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In this study, we measure the dimensions of uncertainty, starting from the definitions constructed for and generally used in innovation projects. We then evaluate their direct and indirect effects on the performance of product and service development projects. Four dimensions of uncertainty are delimited with satisfactory validity and reliability, suggesting a differential moderating effect of the four types of uncertainty (technical and project uncertainty, market uncertainty, fuzziness and complexity) depending on the performance dimension (effectiveness and efficiency) and co‐moderator (project methods and human resource adequacy). Of the four dimensions explored, technical and project, and market uncertainty are true moderators and have the largest interactive effect, fuzziness has a strong direct effect on both performance dimensions whereas complexity weakly directly influences effectiveness. The latter two also influence the relations between performance and the factors related to human resources and project management methods.

Innovation portfolio management has been touted as a new dynamic capability following the evolution of team‐ and project‐based organizational forms. In this article, we conceptualize innovative dynamic capabilities as a multidimensional construct that comprises distinct but related aspects in managing innovation. We test our model, which links this capability to innovative performance by using survey data from a sample of 923 firms. We find empirical support for our conceptualization and its impact on firm innovative performance.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a theoretical framework and the preliminary results from a research programme on organisational project management. It aims at exploring how organisational project management can be conceptualised as a function within the organisation.Design/methodology/approachThe methodological framework is based on a constructivist epistemology. This research programme contains two sequential phases based on a robust mixed method. The first phase of the qualitative approach, which is the focus of this paper, includes 20 interviews with executives and middle managers.FindingsThis approach is expected to be helpful in assessing the fit between organisational context, project management implementation and organisational strategy. The proposed theoretical framework draws from the exploration of organisational project management as a function. Preliminary results confirm that organisational project management can be best understood as a function within the organisation. Future research includes the second phase of this research programme based on a quantitative approach.Research limitations/implicationsThis research situates project management within the theoretical field of organisational design. It borrows from innovation literature the concept of function that serve as a foundation piece in the proposed framework, to integrate the various activities undertaken to manage multiple projects.Practical implicationsThis research provides some evidence for the organisation design that serves articulating different activities undertaken for the management of multiple projects into a coherent function throughout the organisation.Originality/valueThis research explores what organisations really do when they face the challenges of managing multiple projects while at the same time pursuing their operations. Interviews with executives and middle managers clearly justify the identification of a function dedicated to the overall project management.

It has been acknowledged that firms must resort to technology in order to acquire the flexibility needed to meet the challenges posed by the globalization of the economy. The successful adoption of new technology has thus become a matter of survival for companies. Several studies have already highlighted the importance of the manager's behavior in the process of adopting technology. The Stevenson model suggests that this behavior may be situated anywhere on a continuum ranging from the characteristics of the administrator, at one extreme, to those of the entrepreneur, at the other. Using this model, we conducted a study of senior managers to analyze their behavior in the decision to adopt a new technology. A questionnaire was mailed to 450 of them and in-depth interviews were conducted among 54 others. Our findings show that in the process of adopting a new technology, half the managers adopted a behavior closer to that of an administrator. The other half acted more like entrepreneurs. This seems to have a major impact on the success of the adoption since we found that managers with an entrepreneurial style were not as successful as those who adopt an administrative style.