Organizational enablers for project governance
By: Ralf Müller, DBA, MBA, PMP, Professor of Project Management, BI Norwegian Business School, Department of Leadership & Organizational Behaviour, Jingting Shao, PhD, MSc, Assistant Professor, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Institute for Industrial Economics, China, Sofia Pemsel, PhD, MSc, Assistant Professor of Project Organization and Management, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Organization, Denmark
Contributors: Shao, Jingting, author; Pemsel, Sofia, author
Publisher: Project Management Institute, Inc.
Published: 2016
Place of publication: Newtown Square, PA
Language: eng
Number of pages: 240
ISBN-13: 9781628251111; 9781628250848
Subjects: Corporate governance; Case studies; Project management; Social sciences; Research; Methodology; Gouvernement d'entreprise; Études de cas; Gestion de projet; Sciences sociales; Recherche; Méthodologie; BUSINESS & ECONOMICS; Industrial Management; Management; Management Science; Organizational Behavior
Description: Corporate culture and the way business is done (called governance) can be a significant factor in a company's success. Governance represents the "what" within the organization: what aspects of business performance fall under whose responsibilities. Another factor, called governmentality, focuses on the "how" of running a business -- that is, the policies and procedures a company uses to carry out its work. In Organizational Enablers for Project Governance, authors Ralf Müller, Jingting Shao, and Sofia Pemsel examine the ways in which governance and governmentality operate together in different kinds of companies to contribute to how successful a business is in terms of project work, efficiency, and profitability. The authors begin by explaining the difference between levels of project governance and who is responsible for carrying out each within an organization. They review the previous literature on the topics of governance and organizational enablers, then delve into the heart of their research: an in-depth study conducted over two years that profiled six companies of varying sizes (small, medium, and large) in two geographically distinct countries (Sweden and China). Through interviews, data collection, and a web-based questionnaire, the authors carried out four studies using different research methodologies to evaluate the systems of governance in companies of different sizes, in different places, and with different philosophies. What they found was that organizational enablers -- factors such as leadership and flexibility, among many others -- play a major role in how companies carry out their work and how they adapt and make changes over time. Although the research focuses on six specific corporations in a few representative industries, it can nonetheless be applied to any project-based company that seeks to resolve the tension between the permanent organization (the company itself) and the temporary organizations needed for project work (such as teams and other working groups). Using the authors' findings, any company can determine the most effective organizational enablers, from independence to teamwork to strong leadership, it can use to become more efficient and profitable.
Notes: Caption title.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 226-240).
Table of contents: title: Introduction; title: Study background; title: Research questions; title: Scope and objectives of the study; title: Institutional theory; title: The management process; title: Milestones and deliverables; title: Theoretical perspective and literature review; title: Institutional theory; title: Governance; title: Governance in the realm of projects; title: Governmentality; title: Organizational enablers; title: Projectification; title: Research design and methodology; title: Research design; title: Study 1 Methodology: systematic literature review; title: Study 2 Methodology: qualitative cross-sectional study; title: Study 3 methodology: the quantitative study; title: Study 4 Methodology: the longitudinal study; title: Case companies and narratives; title: Company b: medium, Sweden; title: Company c: large, Sweden; title: Company d: Small, China; title: Company e: medium, China; title: Company f: large, China; title: Conceptual and qualitative studies: analysis and results; title: Analyses at the level of project governance, governance of projects, and governmentality; title: Mediation analyses; title: The relationship between organizational enablers and success; title: Discussion; title: Organizational enablers; title: Contextual influences; title: An institutional theory perspective; title: Organizational enablers: an institutional reflection; title: Conclusions; title: Research question 1-governance practices; title: Research question 2-organizational enablers; title: Research question 3-evolution of governance and governmentality; title: Appendices; title: Appendix 2; title: Enablers for project governance; title: Appendix 3: interview questions-study 4; title: Appendix 4: summary of governance in the small swedish company; title: Appendix 5: summary of governance in the medium-size Swedish company; title: Appendix 6: summary of governance in the large Swedish company; title: Appendix 7: summary of governance in the small Chinese company; title: Appendix 8: summary of governance in the medium-size Chinese company; title: Appendix 9: summary of governance in the large chinese company; title: Appendix 10: commonalities and differences among the case companies; title: Appendix 11: descriptive statistics; title: Appendix 12: demographic differences; title: Appendix 13: differences by governance and corporate success; title: Appendix 14: governance profiles by success type; title: References.