Anders Söderholm

Project-as-Practice : In Search of Project Management Research That Matters

Research on projects is not only an immature field of research, but it is also insubstantial when it comes to understanding what occurs in projects. This article contributes to making project management research matter to the academic as well as to the practitioner by developing a project-as-practice approach, in alignment with the ongoing debate in social science research. The article outlines a framework and argues that there are two major challenges to the researcher and also suggests how these challenges can be met. Underlying notions of the practice approach are outlined to ensure a development of the project-as-practice approach that makes project management research matter!

The Challenge of Organizing Change in Hypercompetitive Industries: A Literature Review

Abstract Hypercompetitive, that is, dynamic and unpredictable environments require flexible, innovative and creative organizations, which can easily adapt quickly to the changing rules of the competitive arena. Organizations, therefore, continuously need to change. The management of organizational change in such a merciless environment is together key and restraint. This paper reviews literature covering organizational change in hypercompetitive environments with a focus on projects as the vehicle to create the necessary flexibility. The challenge is thus to combine the need for long-term sustainability with continuous flexibility in terms of how organizational and technological change efforts are designed and carried out. Organizations are well advised to develop a high degree of dynamic capabilities, which are the core of meeting the tensions of the capability and structural challenge. The authors suggest that organizational aspects and capabilities have to go hand in hand as enabler and at the same time facilitator for a successful emergent change process in hypercompetitive industries.

A Grammar of Organizing

Contents: 1. The Need for a New Grammar of Organizing 2. The Orientation of Activities in Time and Space 3. The Challenges of Coordination 4. Influence - Taking a Political Stand on Organizing 5. Identity Construction - Mixing Cultural Diversity and Integration in Organizing 6. Agreements - Acknowledging the Social Processes of Organizing 7. The Activity-Community Model of Organizing 8. Four Challenges of Organizing References Index

Breaking out of the straitjacket of project research: in search of contribution

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how a different and partly new strategy is needed in order to make research on projects relevant and interesting to a wider scientific community, including organisation and management theory.Design/methodology/approach – The aim is accomplished through a mystery‐focused process that identifies what is not explained and continuously confronts empirical data with theoretical explanations in an interactive manner.Findings – Based on a phenomenology‐stimulated meta‐analysis of the field of project research, the paper outlines an alternative view of the field of project research and four streams of research, each of which is represented by its own scope, focus, audience and “taken‐for‐granted” assumptions. The streams are: in search of best practice, in search of legitimacy, in search of inspiration and in search of contribution.Research limitations/implications – The paper suggests that, in order to make an true impact on management and social science theor...

Temporary organizations and end states : A theory is a child of its time and in need of reconsideration and reconstruction

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to respond to the research note on the article “A theory on temporary organizations” by reminding readers about the lack of timelessness in the social sciences and alluding to some alternative theory formulations.Design/methodology/approach – By describing/analyzing the context within which “A theory” was developed, the notion that any theory is a child of its time is explicated. Thus, an understanding for the need for reconsideration and reconstruction in social science theory is created.Findings – A necessary step in the work is to come up with ideas as to how crucial elements get transformed and is related to social development. The argument is that when it comes to the use of the word project is under change which creates a tension as to the appropriate realm for a theory of temporary organizations. A theory building on the notion of end state appears to be useful.Practical implications – A theory incorporating the notion of end state opens up for new ideas on how to manage projects. The traditional project management guidelines might inhibit good solutions to focused behavior. An end state approach is more open for changes in the environment and in ambitions.Originality/value – The theme opens up for less rigid approaches in relation to traditional project management. The crucial role that planning beforehand is considered to have will be transformed to other mechanisms, triggering planning and rethink.

Conceptualizing a Projectified Society Discussion of an Eco-Institutional Approach to a Theory on Temporary Organisations

Popular conventional wisdom tells us that the prevalence of projects is on the increase and anyone can observe that the society that surrounds us is already “projectified”, at least in a partial sense. However, at the present time there are very few macro oriented and measurable variables available to verify or invalidate such a statement. In this chapter we therefore delve into thoughts that might be useful in conceptualising project aspects of society. We aspire to foundations for an “outside” theory of temporary organisations. We do that by attempting to combine a population ecology approach with notions of institutional processes.

Relevance Lost! : A Critical Review of Project Management Standardisation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to critically analyze the consequences of the diffusion of generic project management knowledge.Design/methodology/approach – This paper is conceptual in its ...

Embracing the drifting environment : The legacy and impact of a Scandinavian Project literature classic

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview and analysis of the legacy of Christensen and Kreiners (1991) literally classic Projektledning: att leda och lara i en ofullstandig va ...

Researching Projects and Theorizing Families of Temporary Organizations

Following contemporary development in which most temporary, focused, and organized endeavors can be regarded as a project and studied as a temporary organization, here we ask: How can these phenomena be defined without hindering pluralism in understanding, development, and theorizing? Based on the notions of family resemblance—the idea that it is not a specific trait, but a variety of traits that are shared by some, but not all, members of a family—we propose a new dynamic framework we believe is useful in advancing the studies of projects and temporary organizations toward more opportunities for rigorous theorizing.

Translation and inscription in development projects: Understanding environmental and health care‐related organizational change

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to argue that the interface between projects is of particular interest when organizing development projects. It offers a theoretical discussion of translation ...