Pub Date : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102705
Maude Brunet
Given the increasing scholarly attention to megaprojects and sustainability, this essay proposes an alternative to building bigger and more megaprojects. Using a critical perspective and mobilizing the literature on degrowth, it is suggested that scaling down could be beneficial on many levels. Megaprojects are ubiquitous, yet they have profound repercussions on the land and resources and on local communities, not always for the better. Suggesting the avenue of ‘sustainability without megaprojects’, some research streams are suggested to pursue this reflection in line with degrowth principles of producing less, sharing more and deciding together. While more research is necessary to understand more thoroughly the implications of degrowth principles to megaprojects framing, there is also a crucial need for political action to debate the alternatives and develop appropriate policy responses.
{"title":"Considering alternatives to megaprojects for a sustainable future with degrowth principles","authors":"Maude Brunet","doi":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102705","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102705","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Given the increasing scholarly attention to megaprojects and sustainability, this essay proposes an alternative to building bigger and more megaprojects. Using a critical perspective and mobilizing the literature on degrowth, it is suggested that scaling down could be beneficial on many levels. Megaprojects are ubiquitous, yet they have profound repercussions on the land and resources and on local communities, not always for the better. Suggesting the avenue of ‘sustainability without megaprojects’, some research streams are suggested to pursue this reflection in line with degrowth principles of producing less, sharing more and deciding together. While more research is necessary to understand more thoroughly the implications of degrowth principles to megaprojects framing, there is also a crucial need for political action to debate the alternatives and develop appropriate policy responses.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48429,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Project Management","volume":"43 3","pages":"Article 102705"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143816986","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-02-01DOI: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102694
Yuntao Yang, Bin Zhao
Despite project complexity and large-scale project management being research hotspots in project management, the existing research has not fully considered the influence of building information modelling implementation on project complexity. In order to fill this research gap, this study used quantitative and qualitative methods to explore the impact of building information modelling on project complexity and large-scale project management performance and to verify the mediating role of project complexity between building information modelling and large-scale project management performance. The results show that: 1) The implementation of building information modelling in large-scale projects can significantly mitigate project complexity (technology, goals, information, organization, and environment); 2) Information and goal complexity have a significantly negative impact on large-scale project management performance; 3) Utilizing building information modeling to reduce information and goal complexity can significantly improve the management performance of large-scale projects; 4) Besides reducing project complexity, applying building information modelling can directly improve large-scale project management performance; 5) The improvement of policies and standards, the cultivation of information technology talents (personal incentives), project management process reengineering and innovation, and data governance are conducive to exert the values of building information modelling in project management. These findings not only enrich theoretical research but also provide valuable decision-making references for managers to improve management performance, driving the development of informatization and intelligence in the construction industry.
{"title":"How building information modelling mitigates complexity and enhances performance in large-scale projects: Evidence from China","authors":"Yuntao Yang, Bin Zhao","doi":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102694","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102694","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Despite project complexity and large-scale project management being research hotspots in project management, the existing research has not fully considered the influence of building information modelling implementation on project complexity. In order to fill this research gap, this study used quantitative and qualitative methods to explore the impact of building information modelling on project complexity and large-scale project management performance and to verify the mediating role of project complexity between building information modelling and large-scale project management performance. The results show that: 1) The implementation of building information modelling in large-scale projects can significantly mitigate project complexity (technology, goals, information, organization, and environment); 2) Information and goal complexity have a significantly negative impact on large-scale project management performance; 3) Utilizing building information modeling to reduce information and goal complexity can significantly improve the management performance of large-scale projects; 4) Besides reducing project complexity, applying building information modelling can directly improve large-scale project management performance; 5) The improvement of policies and standards, the cultivation of information technology talents (personal incentives), project management process reengineering and innovation, and data governance are conducive to exert the values of building information modelling in project management. These findings not only enrich theoretical research but also provide valuable decision-making references for managers to improve management performance, driving the development of informatization and intelligence in the construction industry.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48429,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Project Management","volume":"43 2","pages":"Article 102694"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143704688","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-02-01DOI: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102692
Marina Bos-de Vos , Miia Martinsuo , Ellen Loots
Actors involved in programs that promote sustainability transitions project how future value can be created and protected within the constraints of existing institutions and fields. There is a need to better understand this projecting among versatile organizational actors to support the successful advancement of sustainability transitions. Drawing upon the joint value creation employed in five circular economy programs, we identify three modes of projecting for promoting sustainability transitions: distributing, dispersing, and activating. The modes of projecting relate strongly to how programs are configured. We contribute to the sustainability transitions literature by examining niche-regime interactions through the lens of joint value creation, offering novel insights into programs’ unique ways of promoting sustainability transitions. Another contribution is to the literature on value creation in interorganizational projects and programs by revealing different approaches for joint value creation in different modes of projecting.
{"title":"Projecting to promote sustainability transitions through joint value creation","authors":"Marina Bos-de Vos , Miia Martinsuo , Ellen Loots","doi":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102692","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102692","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Actors involved in programs that promote sustainability transitions project how future value can be created and protected within the constraints of existing institutions and fields. There is a need to better understand this projecting among versatile organizational actors to support the successful advancement of sustainability transitions. Drawing upon the joint value creation employed in five circular economy programs, we identify three modes of projecting for promoting sustainability transitions: distributing, dispersing, and activating. The modes of projecting relate strongly to how programs are configured. We contribute to the sustainability transitions literature by examining niche-regime interactions through the lens of joint value creation, offering novel insights into programs’ unique ways of promoting sustainability transitions. Another contribution is to the literature on value creation in interorganizational projects and programs by revealing different approaches for joint value creation in different modes of projecting.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48429,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Project Management","volume":"43 2","pages":"Article 102692"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143578124","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-02-01DOI: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102695
Dr Efrosyni Konstantinou
A sociologically aware, relational interpretation of project leadership has been developing, which emphasises the multiplicity of social relationships, interactions and dynamics evolving within the project and its leadership in the project environment. However, our community is at risk of producing “overly-socialized” images of project leadership, as has been the case in adjacent field of organisation studies. In this context, I introduce the notion of the politics of the self, generously aided by Parmenides of Elea, pre-Socratic philosopher (520–450 BCE), and descendant philosophers in the phenomenological/existentialist tradition. The politics of the self – the permanent political relationship that we all have with our self – suggests that the political dimension of the self is considered along with the social dimension of the self in images of project leadership in equal measure, if not more prominently.
{"title":"The politics of the self: A parmenidean/existentialist perspective of the project leader","authors":"Dr Efrosyni Konstantinou","doi":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102695","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102695","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A sociologically aware, relational interpretation of project leadership has been developing, which emphasises the multiplicity of social relationships, interactions and dynamics evolving within the project and its leadership in the project environment. However, our community is at risk of producing “overly-socialized” images of project leadership, as has been the case in adjacent field of organisation studies. In this context, I introduce the notion of the politics of the self, generously aided by Parmenides of Elea, pre-Socratic philosopher (520–450 BCE), and descendant philosophers in the phenomenological/existentialist tradition. The politics of the self – the permanent political relationship that we all have with our self – suggests that the political dimension of the self is considered along with the social dimension of the self in images of project leadership in equal measure, if not more prominently.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48429,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Project Management","volume":"43 2","pages":"Article 102695"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143704689","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-02-01DOI: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102696
Andreas Wald , Helgi Thor Ingason , Thordur Vikingur Fridgeirsson
Theory of projectification suggests that an increasing use of projects is a reaction to an increasing need for innovation and adaptation to changes in the environment of firms. The degree of projectification of an economy was first measured in 2013 for Germany followed by Norway and Iceland. Over the last ten years, significant changes have taken place in the three countries which can be assumed to spur a further increase in projectification. This paper presents the results of a new series of studies. The results reveal a high level of projectification in the three economies, but also that a plateauing has been reached. In addition to the degree of projectification, the present study assesses and compares the project landscapes in the three countries and examines if the high projectification corresponds to a professionalization of project management in the form of project careers and central project organizations.
{"title":"Ten years after: The evolution of projectification in Germany, Norway, and Iceland","authors":"Andreas Wald , Helgi Thor Ingason , Thordur Vikingur Fridgeirsson","doi":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102696","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102696","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Theory of projectification suggests that an increasing use of projects is a reaction to an increasing need for innovation and adaptation to changes in the environment of firms. The degree of projectification of an economy was first measured in 2013 for Germany followed by Norway and Iceland. Over the last ten years, significant changes have taken place in the three countries which can be assumed to spur a further increase in projectification. This paper presents the results of a new series of studies. The results reveal a high level of projectification in the three economies, but also that a plateauing has been reached. In addition to the degree of projectification, the present study assesses and compares the project landscapes in the three countries and examines if the high projectification corresponds to a professionalization of project management in the form of project careers and central project organizations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48429,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Project Management","volume":"43 2","pages":"Article 102696"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143747874","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102675
Kubra Atli, Ilias Krystallis
Managing infrastructure projects often presents challenges in maintaining flexibility throughout their lifecycle, which limits their ability to adapt to evolving and uncertain conditions. This systematic literature review examines the factors that accelerate design flexibility in the management of infrastructure projects. Analyzing 50 articles from a dataset of 11,443, we identified several key factors, organized into seven clusters across three levels: individuals, organizations, and inter-organizational relationships and three operational dimensions of design flexibility. These factors help to expand the concept of flexibility beyond its traditional association with engineering product design to encompass managerial project design. Building on Simon's design theory, this study frames design flexibility as a proactive and strategic asset. We offer future research directions to further broaden the scope of flexibility in project management. This study contributes to ongoing debates in project management on how to enhance project performance in uncertain conditions, by addressing the challenge of balancing flexibility and control.
{"title":"Design flexibility in managing infrastructure projects: Contributing factors and research avenues","authors":"Kubra Atli, Ilias Krystallis","doi":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102675","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102675","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Managing infrastructure projects often presents challenges in maintaining flexibility throughout their lifecycle, which limits their ability to adapt to evolving and uncertain conditions. This systematic literature review examines the factors that accelerate design flexibility in the management of infrastructure projects. Analyzing 50 articles from a dataset of 11,443, we identified several key factors, organized into seven clusters across three levels: individuals, organizations, and inter-organizational relationships and three operational dimensions of design flexibility. These factors help to expand the concept of flexibility beyond its traditional association with engineering product design to encompass managerial project design. Building on Simon's design theory, this study frames design flexibility as a proactive and strategic asset. We offer future research directions to further broaden the scope of flexibility in project management. This study contributes to ongoing debates in project management on how to enhance project performance in uncertain conditions, by addressing the challenge of balancing flexibility and control.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48429,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Project Management","volume":"43 1","pages":"Article 102675"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143165836","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-01DOI: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102676
Francesco Di Maddaloni , Leonardo Herszon Meira , Mauricio Oliveira de Andrade , Iury Ribeiro de Melo , Armando Castro , Giorgio Locatelli
Megaprojects can foster modernization and enhance social and economic development but also perpetuate poverty and deprivation. This dark legacy is fostered by weak governmental structures, where local communities lack representation and social welfare is sacrificed for economic gain. Through a normative stakeholder theory and social value perspective, we examine the nuanced interplay between local authorities and the project owner organization in the controversial case of Brazil's Suape Port. The substantial economic gains triggered by the Suape megaproject did not improve the social conditions for local communities. While the original business case primarily focused on economic profitability, the disengagement of local authorities and their communities prevented benefits from materializing at the local level. By examining these missed opportunities, we introduce the concept of value dissipation to explain how social value diminishes over time, resulting in a shortfall in social benefits and a poor legacy for local communities.
{"title":"The dark legacy of megaprojects: A case of local disengagement, missed opportunities, and social value dissipation","authors":"Francesco Di Maddaloni , Leonardo Herszon Meira , Mauricio Oliveira de Andrade , Iury Ribeiro de Melo , Armando Castro , Giorgio Locatelli","doi":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102676","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102676","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Megaprojects can foster modernization and enhance social and economic development but also perpetuate poverty and deprivation. This dark legacy is fostered by weak governmental structures, where local communities lack representation and social welfare is sacrificed for economic gain. Through a normative stakeholder theory and social value perspective, we examine the nuanced interplay between local authorities and the project owner organization in the controversial case of Brazil's Suape Port. The substantial economic gains triggered by the Suape megaproject did not improve the social conditions for local communities. While the original business case primarily focused on economic profitability, the disengagement of local authorities and their communities prevented benefits from materializing at the local level. By examining these missed opportunities, we introduce the concept of <em>value dissipation</em> to explain how social value diminishes over time, resulting in a shortfall in social benefits and a poor legacy for local communities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48429,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Project Management","volume":"43 1","pages":"Article 102676"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143165834","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cognition, understood as the way the mind acquires, processes, and enacts information, is at the root of all behaviour. Yet, while the interest in behaviour in projects is increasing, these cognitive foundations are often disregarded or only haphazardly investigated in project research. This essay calls for a stronger engagement with cognition in projects, leveraging the insights from general and applied cognition sciences to explore, explain, and predict project behaviour. We emphasise that it is not differences in the thinking itself, but differences in the context in which the thinking is applied, that makes projects a relevant and distinct area in which to study cognition. To sketch a way forward, we establish key terms, illustrate phenomena from project behaviour which might benefit from a study through a cognitive lens, and introduce appropriate theories from cognitive science. The insights generated from such research with attention to ‘project cognition’ are particularly valuable for practice as they help to design project environments that align with how people in projects make sense of their world and interact with it.
{"title":"Thinking is for doing: Project cognition as the foundation of project behaviour","authors":"Verena Stingl , Alicia Gilchrist , Ama Lawani , Rhona Flin , Ofer Zwikael","doi":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102678","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102678","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cognition, understood as the way the mind acquires, processes, and enacts information, is at the root of all behaviour. Yet, while the interest in behaviour in projects is increasing, these cognitive foundations are often disregarded or only haphazardly investigated in project research. This essay calls for a stronger engagement with cognition in projects, leveraging the insights from general and applied cognition sciences to explore, explain, and predict project behaviour. We emphasise that it is not differences in the thinking itself, but differences in the context in which the thinking is applied, that makes projects a relevant and distinct area in which to study cognition. To sketch a way forward, we establish key terms, illustrate phenomena from project behaviour which might benefit from a study through a cognitive lens, and introduce appropriate theories from cognitive science. The insights generated from such research with attention to ‘project cognition’ are particularly valuable for practice as they help to design project environments that align with how people in projects make sense of their world and interact with it.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48429,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Project Management","volume":"43 1","pages":"Article 102678"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143210023","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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