How organisational and team climates foster design thinking for project success

Traditional project management methods struggle with the uncertainties and complexities of modern, innovative projects. Research highlights the need for flexible approaches integrating exploration and learning, such as design thinking. However, implementing design thinking practices in project management faces various obstacles. Beyond structural and strategic hurdles, the organisational context—specifically how individuals experience the work environment—likely plays a critical role in shaping the intensity and success of such practices. This study analyses the organisational and team climates that support implementing design thinking practices to increase project success while considering the role of project contingencies. Drawing on data from 379 projects nested in 93 companies, we investigate the impact of organisational climates (supportive climate, innovation climate, open climate) and team climates (servant leadership, team autonomy). Our findings suggest that design thinking practices improve project success. At the same time, we identify a supportive climate, an open climate, servant leadership, and team autonomy as conducive to design thinking practices. In addition, design thinking practices are more beneficial for project success when project innovativeness is high. Project innovativeness also strengthens the effect of a supportive climate on design thinking practices. We contribute to the literature on project management and design thinking by providing the first quantitative evidence on how specific climate conditions within the broader organisational context support the application of design thinking practices in project environments.