Abstract: | This article addresses some aspects of project management theory on a basis of an in-depth longitudinal case study of the Lillehammer Olympics Organizing Committee (LOOC) before and during the XVII Olympic Winter Games in 1994. Particular emphasis is put on the implications of two characteristics of this project: the fact that it was not embedded in any parent organization, and that its task was imbued with uncertainty. As a result, emergent tasks, emergent structure and informal authority appear to have been critical features. Because of the non-embedded nature of the Olympic Winter Games project the case has also illustrated the value of viewing projects like this one as temporary organizations rather than as projects initiated by a parent organization. |