The ‘invisible hand’ of institutional logics on professionalizing project management amid increasing projectification

Abstract

The increasing projectification in many areas of our society necessitates the professionalization of project management. However, it remains largely unexplored how this process of professionalization unfolds at the societal level, influenced by institutional factors and key actors with their strategies and activities. It is also unclear why the trajectories vary from country to country. Our research, which uses the concept of institutional logic, investigates the trajectories of project management professionalization in Germany and Kazakhstan, with a focus on the private and public sectors, respectively. The decentralized and normative professionalization of project management in Germany, driven by actors from the bottom up, contrasts with the regulative, top-down approach of the centralized presidential administration in Kazakhstan. The different institutional logics in these countries explain this. Our research provides a distinct perspective for future studies and contributes to shaping the professionalization of project management within existing institutional frameworks and logics.