A Manifesto for project management research

Abstract

Project management research has evolved over the past five decades and is now a mature disciplinary field investigating phenomena of interest to academics, practitioners and policymakers. Studies of projects and project management practices are theoretically rich and scientifically rigorous. They are practically relevant and impactful when addressing the pursuit of operational, tactical and strategic advancements in the world of organisations. We want to broaden the conversation between project management scholars and other scholars from cognate disciplines, particularly business and management, in a true scholarship of integration and cross-fertilisation. This Manifesto invites the latter scholars to join efforts providing a foundation for further creative, theoretical and empirical contributions, including but not limited to tackling grand challenges such as climate change, pandemics, and global poverty. To this end, we identify five theses: 1. Projects are often 'agents of change' and hence fundamental to driving the innovation and change required to tackle grand challenges. 2. Much project management research leverages and challenges theories across disciplines, including business, organisation and management studies, contributing to developing new theories, including those specific to projects and temporary organisations. 3. 'Projects' are useful units of analysis, project management research is ideal for scientific cross-fertilisation and project management scholars welcome academics from other communities to engage in fruitful conversations. 4. As in many other fields of knowledge, the project management research community embraces diversity, welcoming researchers of different genders and various scientific and social backgrounds. 5. Historically rooted in 'problem-solving' and normative studies, project management research has become open to interpretative and emancipatory research, providing opportunities for other business, management and organisational scholars to advance their knowledge communities.project management, temporary organization, organizational change WHY WE NEED THIS MANIFESTOThe projectification of society and the need to tackle grand challengesWe live in a 'project society' where projects shape people, organisations and society (Lundin et al., 2015), a phenomenon that was dubbed 'projectification' in a business context about 30 years ago (Midler, 1995). In this 'project economy', projects (which drive change and innovation) and operations (which make organisations run daily) compete and collaborate as leading economic agents (Nieto-Rodriguez, 2021). This goes beyond the mere focus on single organisations since coalitions are

New Editors and a New Editor-in-Chief: Making the Manifesto a Reality

“…In that respect, PMJ should be the “gateway journal” to cross-fertilization and the developmental arena for interdisciplinary research on projects and project management. As was clearly emphasized recently in the Manifesto for Project Management Research , we need that interdisciplinary approach to fully understand the nature and challenges of contemporary projects (Locatelli et al, 2023).…”

“…In this editorial, we inform readers and authors about recent changes in the PMJ Editorial Board and discuss how the journal will move forward under the auspices of the Manifesto (Locatelli et al, 2023). We will describe how the new editors will embrace the vision of the Manifesto and develop initiatives according to its five theses.…”

Project managers: old, grumpy and suspicious or just “once bitten, twice shy?”

“…As Lundin (2015) has noted that for many project managers, the projects define who we are, thus a successful project will reflect positively on the project manager, whilst an unsuccessful one will reflect negatively, irrespective of the quality of project management applied to the project. Locatelli et al. (2023) have also noted the importance of sustainability of and to the project, which in our view should also include the long-term sustainability of those that are involved in projects, whether that be the project manager or team.…”

Valuing Theory and Practice: Using a Portfolio Lens to Publish Research on Projects

“…Although leading management scholars have long emphasized that projects are a flexible, dynamic, and post-bureaucratic form of organization for dealing with uncertainty and rapidly changing conditions (e.g., Mintzberg, 1979;Kellogg et al, 2006;Edmondson, 2012;Obstfeld, 2012), we have seen only a few articles in big tent journals where projects take center stage in the theoretical contribution (see also, Locatelli et al, 2023). Research on projects that does get published in these journals is highly valued, because such articles can shape our thinking about the subject and have a profound influence on the wider management discipline such as the articles in Management Science by Shenhar (2001) and Pich et al (2002).…”

“…Changes such as these signal a growing interest in efforts to engage across disciplines and build knowledge that generalizes beyond the discipline of project management. Most recently, scholars have proposed a manifesto for project management research that argues that the discipline could be significantly enhanced by building stronger connections with overlapping and cognate disciplines in management, social sciences, and engineering (Locatelli et al, 2023). Some scholars go further, encouraging researchers to shift attention from project management as a discipline to focus on the multidisciplinary field of "project studies" (Geraldi & Söderlund, 2018).…”