Pub Date : 2025-05-01DOI: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102723
Hedley Smyth , Ole Jonny Klakegg , Vegard Knotten
Client management by the delivery organisation is under-researched across the project domain. Reviewing the literature positions client management (CM) as an important topic for improving performance. Three dominant theoretical strands are identified. One strand is based in the disciplines of marketing and organisational behaviour. It is largely located in the delivery firm. The second strand primarily locates CM as part of project marketing. This strand is rooted in operational management and has become positioned tactically as a subset of project management largely at the front-end. A lesser third strand views CM from the project management delivery perspective. The analysis demonstrates the theory-driven lenses employed by the different research strands produce a fragmented picture that limits current understanding. Hence there is a need for conceptual integration. The analysis argues for cross-disciplinary research to induce integration, commencing with the current intersections to create a strategic platform for generating new knowledge.
{"title":"Client management in the project domain: towards conceptual integration using cross-disciplinary research","authors":"Hedley Smyth , Ole Jonny Klakegg , Vegard Knotten","doi":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102723","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102723","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Client management by the delivery organisation is under-researched across the project domain. Reviewing the literature positions client management (CM) as an important topic for improving performance. Three dominant theoretical strands are identified. One strand is based in the disciplines of marketing and organisational behaviour. It is largely located in the delivery firm. The second strand primarily locates CM as part of project marketing. This strand is rooted in operational management and has become positioned tactically as a subset of project management largely at the front-end. A lesser third strand views CM from the project management delivery perspective. The analysis demonstrates the theory-driven lenses employed by the different research strands produce a fragmented picture that limits current understanding. Hence there is a need for conceptual integration. The analysis argues for cross-disciplinary research to induce integration, commencing with the current intersections to create a strategic platform for generating new knowledge.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48429,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Project Management","volume":"43 4","pages":"Article 102723"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144364429","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 : 2025-05-01DOI: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102722
Gang Liu, Wannan Wang
Recent studies emphasize the importance of entrepreneurial orientation on project portfolio success, but there is little research on the influence of contextual factors in entrepreneurial orientation on project portfolio success. Meanwhile, although some studies have examined the role of ideation portfolio management on project portfolio success, the antecedents of ideation portfolio management have not been adequately explained. It can be reasonably assumed that entrepreneurial orientation assists firms in exploring new opportunities, developing their business and coping with changes of external environment. It is therefore logical to posit that entrepreneurial orientation should be an antecedent of ideation portfolio management and contribute to project portfolio success, and that firm size may affect the processes. The paper examines the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and project portfolio success, and the roles of ideation portfolio management and firm size using a sample of 450 Chinese firms. The results show that ideation portfolio management has a mediating effect between entrepreneurial orientation and project portfolio success. Moreover, if firm size is larger, the effect of entrepreneurial orientation on project portfolio success is weaker, and the impact of ideation portfolio management on project portfolio success is stronger. Surprisingly, the effect of entrepreneurial orientation on ideation portfolio management does not depend on firm size.
{"title":"How entrepreneurial orientation influences project portfolio success: The roles of ideation portfolio management and firm size","authors":"Gang Liu, Wannan Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102722","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102722","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Recent studies emphasize the importance of entrepreneurial orientation on project portfolio success, but there is little research on the influence of contextual factors in entrepreneurial orientation on project portfolio success. Meanwhile, although some studies have examined the role of ideation portfolio management on project portfolio success, the antecedents of ideation portfolio management have not been adequately explained. It can be reasonably assumed that entrepreneurial orientation assists firms in exploring new opportunities, developing their business and coping with changes of external environment. It is therefore logical to posit that entrepreneurial orientation should be an antecedent of ideation portfolio management and contribute to project portfolio success, and that firm size may affect the processes. The paper examines the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and project portfolio success, and the roles of ideation portfolio management and firm size using a sample of 450 Chinese firms. The results show that ideation portfolio management has a mediating effect between entrepreneurial orientation and project portfolio success. Moreover, if firm size is larger, the effect of entrepreneurial orientation on project portfolio success is weaker, and the impact of ideation portfolio management on project portfolio success is stronger. Surprisingly, the effect of entrepreneurial orientation on ideation portfolio management does not depend on firm size.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48429,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Project Management","volume":"43 4","pages":"Article 102722"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144204298","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 : 2025-05-01DOI: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102681
Lavagnon A. Ika , Jeffrey K. Pinto
With the recent passing of Daniel Kahneman, Nobel Prize winner and influential thinker, the opportunity to offer reflection on his contributions to project management theory and practice is timely. Indeed, while Kahneman himself is no longer with us, his ideas continue to carry enormous weight in the project management field. This essay is offered as a festschrift and is accompanied by invited commentaries. We take stock of Kahneman's work on judgment and decision-making under risk; bias, error and noise; and the Planning Fallacy. We note that much of his work served as a foreshadowing of current scholarship and opened wide avenues for exploration in project management; everything from topics such as project behavior, causes and effects of project performance, happiness and well-being, and even foreshadowing the AI movement. We argue that Kahneman's ideas at the intersection of psychology and economics have not so much revised as upended our understanding of project management.
{"title":"Casting a long shadow: On the death and abiding influence of Daniel Kahneman in shaping project management theory and practice","authors":"Lavagnon A. Ika , Jeffrey K. Pinto","doi":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102681","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102681","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>With the recent passing of Daniel Kahneman, Nobel Prize winner and influential thinker, the opportunity to offer reflection on his contributions to project management theory and practice is timely. Indeed, while Kahneman himself is no longer with us, his ideas continue to carry enormous weight in the project management field. This essay is offered as a festschrift and is accompanied by invited commentaries. We take stock of Kahneman's work on judgment and decision-making under risk; bias, error and noise; and the Planning Fallacy. We note that much of his work served as a foreshadowing of current scholarship and opened wide avenues for exploration in project management; everything from topics such as project behavior, causes and effects of project performance, happiness and well-being, and even foreshadowing the AI movement. We argue that Kahneman's ideas at the intersection of psychology and economics have not so much revised as upended our understanding of project management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48429,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Project Management","volume":"43 4","pages":"Article 102681"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144481009","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 : 2025-05-01DOI: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102720
Silvia Gilardi, Alessandra Lazazzara
Several studies highlight that organisational climate can influence the impact of temporary forms within permanent organisations on employee well-being and performance. Therefore, a better understanding of employees’ shared perceptions about temporariness is critical. This article introduces a model of organisational climate for temporariness, conceptualised as employees’ shared perceptions regarding the practices, procedures, and kinds of behaviours that are valued, rewarded, and supported when temporariness is adopted within permanent organisations. It draws on a qualitative study based on focus groups conducted in an advanced medium-sized manufacturing company applying projects and other temporary arrangements. The findings highlight how employees make sense of temporariness in four main areas. These include their perceptions of the coherence between organisational values and external requests for temporariness, how the increased coordination complexity is managed, how role changes and skill development are supported, and how the organisation responds to the psychosocial strains of temporariness ensuring job security and social support. This study contributes to project management literature by recognising the central role of employee perceptions in temporary organising. It provides a structured framework that enables project managers to understand, monitor, and manage these perceptions, thus supporting both well-being and performance in temporary organisations and project-based contexts within permanent organisations.
{"title":"Organisational climate for temporariness: Exploring employees’ shared perceptions within intra-organisational temporary forms","authors":"Silvia Gilardi, Alessandra Lazazzara","doi":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102720","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102720","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Several studies highlight that organisational climate can influence the impact of temporary forms within permanent organisations on employee well-being and performance. Therefore, a better understanding of employees’ shared perceptions about temporariness is critical. This article introduces a model of organisational climate for temporariness, conceptualised as employees’ shared perceptions regarding the practices, procedures, and kinds of behaviours that are valued, rewarded, and supported when temporariness is adopted within permanent organisations. It draws on a qualitative study based on focus groups conducted in an advanced medium-sized manufacturing company applying projects and other temporary arrangements. The findings highlight how employees make sense of temporariness in four main areas. These include their perceptions of the coherence between organisational values and external requests for temporariness, how the increased coordination complexity is managed, how role changes and skill development are supported, and how the organisation responds to the psychosocial strains of temporariness ensuring job security and social support. This study contributes to project management literature by recognising the central role of employee perceptions in temporary organising. It provides a structured framework that enables project managers to understand, monitor, and manage these perceptions, thus supporting both well-being and performance in temporary organisations and project-based contexts within permanent organisations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48429,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Project Management","volume":"43 4","pages":"Article 102720"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144312698","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 : 2025-04-01DOI: 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 : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102712
Anna Pak , Donghwi (Josh) Seo , Taewoo Roh
Project-based firms operate in industries with high uncertainty and innovation demands, where transient teams and short-term routines often limit learning from project failures. Building on project management and organizational learning literature, this study examines the conditions under which project-based firms can leverage project failures as opportunities for exploration, emphasizing firm-specific capabilities that help overcome structural and behavioral barriers inherent to project-based settings. Using a longitudinal analysis of the U.S. film industry, we find that project failure generally inhibits exploration; however, specialist operational experience and accumulated project experience significantly attenuate this negative relationship. Specialization facilitates the precise identification of inefficiencies, while extensive project experience enhances adaptability. Theoretically, our research advances dynamic capability perspectives within project-based environments, clarifies the barriers and enablers of deep learning following failure, and extends models of reflective practices in project management research. Practically, our study offers actionable insights for managers seeking to transform failure into a catalyst for innovation, highlighting the strategic importance of cultivating specialist expertise alongside broad project portfolios.
{"title":"Exploring the dynamics of project failure and organizational learning in project-based firms: A study in the U.S. film industry","authors":"Anna Pak , Donghwi (Josh) Seo , Taewoo Roh","doi":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102712","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102712","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Project-based firms operate in industries with high uncertainty and innovation demands, where transient teams and short-term routines often limit learning from project failures. Building on project management and organizational learning literature, this study examines the conditions under which project-based firms can leverage project failures as opportunities for exploration, emphasizing firm-specific capabilities that help overcome structural and behavioral barriers inherent to project-based settings. Using a longitudinal analysis of the U.S. film industry, we find that project failure generally inhibits exploration; however, specialist operational experience and accumulated project experience significantly attenuate this negative relationship. Specialization facilitates the precise identification of inefficiencies, while extensive project experience enhances adaptability. Theoretically, our research advances dynamic capability perspectives within project-based environments, clarifies the barriers and enablers of deep learning following failure, and extends models of reflective practices in project management research. Practically, our study offers actionable insights for managers seeking to transform failure into a catalyst for innovation, highlighting the strategic importance of cultivating specialist expertise alongside broad project portfolios.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48429,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Project Management","volume":"43 3","pages":"Article 102712"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143936484","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 : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102710
Khurram Shahzad , Rimsha Iqbal , Muhammad Qaiser Shafi , Shazia Nauman , Marc Ohana
Drawing upon affective events theory, this study attends to the emerging line of project behavior research by examining the role of the project manager’s inclusive leadership style in predicting project team members’ project citizenship behavior. Additionally, the mediating mechanism of positive affectivity and the moderating role of proactive personality has been examined in this relationship. To test our theorized model, time-lagged and multi-source data was collected from 221 project team members working in three IT and two construction sector project-based organizations. For examining the hypotheses, partial least squares structural equation modeling analysis technique was used. The findings show that inclusive leadership positively affects project citizenship behavior and positive affectivity mediates this relationship. Also, the relationship between inclusive leadership and positive affectivity is stronger in the case of team members who have a highly proactive personality. Theoretically, the findings highlight the importance of emotions derived from inclusive leadership for project success. Practically, this study encourages the adoption of an inclusive leadership approach towards project team members as it leads to positive project outcomes.
{"title":"From inclusion to action: Does project manager’s inclusive leadership drive team members’ project citizenship behavior?","authors":"Khurram Shahzad , Rimsha Iqbal , Muhammad Qaiser Shafi , Shazia Nauman , Marc Ohana","doi":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102710","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102710","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Drawing upon affective events theory, this study attends to the emerging line of project behavior research by examining the role of the project manager’s inclusive leadership style in predicting project team members’ project citizenship behavior. Additionally, the mediating mechanism of positive affectivity and the moderating role of proactive personality has been examined in this relationship. To test our theorized model, time-lagged and multi-source data was collected from 221 project team members working in three IT and two construction sector project-based organizations. For examining the hypotheses, partial least squares structural equation modeling analysis technique was used. The findings show that inclusive leadership positively affects project citizenship behavior and positive affectivity mediates this relationship. Also, the relationship between inclusive leadership and positive affectivity is stronger in the case of team members who have a highly proactive personality. Theoretically, the findings highlight the importance of emotions derived from inclusive leadership for project success. Practically, this study encourages the adoption of an inclusive leadership approach towards project team members as it leads to positive project outcomes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48429,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Project Management","volume":"43 3","pages":"Article 102710"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143874581","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 : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102713
Karen Boll
This study explores and advances the Fifth Hand principle of project behavior, a recent theoretical approach that accommodates the contradictory explanations of project behavior—Flyvbjerg’s Planning Fallacy and Hirschman’s Hiding Hand (Ika et al., 2022; Love et al., 2022). While the principle has been conceptually developed, its empirical applicability remains unexplored. This study addresses this gap by analyzing a capacity-building project conducted by the Danish Tax Authority. The findings reveal the coexistence of contradictory project behaviors which leads to the existence of both failure and success in the project depending on the macro- and micro-level perspectives. The study contributes to the advancement of the Fifth Hand principle, by providing an empirical exploration and by offering insights into how contradictory behaviors are accommodated in projects. The contributions are conceived by paying close attention to the lived experience of managing projects in practice.
本研究探索并推进了项目行为的五只手原则，这是一种最新的理论方法，可以适应对项目行为的矛盾解释——flyvbjerg的计划谬误和Hirschman的隐藏之手(Ika et al., 2022；Love et al., 2022)。虽然这一原则在概念上得到了发展，但其经验上的适用性仍未得到探索。本研究通过分析丹麦税务当局开展的一个能力建设项目来解决这一差距。研究结果从宏观和微观两个层面揭示了矛盾的项目行为共存导致项目失败和成功并存的现象。该研究提供了经验探索，并对项目中如何容纳矛盾行为提供了见解，从而促进了五只手原则的发展。这些贡献是通过密切关注实际管理项目的生活经验来构思的。
{"title":"Exploring and advancing the fifth hand principle of project behavior: Lessons from Denmark’s tax governance project","authors":"Karen Boll","doi":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102713","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102713","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study explores and advances the Fifth Hand principle of project behavior, a recent theoretical approach that accommodates the contradictory explanations of project behavior—Flyvbjerg’s Planning Fallacy and Hirschman’s Hiding Hand (Ika et al., 2022; Love et al., 2022). While the principle has been conceptually developed, its empirical applicability remains unexplored. This study addresses this gap by analyzing a capacity-building project conducted by the Danish Tax Authority. The findings reveal the coexistence of contradictory project behaviors which leads to the existence of both failure and success in the project depending on the macro- and micro-level perspectives. The study contributes to the advancement of the Fifth Hand principle, by providing an empirical exploration and by offering insights into how contradictory behaviors are accommodated in projects. The contributions are conceived by paying close attention to the lived experience of managing projects in practice.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48429,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Project Management","volume":"43 3","pages":"Article 102713"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143943580","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 : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102711
Maria Loderer, Alexander Kock
Traditional project management methods struggle with the uncertainties and complexities of modern, innovative projects. Research highlights the need for flexible approaches integrating exploration and learning, such as design thinking. However, implementing design thinking practices in project management faces various obstacles. Beyond structural and strategic hurdles, the organisational context—specifically how individuals experience the work environment—likely plays a critical role in shaping the intensity and success of such practices. This study analyses the organisational and team climates that support implementing design thinking practices to increase project success while considering the role of project contingencies. Drawing on data from 379 projects nested in 93 companies, we investigate the impact of organisational climates (supportive climate, innovation climate, open climate) and team climates (servant leadership, team autonomy). Our findings suggest that design thinking practices improve project success. At the same time, we identify a supportive climate, an open climate, servant leadership, and team autonomy as conducive to design thinking practices. In addition, design thinking practices are more beneficial for project success when project innovativeness is high. Project innovativeness also strengthens the effect of a supportive climate on design thinking practices. We contribute to the literature on project management and design thinking by providing the first quantitative evidence on how specific climate conditions within the broader organisational context support the application of design thinking practices in project environments.
{"title":"How organisational and team climates foster design thinking for project success","authors":"Maria Loderer, Alexander Kock","doi":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102711","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102711","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Traditional project management methods struggle with the uncertainties and complexities of modern, innovative projects. Research highlights the need for flexible approaches integrating exploration and learning, such as design thinking. However, implementing design thinking practices in project management faces various obstacles. Beyond structural and strategic hurdles, the organisational context—specifically how individuals experience the work environment—likely plays a critical role in shaping the intensity and success of such practices. This study analyses the organisational and team climates that support implementing design thinking practices to increase project success while considering the role of project contingencies. Drawing on data from 379 projects nested in 93 companies, we investigate the impact of organisational climates (supportive climate, innovation climate, open climate) and team climates (servant leadership, team autonomy). Our findings suggest that design thinking practices improve project success. At the same time, we identify a supportive climate, an open climate, servant leadership, and team autonomy as conducive to design thinking practices. In addition, design thinking practices are more beneficial for project success when project innovativeness is high. Project innovativeness also strengthens the effect of a supportive climate on design thinking practices. We contribute to the literature on project management and design thinking by providing the first quantitative evidence on how specific climate conditions within the broader organisational context support the application of design thinking practices in project environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48429,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Project Management","volume":"43 3","pages":"Article 102711"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143894905","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}
As powerful drivers of the creative economy, cultural projects rely on creative processes. The socio-economic and cultural development of contemporary societies depends on a type of management that involves the plurality of actors sustaining the creative process of cultural projects. This research is guided by the question: How does plural creativity constitute a creative practice in the management of cultural projects? The method of multi-sited and digital ethnography supported an inductive process that allowed us to engage to this question and produce a theorization. The analysis of narratives was based on sources such as documents, observations, and ethnographic interviews. The findings explain that plural creativity constitutes creative practices in the creation, promotion, and integration of cultural projects. These practices are based on creative relationality, which leads to three phenomena: creative playing driven by affection, creative boosting driven by criticism, and creative inspiration driven by constrains. The research contributes to the research and practice of project management by providing explanations and theorizations to support the strategic management of plural creativity in projects, especially cultural projects.
{"title":"Managing cultural projects: Plural creativity as creative practice","authors":"Rafaela Goncalves Freitas , Eduardo Davel , Julie Bérubé","doi":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102708","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102708","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As powerful drivers of the creative economy, cultural projects rely on creative processes. The socio-economic and cultural development of contemporary societies depends on a type of management that involves the plurality of actors sustaining the creative process of cultural projects. This research is guided by the question: How does plural creativity constitute a creative practice in the management of cultural projects? The method of multi-sited and digital ethnography supported an inductive process that allowed us to engage to this question and produce a theorization. The analysis of narratives was based on sources such as documents, observations, and ethnographic interviews. The findings explain that plural creativity constitutes creative practices in the creation, promotion, and integration of cultural projects. These practices are based on creative relationality, which leads to three phenomena: creative playing driven by affection, creative boosting driven by criticism, and creative inspiration driven by constrains. The research contributes to the research and practice of project management by providing explanations and theorizations to support the strategic management of plural creativity in projects, especially cultural projects.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48429,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Project Management","volume":"43 3","pages":"Article 102708"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143898659","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}
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