Perspectives on the Formal Authority Between Project Managers and Change Managers

Project management and change management both contribute to the management and delivery of changes to organizations; however, they are based on distinct bodies of knowledge, and practitioners of these disciplines have disparate views on how change should be managed. There is a lack of consensus about how these disciplines should work together to deliver organizational change projects, which may result in conflict. This research delves into practitioners’ perspectives on formal authority, the reporting relationship between these disciplines, and also reveals the fundamental differences in how practitioners of these disciplines view the practice of organizational change.     

Exploring Project Knowledge Acquisition and Exchange Through Action Research

This paper presents a research methodology used to develop a novel framework for an investigation into how project managers acquire and exchange knowledge. The qualitative study was conducted with six experienced project managers based in Australia. Adopting and augmenting an action research methodology, the data were analyzed using grounded theory techniques. Data collection occurred through four sequential interventions that aligned to three action research cycles. Three additional spin‐off cycles were utilized to ensure quality and validity of the research approach with an external reference group. The implications of this research approach are presented for application in future research.