In the project-management literature, projects have often been conceptualized as mere implementation sites of organizational strategy. However, such rationalization seldom draws on empirical evidence of strategy as it unfolds at the micro-level and at the interfaces between projects and the organization. Drawing on rich case-study data, this article explores strategy as-it-is-practiced in a large project-based organization. Using a Strategy-as-Practice lens to identify key patterns of strategizing actions, we found that project mind-sets and skillsets afforded project actors legitimacy to act as strategists on all organizational levels. Project actualities therefore broadly shape strategy in the organization, and play a much larger role in organizational strategizing than typically portrayed in the literature. The findings are used to suggest new perspectives regarding who are strategist and what strategy is in project-based organizations, and outline new directions for a revitalized research agenda on strategy in the project-management field.

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There has recently been a growing interest for ethnographic studies in construction, predicated upon the belief that ethnographic research in the construction industry can provide a powerful way of illuminating construction practices in new ways. Focusing on the ethnographic method, it is demonstrated how a self-reflexive ethnography can contribute to a deeper understanding of the variations, contradictions and tensions underlying practices on a building site, thereby serving as a complement to other qualitative approaches. A short four-week ethnographic study illustrates how the subjective "I" of the ethnographer can be used as an active producer of knowledge, by reflecting on how insights from an individual´s role, both as an observer and as a worker, can account for the complex interplay between socialities and materialities on a building site. The results also contribute to the discussion regarding the length of ethnographic studies, by showing how valuable insights can be drawn from shorter "ethnographic episodes", studied through a self-reflexive lens.

A social identity lens and theories of self-reinforcement are used to explore identity work and processes of identification at the micro-level in a large construction company. Rich data from a qualitative case study show that a strong collective identification is self-defining for the vast majority of managers in the organization, regardless of their role and function. This collective identification revolved around the trade "of being a construction worker", associated with the traits of being practically oriented and of having a long professional background in construction. This collective identification seems to self-reinforce itself by a combination of pulling and pushing movements and/or of "being blind" vis-à-vis those that stand outside its self-defining core, content, and behaviors. The results of the study suggest that self-defining at the individual and group levels has implications for organizational performance and outcomes. It is also suggested that the use of a social identity lens can help increase understanding of interpersonal relations, collaboration, and change initiatives in the construction industry.

What does change mean for organisational members? Although researchers have attempted to capture its intrinsic complexities, there remains uncertainty as to what change really is and how it happens. Drawing on a longitudinal interpretative case study of change in a large Swedish construction company, a narrative approach is used to elicit middle managers' stories of change episodes over the past two decades. These stories have then been compared with the narratives of the same episodes in governing documents. We found that the lived and the formal narratives, respectively, depicted two very different interpretations and enactments of change: the former described a discontinuous process of discrete contingencies demanding immediate short-term responses whereas the later described a proactive incremental strategic plan. A narrative approach to the study of organizational change contributes to deeper insights into the ramifications of an organization's sociocultural system by enabling the capture of significant variations, contradictions and tensions, both for organizational members and for the researchers who study change.

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how a multitude of demands and challenges faced by public facilities management organizations’ (PFMOs) particularly in relation to a large building stock in need of measures’ are acted upon and negotiated in practice. Specifically this study asks: What are the institutional logics (IL) that constitute the organizational context of PFMOs? How does an institutional worker navigate to create change in PFMOs? Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through a case study of a public facility management organization and include interviews, a questionnaire, observations and organizational documents. The analytical focus is the work of a single actor, a project manager portrayed as “the navigator” and his institutional work (IW) of developing and implementing new organizational practices, to meet current challenges and develop a more “strategic” facility management. Findings The complex institutional landscape faced by officials in PFMOs enforce officials responsible for implementing and developing new practices to become navigators. Originality/value The findings offer a rich practice-based account of the day-to-day IW carried out by actors that try to navigate complex institutional landscapes, consisting of multiple and, at times, conflicting IL. Current challenges for PFMOs are to be portrayed as multi-dimensional and the actual work to transform organizational practices in this context is highly complex, unordered and messy. The findings point towards a need for new competences and roles to tackle current challenges; geared towards integrating different logics and perspectives.

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