies.

Findings

From the study, the causes of delays facing the Norwegian construction industry are: poor planning and scheduling; slow/poor decision-making process; internal administrative procedures and bureaucracy within project organisations; resources shortage (human resources, machinery, equipment); poor communication and coordination between parties; slow quality inspection process of the completed work; design changes during construction/change orders; sponsor/owner/client lack of commitment and/or clear demands (goals and objectives); late/slow/incomplete/improper design; office issues; and users’ issues. And the top 10 universal delay factors are: design changes during construction/change orders; delays in payment of contractor(s); poor planning and scheduling; poor site management and supervision; incomplete or improper design; inadequate contractor experience/building methods and approaches; contractor’s financial difficulties; sponsor/owner/client’s financial difficulties; resources shortage (human resources, machinery, equipment); and poor labour productivity and shortage of skills.

Research limitations/implications

When it comes to the identification of delay factors in major Norwegian projects, the research is based on a sample of 202 respondents from an open survey questionnaire. It should be noted that analysing a large population of respondents that have been asked open questions can be challenging due to the vague findings it might lead to. Also, when it comes to the identification of the universal delay factors, there were different methods used by different authors, within different context. Similar future studies in Norway based on qualitative and quantitative methods will give better verification for the findings.

Practical implications

This paper has documented the critical delay factors/causes in Norway. The results of this study will help project managers, in Norway and elsewhere, to be aware and know about the potential causes of delay in their construction projects, which will help to identify the possible risks in the early phases of the project. Another practical implication is to make project managers and policy makers conscious that delays are quite universal, making it necessary to identify them as a first step.

Social implications

The identification of delays factors and causes can permit projects to implement mitigation actions to avoid delays, thus allowing delivering schools, hospitals and other necessary infrastructure on schedule or ahead of schedule to society.

Originality/value

This paper highlights most (almost all) of the studies in the literature, including to the study done in Norway, concerning the delay factors in construction projects and large construction projects in general. This wide review of relevant literature will save time other academicians from having to conduct similar studies. This study will assist both academic and professional experts providing more insight about the delay causes in large-scale construction projects.

Details

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, vol. 11 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8378

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Article
Publication date: 4 January 2017

Sjur Børve, Tuomas Ahola, Bjorn Andersen and Wenche Aarseth

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate to which extent partnering practices observed in earlier research focussing on the construction industry are applied in offshore…

639

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate to which extent partnering practices observed in earlier research focussing on the construction industry are applied in offshore development drilling projects.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reviews earlier research on project partnering and the relationship-based procurement (RBP) taxonomy. The taxonomy is then empirically applied to describe partnering practices in an incentive-based drilling project in Norway.

Findings

Many elements of project partnering observed earlier in construction projects were found to characterize offshore development drilling projects. However, as assessed using the RBP framework, the authors found that partnering elements in observed context rated consistently lower than elements previously reported in the construction industry, indicating a lower maturity of partnering practices in the studied context.

Practical implications

The present study provides a multi-dimensional and systematic description of partnering practices in offshore drilling projects. Project owners can utilize this information to identify partnering elements requiring particular emphasis when initiating and managing drilling projects. Based on the findings, such elements include transparency and open-book auditing, integrated risk mitigation and insurance practices and establishment of authentic leadership. The findings further imply that partnering models cannot be directly applied across industry boundaries but must be tailored to fit the salient characteristics of each context.

Originality/value

The paper systematically describes to which extent specific partnering elements of the RBP taxonomy are applied in offshore drilling projects.

Details

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8378

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Article
Publication date: 13 May 2019

Knut R. Fossum, Jean C. Binder, Tage K. Madsen, Wenche Aarseth and Bjorn Andersen

The purpose of this paper is to identify and complete the existing lack of quantitative data at the crossroads between organizational support (OS) practices and project management…

3244

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify and complete the existing lack of quantitative data at the crossroads between organizational support (OS) practices and project management success in global projects (GPs) and discuss implication of the results in perspective of the theory–practice gap.

Design/methodology/approach

Building on classical organizational theory and GP knowledge areas, a survey addressing GP practitioners was designed. This paper focuses on OS practices as success factors and addresses a subset of the survey (1,170 respondents across 74 countries).

Findings

OS practices included in the study were found to have high importance for managerial success. OS practices for selection and training of team members show significant correlation with project efficiency but have low adaptation in many organizations. Statistically significant correlations were found to be weaker than expected, indicating that the relation between OS practices (as success factors) and project efficiency (as success criteria) is more complex than expected.

Research limitations/implications

The work constitutes opinion-based research and is vulnerable to variations in OS practices and the definition of success in different organizations and industries. The granularity level of the theoretical framework brought about relative high-level survey questions and may impact the applicability of the results.

Practical implications

To improve the efficiency of GPs, better implementation of OS practices for selection processes and training personnel has been suggested.

Originality/value

The theoretical alignment of classical organizational variables with GP knowledge areas and associated practices provides an original approach to the “theory–practice gap” discourse.

Details

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, vol. 13 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8378

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Article
Publication date: 5 September 2017

Sjur Børve, Asbjørn Rolstadås, Bjorn Andersen and Wenche Aarseth

Due to observed problems in real-life projects stemming from the lack of a unified definition, the purpose of this paper is to formulate a new definition of project partnering…

2071

Abstract

Purpose

Due to observed problems in real-life projects stemming from the lack of a unified definition, the purpose of this paper is to formulate a new definition of project partnering (PP) through documenting the specific characteristics researchers attribute to this approach.

Design/methodology/approach

PP definition phrases extracted from a literature review were sorted into a basic framework of who, what, how, when and where. In a web-based survey, a group of experts marked the phrases from the literature review as being specific, generic, or irrelevant to PP. The expert group comprised highly ranked and experienced PP researchers. Based on the survey results, a new definition was formulated. The new definition specifies the participants, the objectives and the knowledge, skills, tools and techniques applied to pursue the objectives in PP. A verification survey of the expert group gave a 78-96 per cent combined approve and support score for each element of the new definition.

Findings

PP and a partnering project are defined by a framework encompassing three basic dimensions: participants, objectives, knowledge, skills, tools and techniques applied to pursue the objectives. The new definition is: “project partnering is a relationship strategy whereby a project owner integrates contractors and other major contributors into the project”. Through commitment to mutual project objectives, collaborative problem solving and a joint governance structure, partners pursue collaborative relationships, trust and improved performance. The new definition indicates that PP neither varies with early contractor involvement nor gain and pain share, but varies with the degree of mutual project objectives, collaborative problem solving and joint governance structure.

Originality/value

PP is a complex concept with no widely accepted definition. The basic framework applied to the formulation of the definition in this project can also be applied to define and implement a partnering project and to define and distinguish between other relationship-based procurement forms.

Details

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, vol. 10 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8378

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Article
Publication date: 17 January 2022

Anne Strand Alfredsen Larsen, Anniken Th Karlsen, Jo-Åsmund Lund and Bjørn Sørskot Andersen

The front-end phase plays an important role in achieving project success, and establishment of performance measurement systems considering project challenges or pitfalls is a way…

501

Abstract

Purpose

The front-end phase plays an important role in achieving project success, and establishment of performance measurement systems considering project challenges or pitfalls is a way of keeping track of this phase. Early warning signs, a type of proactive performance indicators, may serve as means for improving decision-making and project processes aiming for short- and long-term project success. In this paper, the authors present findings from a study on early warning signs (EWS) in hospital projects' front-end. A preliminary systematisation of identified signs as a contribution to front-end improvement is provided.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on a mixed methods approach, using a sequential, exploratory research design comprising document studies, interviews and a survey.

Findings

The authors identified 62 challenges for hospital projects' front-end performance and further established four categories of EWS as follows: (1) structure and tools, (2) context and frame factors, (3) management and (4) relational factors and properties. This mirrors the presence of hard and soft issues from previous studies. There is need for clarifying terminology and raising consciousness on EWS. Processual approaches to identify EWS are considered more useful than subsequent established indicators.

Originality/value

The findings from this paper provide insight into EWS in hospital projects' front-end phase. This adds to the general understanding of EWS and contributes to more knowledge on the front-end phase in general.

Details

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, vol. 15 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8378

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