International Journal of Project Management最新文献

{"title":"From project managers to intrapreneurs: The role of external and intra-organizational social capital in promoting intrapreneurial activities among project managers","authors":"Galit Klein ,&nbsp;Batia Ben-Hador ,&nbsp;Tristano Sainati","doi":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2026.102845","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2026.102845","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>While prior research has highlighted dynamic capabilities as central to the role of project managers, the sensing capability remains comparatively underexplored at the individual project level. This study addresses that gap by examining how project managers leverage their internal social capital within the firm (intraorganizational social capital) and their external stakeholder networks (external social capital) to foster intrapreneurial behaviours, namely entrepreneurial behaviours enacted within existing organizations.</div><div>The current study investigates how project managers leverage their social capital within the firm (intraorganizational social capital) and their external networks with stakeholders (external social capital) to foster intrapreneurial behaviors, meaning entrepreneurship within existing organizations. In the first phase, we surveyed 1,024 project managers, and in the second phase, 255 project managers and their supervisor dyads. Findings reveal that intrapreneurial behaviors mediate the relationship between social capital and project manager performance, with external social capital playing a more prominent role than its intraorganizational counterpart, particularly in exploration role activities. We also identified a discrepancy: intraorganizational social capital was significantly associated with intrapreneurial behaviors when assessed by project managers but failed to show significant connection when evaluated by their supervisors. This underscores the importance of repeated measurement and offers a more nuanced view of intraorganizational social capital as a relational asset shaping intrapreneurial behaviors. The study contributes to the dynamic capabilities framework by conceptualizing external and intra-organizational social capital as relational assets that enable project managers to behaviorally contribute to organizational dynamic capability processes. Specifically, project managers sense opportunities through external social capital, seize them through intrapreneurial behaviors, and reconfigure knowledge through exploration activities. Practically, project managers should cultivate external social capital, and organizations should encourage knowledge-sharing strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48429,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Project Management","volume":"44 4","pages":"Article 102845"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148202597","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Are projects ready for AI — or for the value it generates?","authors":"Costanza Mariani","doi":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2026.102846","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2026.102846","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Artificial intelligence is increasingly entering project environments. Recent research has emphasized the importance of developing organizational and project readiness for AI adoption. However, from a project management perspective, readiness to deploy AI technologies does not necessarily guarantee that these technologies will generate meaningful project value. Building on the recent debate on AI readiness, this essay argues that an important conceptual gap remains between the adoption of AI tools and the realization of value in projects. Drawing on the project value literature, this work introduces the notion of AI value generation, defined as the capability of project organizations to translate AI-enabled insights into value definition, value delivery, and value capture across multiple stakeholders. By distinguishing between AI readiness and AI value generation, this work highlights a new research frontier for understanding how artificial intelligence can effectively contribute to project success and stakeholder value creation</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48429,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Project Management","volume":"44 4","pages":"Article 102846"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148202603","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ready, steady, repeat: Unravelling repetition and its potential benefits within public construction programs","authors":"Maedeh Molaei ,&nbsp;Heleen Smit ,&nbsp;Marleen Hermans ,&nbsp;Marian Bosch-Rekveldt","doi":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2026.102861","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2026.102861","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Global societal challenges and limited resources have intensified the need for solutions that accelerate innovation and increase productivity. Repetition, particularly in the construction industry, is widely recognised for achieving efficiency gains and cost reductions. Its realisation, however, remains challenging due to the project-based nature of the industry, which emphasises project uniqueness. In addition, repetition is fragmented across multiple organisations and its recognition is predominantly framed from an intra-organisational perspective. Inter-organisational programs offer a promising setting to enable repetitive activities by strategically bundling interdependent and similar projects. Based on a qualitative multiple-case analysis of three construction programs, the study shows how organisations can identify the potential benefits of repetitive activities earlier, leading to more efficient and effective execution of work and achievement of program goals. The study contributes to literature by providing a conceptual model explaining how repetitive activities manifest and can be leveraged and steered to realise their potential benefits.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48429,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Project Management","volume":"44 4","pages":"Article 102861"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148202598","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The future of Project Management: Insights from the next generation of professionals","authors":"Vladimir Obradović ,&nbsp;Mladen Vukomanović ,&nbsp;Marija Todorović","doi":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2026.102848","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2026.102848","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This research delves into the evolving landscape of project management (PM), with a specific focus on the perspectives and insights of the next generation of professionals poised to lead the field. The article investigates the competencies deemed essential for future PM professionals, as perceived by Gen Z within the evolving context of the modern workplace. While existing literature highlights generational differences in workplace expectations and values, current research often lacks global scope and comprehensive focus on project competencies. This study employs a large and diverse international sample (<em>N</em> = 755) to examine how Gen Z perceives PM competencies, using contemporary trends as AI, emotional competences, professional mobility and diversity as predictors. The main contribution is a fresh perspective, compared to original theories. Our interdisciplinary approach and global survey created the model-based perspectives and attitudes of the next generation of professionals in the PM field, providing the competence predictors based on today’s trends. The main predictors are Emotional intelligence (EI) impact on project work and Artificial intelligence (AI) application on projects. The findings advance the competence-based theoretical framework and provides insights into how organizations can create supportive environments that align with the values and motivations of the emerging workforce of project managers and leaders and suggest how PM education and competency standards should evolve. Further, the findings provide evidence for researchers seeking to develop new theories and models that reflect the changing project environment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48429,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Project Management","volume":"44 3","pages":"Article 102848"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148141089","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Making societal impact matter: Reconciling project and public value","authors":"Lavagnon A. Ika ,&nbsp;Carter B. Casady ,&nbsp;Stephen P. Osborne","doi":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2026.102849","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2026.102849","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Although public projects carry significant societal stakes, systematic assessments of the value they generate remain limited. Project research has expanded beyond efficiency-based criteria, yet it often emphasizes organizational and stakeholder perspectives, while public administration scholarship focuses on collective societal value, with limited attention to projects. To reconcile project and public value, this essay draws on four schools of public value theory: <em>Public value management, Public value failure, Public sphere domain</em>, and <em>Public service logic</em>. It shows how public projects create, destroy, contest, distribute, and realize value over time, highlighting that success depends not only on project value but also on legitimacy, political authorization, and stakeholder co-creation. The essay contributes by integrating public value into project value theory, reframing performance in societal terms, and articulating an agenda bridging project studies and public administration. It offers researchers and practitioners a lens for evaluating public projects amid growing societal expectations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48429,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Project Management","volume":"44 3","pages":"Article 102849"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148141092","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"From accidental project manager to intentional project leader: A reset whose time has come","authors":"Jeffrey K. Pinto ,&nbsp;Kate Davis ,&nbsp;Neil Turner","doi":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102771","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2025.102771","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This essay revisits the enduring figure of the “accidental project manager” and questions its continued relevance in today’s increasingly complex and politicized project environments. While the concept remains a useful metaphor in some sectors, the profession must now reckon with deeper shifts in power, conflict, and contested notions of performance. Drawing on past work on power and politics in projects, as well as emerging evaluations of megaproject governance, the piece critiques the field’s overcorrection towards harmony and collaboration, arguing that conflict is not only inevitable but essential to effective project delivery. It further challenges prevailing assumptions about project performance, proposing that success is a negotiated and political construct rather than an objective outcome. The essay ultimately calls for a reimagining of the project professional — from accidental manager to political actor and leader — equipped to navigate the realities of today’s turbulent and multi-stakeholder environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48429,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Project Management","volume":"44 3","pages":"Article 102771"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148141094","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Project management as root capability: Huawei’s digital transformation in a changing world","authors":"Yan Liu ,&nbsp;Hu Sun ,&nbsp;Yan Ning ,&nbsp;Ronggui Ding ,&nbsp;Martina Huemann","doi":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2026.102859","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2026.102859","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This invited paper offers practice insights from Huawei on project management such as how it has developed, how it is being reshaped by digitalization, and how it may evolve in the future. It is an extracted and edited version of several interview-based conversations with Mr. Hu Sun, Huawei’s Chief Project Management Expert and Services Fellow. The paper first examines why Huawei has built project management as a root capability, outlining a four-phase trajectory from professionalization to value-creating, service-oriented project management. It then explores how this trajectory has been translated into digital practice through the Integrated Service Delivery Platform, organization-level digital operations and smart project management applications. Finally, it discusses Huawei’s vision of human–machine collaboration and data-driven decision-making in future project work and reflects on implications for research and practice in project-based organizing.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48429,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Project Management","volume":"44 3","pages":"Article 102859"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148141091","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sixty years of project management: responsible stewardship","authors":"Mladen Vukomanović ,&nbsp;Ding Ronggui ,&nbsp;Vladimir Obradović ,&nbsp;Martina Huemann","doi":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2026.102860","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2026.102860","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":48429,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Project Management","volume":"44 3","pages":"Article 102860"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148141093","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Resolving institutional misfit in collaborative digital transformation projects: An action research approach","authors":"Linzhuo Wang,&nbsp;Ralf Müller","doi":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2026.102851","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2026.102851","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Digital transformation (DT) projects frequently fail due to governance challenges in the inter-organizational coordination. The collaborators during DT project implementation not only provide complementary resources but also bring institutional conflicts that exacerbate the difficulties of digital transformation projects. To uncover and mitigate the side effects of institutional misfit, we adopt an action research approach to investigate how collaborators can perceive and resolve the challenges of diverging institutional logics in digital transformation projects. Our findings reveal a three-stage process-based governance model: (1) identification of institutional misfit, (2) synchronizing values and norms, and (3) nested coupling of institutional logics. This study contributes to organizational change and project governance literature by offering a governance roadmap for resolving institutional misfit in collaborative DT projects and provides managers with actionable guidance on securing DT project success through process-oriented governance measures.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48429,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Project Management","volume":"44 3","pages":"Article 102851"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148141095","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Understanding legitimacy construction through online community discourse in megaprojects: evidence from the Lyon–Turin megaproject","authors":"Costanza Mariani,&nbsp;Erik Araya Aliaga,&nbsp;Mauro Mancini","doi":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2026.102847","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijproman.2026.102847","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Legitimacy is a critical condition for the viability of megaprojects, yet little is known about how it is constructed and contested within digital arenas. This study examines the role of online communities in shaping project legitimacy, drawing on the case of the transnational Lyon–Turin high-speed rail project. Using a longitudinal dataset of over 190,000 tweets collected over a 15-year period, we analyze how project-related events, organizational communication, sentiment, engagement, and polarization interact over time.</div><div>The results show three main findings. First, online legitimacy is highly event-driven: governance, economic, and protest-related events generate statistically significant shifts in community sentiment, with public protests producing the strongest and most consistent effects. Second, online communities exhibit pronounced internal heterogeneity. Rather than responding uniformly, both supporters and opponents display intragroup polarization, revealing fractures and divergent interpretations of the same events. Third, increases in negative sentiment toward the project are associated with reduced engagement with the project-promoting organization, indicating that online disaffection can spill over and undermine organizational legitimacy. This study advances a process-oriented understanding of project legitimacy as contested, fragile, and temporally sensitive. The findings highlight the strategic importance for project-promoting organizations of systematically monitoring online discourse and engaging proactively with digital publics throughout the project lifecycle.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48429,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Project Management","volume":"44 3","pages":"Article 102847"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148141096","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}