What Do Project Managers Actually Do? Exploring Micro-Practices of Managing Temporary Organizational Forms
ABSTRACT
While the management of projects is rapidly gaining importance in the current fast pace economy, there is a growing dissatisfaction with its theoretical underpinnings. Rooted in an exploratory micro-analysis of the practices of 86 project managers, our study demonstrates that project managers engage in 10 core practices, which together imply that managing projects 1) is only partly about planning and scheduling, 2) is locally situated in specific types of projects, 3) is an activity aimed at a continuous recoupling of diverse practices, and 4) is shaped by project contexts, which act as temporary points of intersection for social practice. Together, we propose these practices form a set of building blocks for a practice-perspective of project-based organization, presenting an alternative to the theoretical paradigm currently dominating the field.
Cite this paper
B. Cambré and J. Jong, "What Do Project Managers Actually Do? Exploring Micro-Practices of Managing Temporary Organizational Forms," American Journal of Industrial and Business Management, Vol. 3 No. 3, 2013, pp. 266-278. doi: 10.4236/ajibm.2013.33033.
B. Cambré and J. Jong, "What Do Project Managers Actually Do? Exploring Micro-Practices of Managing Temporary Organizational Forms," American Journal of Industrial and Business Management, Vol. 3 No. 3, 2013, pp. 266-278. doi: 10.4236/ajibm.2013.33033.
References
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[1] R. M. Bakker, J. Knoben, N. De Vries and L. A. G. Oerlemans, “The Nature and Prevalence of Inter-Organizational Project Ventures. Evidence from a Large Scale Field Study in the Netherlands 2006-2009,” International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 29, No. 6, 2011, pp. 781-794. doi:10.1016/j.ijproman.2010.04.006 [2] M. W. Lewis, M. A. Welsh and G. E. Dehler, “Product Development Tensions: Exploring Contrasting Styles of Project Management,” Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 45, No. 3, 2002, pp. 546-564. doi:10.2307/3069380 [3] D. Dougherty, “Organizing for Innovation,” In: S. R. Clegg, C. Hardy and W. R. Nord, Eds, Handbook of Organization Studies, Sage, Thousand Oaks, 1996, pp. 424-439. [4] M. Engwall, “No Project Is an Island: Linking Projects to History and Context,” Research Policy, Vol. 32, No. 5, 2003, pp. 789-808. doi:10.1016/S0048-7333(02)00088-4 [5] J. Packendorff, “Inquiring into the Temporary Organization: New Directions for Project Management Research,” Scandinavian Journal of Management, Vol. 11, No. 4, 1995, pp. 319-333. doi:10.1016/0956-5221(95)00018-Q [6] G. Grabher, “Cool Projects, Boring Institutions: Temporary Collaboration in Social Context,” Regional Studies, Vol. 36, No. 3, 2002, pp. 205-214. doi:10.1080/00343400220122025 [7] P. Jarzabkowski, “Strategy as Practice: Recursiveness, Adaptation, and Practices-in-Use,” Organization Studies, Vol. 25, No. 4, 2004, pp. 529-560. [8] G. Johnson, L. Melin and R. Whittington, “Micro Strategy and Strategizing: Towards an Activity-Based View-Guest Editors’ Introduction,” Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 40, No. 1, 2003, pp. 3-22. doi:10.1111/1467-6486.t01-2-00002 [9] R. Whittington, “Completing the practice turn in strategy research,” Organization Studies, Vol. 27, No. 5, 2006, pp. 613-634. doi:10.1177/0170840606064101 [10] B. A. Bechky, “Gaffers, Gofers, and Grips: Role-Based Coordination in Temporary Organizations,” Organization Science, Vol. 17, No. 1, 2006, pp. 3-21. doi:10.1287/orsc.1050.0149 [11] J. Soderlund, “What Project Management Really Is about: Alternative Perspectives on the Role and Practice of Project Management,” International Journal of Technology Management, Vol. 32, No. 3-4, 2005, pp. 371-387. doi:10.1504/IJTM.2005.007340 [12] A. Windeler and J. Sydow, “Project Networks and Changing Industry Practices: Collaborative Content Production in the German Television Industry,” Organization Studies, Vol. 22, No. 6, 2001, pp. 1035-1060. [13] H. Mintzberg, “The Nature of Managerial Work,” Harper & Row, New York, 1973. [14] S. Tengblad, “Is There a ‘New Managerial Work’? A Comparison with Henry Mintzberg’s Classic Study 30 Years Later,” Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 43, No. 7, 2006, pp. 1437-1461. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6486.2006.00651.x [15] N. Pettersen, “What Do We Know about the Effective Manager?” International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 9, No. 2, 1991, pp. 99-104. doi:10.1016/0263-7863(91)90068-7 [16] P. B. De Laat, “Matrix Management of Projects and Power Struggles: A Case Study of an R&D Laboratory,” Human Relations, Vol. 47, No. 9, 1994, pp. 1089-1129. doi:10.1177/001872679404700904 [17] S. Manning, “The Strategic Formation of Project Networks: A Relational Practice Perspective,” Human Relations, Vol. 63, No. 4, 2010, pp. 551-573. doi:10.1177/0018726709340954 [18] R. A. Lundin and A. Soderholm, “A Theory of the Temporary Organization,” Scandinavian Journal of Management, Vol. 11, No. 4, 1995, pp. 437-455. doi:10.1016/0956-5221(95)00036-U [19] W. J. Orlikowski, “Knowing in Practice: Enacting a Collective Capability in Distributed Organizing,” Organization Science, Vol. 13, No. 3, 2002, pp. 249-273. [20] C. Besner and B. Hobbs, “The Project Management Tools and Techniques: The Portrait of Current Professional Practice,” Project Management Journal, Vol. 37, No. 3, 2006, pp. 37-48. [21] M. Hallgren and T. L. Wilson, “The Nature and Management of Crises in Construction Projects: Projects-as-Practice Observations,” International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 26, No. 8, 2008, pp. 830-838. doi:10.1016/j.ijproman.2007.10.005 [22] A. J. Shenhar, “One Size Does Not Fit All Projects: Exploring Classical Contingency Domains,” Management Science, Vol. 47, No. 3, 2001, pp. 394-414. doi:10.1287/mnsc.47.3.394.9772 [23] P. W. G. Morris, “The Management of Projects,” Thomas Telford, London, 1994. doi:10.1680/mop.16934 [24] J. P. Lewis, “The Project Manager’s Desk Reference: A Comprehensive Guide to Project Planning, Scheduling, Evaluation, and Systems,” McGraw-Hill, Boston, 2000. [25] J. Sydow, L. Lindkvist and R. DeFillippi, “Project-Based Organizations, Embeddedness and Repositories of Knowledge: Editorial,” Organization Studies, Vol. 25, No. 8, 2004, pp. 1475-1489. doi:10.1177/0170840604048162 [26] P. Kenis, M. Janowicz-Panjaitan and B. Cambré, “Temporary Organizations: Prevalence, Logic, and Effectiveness,” Edward Elgar, Gloucestershire, 2009. [27] T. Brady and A. Davies, “Building Project Capabilities: From Exploratory to Exploitative Learning,” Organization Studies, Vol. 25, No. 9, 2004, pp. 1601-1621. doi:10.1177/0170840604048002 [28] H. Scarbrough, J. Swan, S. Laurent, M. Bresnen, L. Edelman and S. Newell, “Project-Based Learning and the Role of Learning Boundaries,” Organization Studies, Vol. 25, No. 9, 2004, pp. 1579-1600. doi:10.1177/0170840604048001 [29] A. T. Cobb, “Leading Project Teams,” Sage, Thousand Oaks, 2006. [30] L. Lindkvist, J. Soderlund and F. Tell, “Managing Product Development Projects: On the Significance of Fountains and Deadlines,” Organization Studies, Vol. 19, No. 6, 1998, pp. 931-951. doi:10.1177/017084069801900602 [31] T. Schatzki, “Introduction: Practice Theory,” In: T. Schatzki, K. Knorr-Cetina and E. Von Savigny, Eds, The Practice Turn in Contemporary Theory, Routledge, London, 2001, pp. 1-14. [32] A. Reckwitz, “Toward a Theory of Social Practices: A Development in cultural Theorizing,” European Journal of Social Theory, Vol. 5, No. 2, 2002, pp. 243-263. doi:10.1177/13684310222225432 [33] G. Johnson, A. Langley, L. Melin and R. Whittington, “Strategy as Practice: Research Directions and Resources,” Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2007. [34] M. S. Feldman and B. T. Pentland, “Reconceptualizing Organizational Routines as a Source of Flexibility and Change,” Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 48, No. 1, 2003, pp. 94-118. doi:10.2307/3556620 [35] M. S. Feldman, “Organizational Routines as a Source of Continuous Change,” Organization Science, Vol. 11, No. 6, 2000, pp. 611-629. doi:10.1287/orsc.11.6.611.12529 [36] A. Giddens, “The Constitution of Society,” Polity Press, Oxford, 1984. [37] F. H. M. Blackler and C. A. Brown, “Qualitative Research and Paradigms of Practice,” Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 20, No. 3, 1983, pp. 349-365. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6486.1983.tb00212.x [38] A. J. Shenhar and D. Dvir, “Toward a Typological Theory of Project Management,” Research Policy, Vol. 25, No. 4, 1996, pp. 607-632. doi:10.1016/0048-7333(95)00877-2 [39] M. Alvesson and S. Sveningsson, “The Great Disappearing Act: Difficulties in Doing ‘Leadership’,” The Leadership Quarterly, Vol. 14, No. 3, 2003, pp. 359-381. doi:10.1016/S1048-9843(03)00031-6 [40] J. C. Flanagan, “The Critical Incident Technique,” Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 51, No. 4, 1954, pp. 327-357. [41] C. Besner and B. Hobbs, “Project Management Practice, Generic or Contextual: A Reality Check,” Project Management Journal, Vol. 39, No. 1, 2008, pp. 16-33. doi:10.1002/pmj.20033 [42] A. L. Strauss and J. Corbin, “Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory,” 2nd Edition, Sage, Thousand Oaks, 1998. [43] M. B. Miles and A. M. Huberman, “Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook,” Sage, Thousand Oaks, 1994. [44] K. Locke, “Grounded Theory in Management Research,” Sage, London, 2001. [45] K. M. Eisenhardt, “Making Fast Strategic Decisions in High-Velocity Environments,” Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 32, No. 3, 1989, pp. 543-576. doi:10.2307/256434 [46] G. Grabher, “Temporary Architectures of Learning: Knowledge Governance in Project Ecologies,” Organization Studies, Vol. 25, No. 9, 2004, pp. 1491-1514. [47] R. A. Goodman and L. P. Goodman, “Some Management Issues in Temporary Systems: A Study of Professional Development and Manpower-The Theater Case,” Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 21, No. 3, 1976, pp. 494-501. doi:10.2307/2391857 [48] C. Jones and B. Lichtenstein, “Temporary Inter-Organizational Projects: How Temporal and Social Embeddedness Enhance Coordination and Manage Uncertainty,” In: S. Cropper, M. Ebers, C. Huxham and P. Smith Ring, Eds., The Oxford Handbook of Inter-Organizational Relations, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2008, pp. 231-255. [49] M. I. Reed, “Organization, Trust and Control: A Realist Analysis,” Organization Studies, Vol. 22, No. 2, 2001, pp. 201-228. doi:10.1177/0170840601222002