Douglas C. Bower and Andrew D. Finegan
The purpose of this paper is to describe a Doctor of Project Management research study including summary of the literature review, the application of the combination of case…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe a Doctor of Project Management research study including summary of the literature review, the application of the combination of case study, survey and theory building research methodologies, key research findings and potential areas for future research.
Design/methodology/approach
The research investigates the reasons for the limited adoption of earned value management (EVM) as a project performance evaluation technique. It proposes new extensions to this technique that will be beneficial to project management practitioners. The multifaceted research approach incorporates the following elements: a review of previous and current literature on EVM; a survey of project management practitioners on their practices and attitudes towards EVM; analysis of the known challenges of the EVM technique; development of techniques to address and resolve the EVM challenges; consolidation of those techniques into a single framework and implementation model; and validation of that framework and model through multiple methods.
Findings
The research confirms that EVM can be greatly enhanced and simplified though three key initiatives: include the cost assurance (i.e. risk transfer) provided by procurement contracts; measure project achievement and progress on the completion of each phase, rather than monthly; and combine the above into a simplified, single model.
Originality/value
This paper provides practitioners with an insight into how EVM can be enhanced and applied in project management organisations. In particular, the integrated PAVA technique should be particularly useful to projects using the rolling wave approach, as its recognition of phases provides a framework for short‐ and long‐term planning.
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Kerem Gurses, Basak Yakis-Douglas and Pinar Ozcan
In this paper, we investigate how digital technology disruptors and the incumbents who stand to be disrupted by them frame their arguments to transform or sustain existing…
Abstract
In this paper, we investigate how digital technology disruptors and the incumbents who stand to be disrupted by them frame their arguments to transform or sustain existing institutional frameworks to enable or deter the market entry of these technologies. Using a longitudinal, comparative case analysis of three digital technologies – namely, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), cloud antenna, and over-the-top (OTT) technologies – we explore how stakeholders use public interest frames for this purpose. We find that entrepreneurs use three specific frames to drive institutional change for the successful adoption of digital technologies in the presence of established incumbents and powerful regulators: frames that emphasize the broad public appeal of the new digital technology; frames that emphasize efficiency, democracy, and technological advancement; and frames that emphasize present as well as future benefits to the public. We find that constructing interpretations of what serves the public interest is the primary tactic used by disruptors to gain market entry, and an equally popular weapon for incumbents to block the entry of new digital technologies. These interpretations lead to a framing contest aimed at influencing regulators and obtaining a more favorable institutional environment. Our empirical findings illustrate that new digital technologies themselves are not the sole contributors to institutional change. Rather, institutional outcomes associated with the introduction of new digital technologies are shaped by how disruptors and incumbents use public interest frames and how regulators react to these frames.
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In his important text Seductions of Crime: Moral and Sensual Attractions in Doing Evil Katz (1988) provides a powerful phenomenological description of the experience of crime…
Abstract
In his important text Seductions of Crime: Moral and Sensual Attractions in Doing Evil Katz (1988) provides a powerful phenomenological description of the experience of crime, which is ontologically situated within the social world from which it emerges. As such, the experience of crime is viewed as neither the exclusive psychological artifact of a self-enclosed and finished rational actor or as the epiphenomenal conclusion of a process of a structurally imposed determinism (Katz, 1988). From this perspective, the experience of crime emerges from its specific co-constituted encounter with the social world that both constructs and is constructed by this intertwining of self and the world.
This chapter introduces the Technology Pedagogy and Content Knowledge (TPACK) model as it relates to technology-enhanced learning design. The key features of the framework are…
Abstract
This chapter introduces the Technology Pedagogy and Content Knowledge (TPACK) model as it relates to technology-enhanced learning design. The key features of the framework are unpacked, along with a brief examination of what TPACK looks like in practice. Approaches to developing TPACK capacity are considered, with learning-by-design emerging as the most promising technique. Issues relating to TPACK are also critically discussed, including those relating to measurement and the capacity of the framework to support educational design practice.
EVIDENCE of the importance which automation is assuming comes from the Institution of Production Engineers, who announce that they will hold a National Conference in Margate from…
Abstract
EVIDENCE of the importance which automation is assuming comes from the Institution of Production Engineers, who announce that they will hold a National Conference in Margate from 16th to 19th June, 1955, when it is proposed to examine the implications of the automatic factory, and to promote discussion on the technical, sociological and managerial problems involved. The impact on smaller factories will be particularly considered.
Jaekyung Ha, Renée Gosline and Ezra Zuckerman Sivan
In this paper, we aim to understand why consumers often prefer products made using traditional practices even when products made using new practices are not of lower quality. We…
Abstract
Purpose
In this paper, we aim to understand why consumers often prefer products made using traditional practices even when products made using new practices are not of lower quality. We argue that this resistance, which we call “production process conservatism,” is heightened when the product is used in the performance of a social ritual.
Methodology
We develop this argument in the context of diamond jewelry, as consumers have generally been resistant to diamonds that are produced in laboratories, i.e., lab-created diamonds. Hypotheses were tested using experiments conducted with an online sample (Experiment 1) and with an MBA student sample (Experiment 2).
Findings
In Experiment 1, we find that married female respondents significantly prefer mined diamonds to lab-created diamonds when they are used as part of an engagement gift as opposed to a more routine gift. In Experiment 2, we find the same effect among women; in addition, the perceived risk associated with the ritual is found to mediate this production process conservatism.
Social Implications
This paper contributes to the understanding of a macrosocial phenomenon – acceptance of an innovation – by examining microinteractive processes in groups.
Originality/value of Paper
This paper develops an original theory that when individuals deviate from traditional aspects of rituals, they risk signaling a lack of commitment or cultural competence to the group even when such aspects are not explicitly stated.
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Thomas Keil, Pasi Kuusela and Nils Stieglitz
How do organizations respond to negative feedback regarding their innovation activities? In this chapter, the authors reconcile contradictory predictions stemming from behavioral…
Abstract
How do organizations respond to negative feedback regarding their innovation activities? In this chapter, the authors reconcile contradictory predictions stemming from behavioral learning and from the escalation of commitment (EoC) perspectives regarding persistence under negative performance feedback. The authors core argument suggests that the seemingly contradictory psychological processes indicated by these two perspectives occur simultaneously in decision makers but that the design of organizational roles and reward systems affects their prevalence in decision-making tasks. Specifically, the authors argue that for decision makers responsible for an individual project, responses given to negative performance feedback regarding a project are dominated by self-justification and loss-avoidance mechanisms predicted by the EoC literature, while for decision makers responsible for a portfolio of projects, responses to negative performance regarding a project are dominated by an under-sampling of poorly performing alternatives that behavioral learning theory predicts. In addition to assigning decision-making authority to different organizational roles, organizational designers shape the strength of these mechanisms through the design of reward systems and specifically by setting more or less ambiguous goals, aspiration levels, time horizons of incentives provided, and levels of failure tolerance.
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Torben Juul Andersen, Simon Torp and Stefan Linder
This first chapter argues that turbulent environments require adaptive strategy for survival and continued prosperity and thereby introduces the attempts to determine effective…
Abstract
This first chapter argues that turbulent environments require adaptive strategy for survival and continued prosperity and thereby introduces the attempts to determine effective response capabilities in contemporary firms, which are presented in the ensuing chapters. The background in prior strategy research is outlined to position the various contributions within a proper backdrop as potential extensions to prior insights generated in the strategic management field. It suggests a need for multiple methodological approaches to gain new diverse and relevant knowledge from rich qualitative field studies as well as quantitative data probes and computational analyses. Finally, the ensuing chapters are briefly presented to provide a coherent view of the contributions made by this specific collection of chapters that the authors hope will inspire and fuel ongoing work in this important area.