From the Editor
Authors: Hans Georg Gemünden
Year: 2014

Project Management Journal, Vol. 45, No. 5, 2–4 © 2014 by the Project Management Institute Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI: 10.1002/pmj.21455 its environment, along with sophisticated methods for assessing feasibilities and usability early and frequently during the project life cycle. Specific managerial actions, organizational conditions, and work processes are derived from this study. Hans Thamhain not only influenced the discipline of project management, he was also a very well-known pioneer in technology and innovation management. I met him nearly 20 years ago at an Academy of Management Conference; we had a very good personal relationship from the beginning, although we did not meet very often. I was aware of his seminal work on innovative R&D teams, because I also did research in this field. In my preparation for the World Café at the PMI® Research and Education Conference—where we discussed the initial results of our exploratory project management trends study—I found another excellent article by Hans Thamhain in Project Management—Circa 2025, edited by David Cleland and Bopaya Bidanda (PMI, 2009). In his article, “The Future of Team Leadership in Complex Project Environments,” Hans Thamhain predicts seven shifts, which were also confirmed in our study. We will sincerely miss him. The October/November issue of PMJ presents six very interesting articles that address a wide variety of themes in project management. The first paper by Bon-Gang Hwang, National University of Singapore; Xianbo Zhao, Central Queensland University, Sydney, Australia; and Thi Hong Van Do, 701 Search Pte Ltd Singapore, Singapore: “Influence of TradeLevel Coordination Problems on Project Productivity,” identifies coordination problems in glass and metal curtain wall installation in Singapore. The study assesses and explores the rework and waiting time caused by tradelevel coordination problems and project productivity. Research includes a questionnaire survey completed by a variety of companies, as well as interviews with industry practitioners. Findings identify six major coordination problems, resulting in approximately 66 days of rework and 52 days of waiting. Late changes in design by clients lead to the longest rework and waiting time. Other problems include discrepancies between building structures, double handling of materials, or inefficient storage. Furthermore, findings show that the sums of rework and waiting time in large projects are significantly longer than those in small projects. The authors conclude that the trade-level coordination problems negatively influence project productivity through their contribution to the total unproductive time. I am writing this editorial just before leaving for PMI® Research and Education Conference 2014 in Portland, Oregon, USA. During this conference, we honored two people who have had a strong influence on project management research: Professor Dr. Rolf Lundin received the PMI Research Achievement Award 2014 and Professor Dr. Hans Thamhain was awarded the Project Management Journal® Paper of the Year Award postmortem. Professor Rolf Lundin has been a very prominent member of the international project research community for over three decades. He is best known for his leadership role in the creation of the Scandinavian School of Project Studies and the International Research Network on Organizing by Projects (IRNOP) and for organizing their first conference in 1994. The central concept of the Scandinavian School is the project conceptualized as a temporary organization, drawing on concepts from the field of organization studies. Rolf has built bridges between the fields of organization and project studies, as witnessed by support for his nomination by prominent and longstanding members of the organization studies community. Outside Scandinavia, few people are aware that he was the founding editor of the Scandinavian Journal of Management (1984–1987), founding dean of the Umeå Business School (1989–1993), and dean of the Jönköping International Business School (2001–2007). Professor Hans Thamhain, PMI Research Achievement Award winner of 2006, received the Project Management Journal® Paper of the Year Award for his article, “Managing Risks in Complex Projects.” The prize was given postmortem, because Hans Thamhain died tragically on Friday, 11 July 2014, as a result of a biking accident. Hans’ very insightful article presents the results of a major field study into the risk management practices and business processes of 35 major product developments in 17 high-technology companies. The study shows that almost one half of the severe contingencies that occur in complex projects are not being detected before they impact project performance. However, there is a big variance between projects and companies, which can be explained by management interventions that go beyond simple analytical approaches. The high performers recognize and deal with risks early in their development; this requires broad involvement and collaboration across all segments of the project team and From the Editor