Strategic and Cultural Misalignment: Knowledge Sharing Barriers in Project Networks

This article draws on theories from knowledge and project management to develop an understanding of how knowledge sharing is encouraged and hindered in the context of a multifirm network assembled to execute an innovative shipbuilding project. The empirical data are based on a qualitative case study, collected from in‐depth face‐to‐face interviews in China and Norway, with the key people from a ship owner, shipbuilder, and ship technology supplier. The research indicates three interesting findings: First, differences in organizational culture (not national culture) hamper knowledge sharing. Second, a strategic misalignment made knowledge sharing difficult. Third, protecting knowledge by patenting and secrecy barely influenced the knowledge sharing processes. Based on previous research and lessons learned from case study experience, we suggest a framework to analyze challenges and links in project networks.     

Interactions Between Organizational Culture,Trustworthiness, and Mechanisms for Inter‐Project Knowledge Sharing

This research used a multiple‐case study approach to empirically investigate the complex relationship between factors influencing inter‐project knowledge sharing—trustworthiness, organizational culture, and knowledge‐sharing mechanisms. Adopting a competing values framework, we found evidence of patterns existing between the type of culture, on the project management unit level, and project managers’ perceptions of valuing trustworthy behaviors and the way they share knowledge, on the individual level. We also found evidence for mutually reinforcing the effect of trust and clan culture, which shape tacit knowledge‐sharing behaviors.     

What Motivates Experts to Share? A Prospective Test of the Model of Knowledge‐Sharing Motivation

Knowledge sharing is an employee behavior, critical to organizational success in knowledge‐intensive work environments. This study set out to empirically test the model of knowledge‐sharing motivation designed and presented in this journal by Gagné (2009). The model combines two established behavioral theories, the theory of planned behavior and self‐determination theory, and connects various human resource practices to it. This prospective survey study ( n = 200) in a large expert organization employed structural equation modeling. The results mainly supported the proposed model, with attitudes, autonomous motivation, and sharing norms predicting knowledge‐sharing intentions ( R² = .69), which predicted knowledge‐sharing behavior ( R² = .42). We also identified potential ways to modify the model to better suit typical knowledge‐sharing contexts. Implications for practice, with the emphasis on how our findings can benefit and be used by human resource management, are discussed. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Formal and Informal Practices of Knowledge Sharing Between Project Teams and Enacted Cultural Characteristics

This article investigates the process of knowledge sharing between project teams and uses a case study approach. This is especially relevant, as organizations face both the needs for separating work into projects and integrating knowledge created in projects into the organization. The results provided by the analysis technique of GABEK^® indicate that, although projects create boundaries, employees and project team leaders use formal mechanisms and develop informal practices for knowledge sharing between project teams. Furthermore, the article identifies organizational cultural characteristics enacted in these practices that can stimulate the discussion in “knowledge culture research” regarding the relationship of organizational cultural characteristics and (specific) knowledge processes.     

Effect of Knowledge Leadership on Knowledge Sharing in Engineering Project Design Teams: The Role of Social Capital

Knowledge sharing is a precondition for engineering project design teams to achieve an efficient design; however, designers are not always willing to share knowledge with other team members. To improve knowledge sharing, this article investigates the effect of knowledge leadership on knowledge sharing in engineering project design teams by examining the role of social capital. Our results show a significant indirect effect of knowledge leadership on knowledge sharing through the mediating role of social capital. Therefore, effective knowledge sharing depends on knowledge leaders to develop a share vision, and promote a trustworthy and collaborative environment for designers.     

Positioning of the stakeholders in the interaction project management–project marketing: A case of a coconstructed industrial project

Based on a business‐to‐business (B‐to‐B) case within the automotive industry, this study proposes logics (constructivist and determinist, respectively) of protagonists and highlights the complexity of their dynamics during the successive project's phases. The concept of milieu will emphasize the complex business in which project marketing takes place; notably, it allows better identification of relevant relationships. Our article focuses on this concept of milieu with regard to the interactions between project marketing and project management actors during project phases. In particular, this article underlines the difference and the accommodation between the dynamics of interaction and the dynamics of congruence of marketing and management logics.     

The role of project management maturity and organizational culture in perceived performance

This study investigates whether project management maturity (PMM) relates to perceived organizational performance and how an organization's cultural orientation is a contributing factor. Perceived organizational performance is defined as project effectiveness and efficiency followed by resulting business performance. A survey‐based research was conducted with 86 project professionals from various U.S. service and manufacturing organizations. The study revealed that PMM is significantly related to business performance but not to project performance. Furthermore, while clan organizational culture is a sole contributing factor for project and business performances, PMM interacts with market culture in improving business performance. This study shows that in order to deal with project time, budget, and expectations issues, an organizational culture change toward sharing, collaboration, and empowerment is a must. Furthermore, an increasing project management maturity along with a results‐oriented organizational culture improves an organization's competitiveness, resulting in cost savings and increased sales. PMM efforts are therefore crucial. PMM accompanied by an understanding of cultural orientation is a best strategy for today's project‐based organizations.     

Project success as a topic in project management journals

This article highlights the characteristics of articles on project success published between 1986 and 2004 in the Project Management Journal (PMJ) and the International Journal of Project Management (IJPM). The analysis covers references, concepts like project management success, project success, success criteria, and success factors; features of the samples, data collection, and analysis techniques used; and professional disciplines. The results show that research on project success is characterized by diversity except in epistemological and methodological perspectives. The article suggests a shift to project, portfolio, and program success and concludes with a discussion on the traditional state of the research, criticizes its assumptions, and offers alternative metaphors and recommendations for future research.     

A Comprehensive Framework for Sustainable Project Portfolio Selection Based on Structural Equation Modeling

Project selection problems are inherently complex problems with multiple and often conflicting objectives. The complexity of project selection problems is due to the high number of projects from which a subset (portfolio) has to be chosen. Various analytical methods, ranging from the simple weighted sum to complex mathematical programming have been proposed to solving these problems. We propose an integrated approach for strategic and sustainable project portfolio selection, which is composed of two distinct but interrelated modules. In the first module, we use the strategic planning and sustainability concepts to select a set of promising projects. In the second module, we use a project portfolio selection procedure to choose among the promising projects identified in the first module. A structural equation model is used to analyze and explain the relationships among different factors in the proposed framework. More specifically, we investigate the effects of: (1) strategic level performance on sustainability, post‐implementation, and overall performance; (2) implementation performance on post‐implementation and overall performance; (3) portfolio selection performance on implementation and overall performance; and (4) post‐implementation performance on overall performance. A case study in investment banking is presented to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed model and exhibit the efficacy of the procedures and algorithms.     

Knowledge-sharing rewards in enterprise social networks: effects of learner types and impact of digitisation

ABSTRACT

The era of total digitisation demands companies to seek innovative approaches in managing digital assets. This paper presents and studies an analytical model of an enterprise social network (ESN) employed by organisations in facilitating knowledge sharing and learning. Exploring the design of reward systems that motivate workers to share knowledge, we focus on how the dominant type of learners (avid or impressionable), the network structure of the ESN, and digitisation affect the reward systems. This research provides valuable insights for practitioners to implement appropriate reward systems to promote knowledge sharing and learning in ESNs.     

Making Innovation Happen in a Megaproject: London's Crossrail Suburban Railway System

Isolated pockets of innovation can be found in projects—such as the novel solution used to redesign the Velodrome roof during the London 2012 Olympics—but there have been few, if any, systematic efforts to manage innovation in a megaproject. This paper presents the initial findings of an ongoing three‐year (2012–2014) action research project between Crossrail and researchers at Imperial College London and University College London. Action research is well suited to a setting where an intervention is required to diagnose and solve an organizational problem and produce scientific findings (Miles & Huberman, 1994; Van de Ven, 2007). Undertaken in collaboration with practitioners, the aim of action research is to transform the research setting through a process of critical inquiry and action. Our engagement with Crossrail aimed to formulate and implement an innovation strategy to improve the performance and outcomes of the project. We identified four stages—or windows of opportunity—to intervene to generate, discover, and implement innovation in a megaproject: (1) the bridging window during the front‐end when ideas, learning, and practices from other projects and industries can be used to create an innovative project process, organization, and governance structure; (2) the engaging window, when tendering and contractual processes can be used by the client to encourage contractors and suppliers to develop novel ideas and innovative solutions; (3) the leveraging window, when all the parties involved—clients, delivery partners, and suppliers—are mobilized to develop novel ideas, new technologies, and organizational practices to improve performance; and (4) the exchanging window at the back‐end, when ideas and resources for innovation can be (re)combined with those of other projects in the wider innovation ecosystem to improve performance. The first two stages had largely occurred when we became involved in the Crossrail project in 2012. Our intervention addressed the final two stages, when we assisted in the development and implementation of an innovation strategy. Core to this strategy was a coordinated mobilization of the innovative capabilities across the project supply chain. Though, to be successful, this approach had to be open enough to span organizational boundaries beyond the supply chain, reaching into the broader ecosystem. The four windows provide a valuable new heuristic for organizing innovation in megaprojects, pointing to areas where project managers can craft targeted innovation interventions and compare their efforts with those of others.     

烟草建设项目知识管理研究

烟草建设的大型化、复杂化,给项目管理的知识共享带来极大的挑战,如何应用现代管理手段,实现知识的收集、积累、挖掘、总结和共享,是当前项目管理工作亟待解决的问题。本文基于烟草建设项目的工程实践,对知识管理在烟草建设项目管理中的应用作了一定的研究,分析了知识管理的对象和实施机理,提出了知识管理的措施。     

论企业在项目实施中的协同机制研究

项目实施是一个多方参与、涉及众多专业和技术知识的复杂管理过程。参与项目实施的各利益相关方之间的关系较复杂,冲突和矛盾会随着项目所处阶段的不同而有所变化。本文从拟从协同管理理论的角度出发,探讨企业在项目实施中的协同机制,进而促使参与各方最大可能实现利益共赢、资源共享,如期顺利完成目标任务。     

Learning Through Interactions: Improving Project Management Through Communities of Practice

Communities of practice are a possible mechanism for improving knowledge sharing among project managers, both within and between organizations. Based on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, we theorize a model of participation intensity in communities of practice by project managers and explore the use of Web 2.0 technologies to increase this participation. Using structural equation modeling, we test the research model and find that the factors of reputation, enjoyment, and management support impact the participation intensity of project managers in communities of practice. However, we do not find support for the impact of Web 2.0 technologies on participation intensity. This study provides evidence that participation in communities of practice can result in individual benefits for the project manager, as well as in more far‐reaching organizational benefits.     

Value creation by building an intraorganizational common frame of reference concerning project management

In this article, we suggest that organizations should not focus on selecting between various project management approaches, tools, or behaviors. Instead, we claim that the real benefit from project management implementations comes from the mere creation of a common frame of reference. Based on four case studies, we identify elements that enhance such a common frame of reference: (1) a common project management model, (2) common project management training, (3) common project management examinations/certifications, and (4) activities for knowledge sharing. Values created, especially when the application of the elements was mandatory, were better communication, better customer satisfaction, and easier knowledge sharing.     

Keeping the Wheels Turning: The Dynamics of Managing Networks of Practice

Intra‐organizational networks of practice (NOPs) confront managers with a dilemma: they must manage NOPs to reap benefits from integrating geographically dispersed knowledge, but the inherently emergent nature of NOPs implies that management control may frustrate practice‐related knowledge to be shared. Based on a case study of 22 NOPs in a geographically dispersed development organization (‘TDO’), we develop a model that disentangles the dynamics underlying this dilemma, helping to better understand it. Specifically, four dynamic relationships are interrelated and involve four kinds of embeddedness (organizational, in practice, relational, and structural) that relate dynamically to knowledge sharing in NOPs. Interventions in both the content shared in the network and the connections among network members can influence each of these relations. This study contributes to theoretical and practical understanding of how to manage NOPs without killing them.     

An Empirical Identification of Project Management Toolsets and a Comparison Among Project Types

This article presents the results of an empirical investigation of project management practice. Practice is investigated through the study of the extent of use of a large number of practices, tools, and techniques specific to project management. A sample of 2,339 practitioners participating in a large‐scale international survey is used for this article. The sample size and the diversity of contexts in which the respondents are working render the analysis feasible and the results reliable. The data is analyzed to identify patterns of practice. More specifically, using principal component analysis, the research identifies patterns that demonstrate that practitioners use project management tools and techniques in groups or “toolsets.” A brief attempt is made to compare results with A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (PMI, 2008 ) Knowledge Areas and Process Groups. The article also shows how practice varies with the management of different types of projects: engineering and construction; business and financial services; information technology (IT) and telecommunications; and software development projects. The identification of these variations has important consequences for practice and for the study of practice.     

Knowledge transfer in project‐based organizations: An organizational culture perspective

This conceptual paper investigates the process of knowledge transfer in project‐based organizations from the perspective of organizational culture. The paper identifies obstacles to knowledge transfer in project‐based organizations and emphasizes the importance of organizational and project cultures in this process. The study provides some suggestions for improving knowledge transfer in project‐based organizations and notes the implications of the paper for project management.     

Information systems project management in PMJ: A brief history

The Project Management Institute (PMI) plays an important role in the training, career development, and recognition of information systems (IS) project managers. Indeed, not only do IS professionals account for a large proportion of the PMI constituency, but PMI is also influential in the training of IS project managers. This study explores further the contribution of PMI to IS project management by means of its main publication outlet, the Project Management Journal (PMJ). To do so, the contents of the 39 IS project management articles published in PMJ during 1988–2005 were analyzed. The article focuses on the following dimensions: the relative importance of IS project management articles published by PMJ; the profile of the authors of IS project management articles in PMJ; the main issues, in terms of IS project management, covered by PMJ; and the major gaps, in terms of IS project management, in the coverage of this domain by PMJ.     

Implementing a Low‐End Disruption Strategy Through Multiproject Lineage Management: The Logan Case

This paper analyzes how multiproject management can build up and develop a low‐end disruptive strategy. It is based on a deep longitudinal analysis of a case within the automotive industry, namely, the Logan case developed by the Renault group. The results bring new insights into both the multiproject management and innovation strategy fields. On the project organizing side, it characterizes the complex and in some way ambiguous relations between the firm governance and the pilot project initiating the disruptive strategy. The case also formalizes project‐lineage management as a way to expand the initial move into a diversified range of products and a multi‐continent deployment, while keeping the key specificities of the pilot project. On the innovation strategy side, it demonstrates how disruptive strategy and organizational ambidexterity research fields can benefit from input from the project organizing domain.