Purpose The purpose of this paper is to expand project management theory about practice and theory for practice through a new conceptual model developed from the transformational production management, strategic management and complexity bodies of theory. Design/methodology/approach This research uses a grounded theory methodology. A preliminary model is developed and tested against two case studies. The model is revised and tested using a purposively selected focus group before being presented in this paper. Findings The research indicates that the “final state convergence model” which has been synthesized from the transformational production management, strategic management and complexity theories. The model illuminates the complexities that can exist within the practice of project management. Research limitations/implications The final state convergence model provides a novel approach to synthesizing new bodies of theory into traditional project management theory. Practical implications The model challenges practitioners to think beyond their current conceptual base of traditional project management methodologies, systems, and processes toward a broader conceptualization of project management. Originality/value The research adds to the theory about practice and theory for practice through the development of a new model which not only illuminates the complexities of project management but enriches and extends the understanding of the actual reality of projects and project management practices.
Our research applies paradox theory to a project management construct to help project management researchers and practitioners understand the tensions that can exist between project success and client satisfaction. Our research highlights that although project success and client satisfaction are both present within a project management construct, they also belong to different functional systems. Project success and client satisfaction have different systemic-discourses and use different language games to convey information. These distinctions can create latent and sometimes salient tensions within the project management construct that project managers must understand, embrace, and work with.We have used a Grounded Theory (GT) methodology to explore the lived experience of project managers, and from this have identified a phenomenon which we have termed project management yinyang.Project management yinyang is the state that exists when both project success and Client satisfaction are tightly coupled within the project management construct. Project management yinyang highlights that these two phenomena cannot be viewed as separate elements because the ‘seed’ of each exists within the other. And to truly achieve one, you must also achieve the other.Our findings indicate that in order to create project management yinyang the project manager must embrace a paradoxical yet holistic philosophy. They must understand the complementarity, interdependency, and structural coupling that exists between the positivist and interpretivist paradigms within the project management construct. They must understand how satisfaction (Yin) and success (Yang) are created through focus. Furthermore, they must understand how project management yinyang is separate from, but borne from, the convergence of the other two elements.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to address calls from within the existing literature for a planning model that can provide both control and flexibility in dynamic environments. Design/methodology/approach This research adopts a two-phase grounded theory methodology. Phase I tests a hypothesis through a structured online survey. Phase II tests a new planning model through a focus group and an online survey. Findings This research finds that client-side project managers misapply rational planning tools when managing construction projects. It also finds that the planning artefacts created in the initial stages of a project are used as a communication tool, rather than a controlling or monitoring tool. These findings provide an opportunity for new planning models, such as the (next decision node) NDN model, to be adopted. These planning tools can create new levels of transparency and accountability within the planning process – as well as provide a model which is more closely aligned with the practitioners “lived experience”. Research limitations/implications The NDN model provides a foundation for further research into the micro-mechanisms of organisational ambidexterity in projects and refinement of the NDN model. Practical implications This research presents a new planning model which practitioners can adopt when delivering construction projects. Originality/value This paper presents a new, ambidextrous planning model grounded on the “lived experience” of client-side project managers.
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