Becoming a project manager: A social cognitive perspective

A global shortage of project managers highlights the need for a theory of why some people but not others choose to become project managers. So this paper uses social cognitive theory to explain both the role of project management self-efficacy (PMSE) in becoming a project manager and the experiential sources of PMSE. Further, the article extends the theoretical scope of PMSE assessment to incorporate leadership dimensions of project activities. Results suggest that PMSE: (1) influences the likelihood of becoming a project manager, both directly and by affecting outcome expectancies, goals and socio-structural factors; (2) has four principal sources – enactive mastery, vicarious learning, social persuasion, and physiological states – that can be developed through training; and (3) encompasses eleven dimensions and forty-three activities. Propositions and research suggestions are provided. Although the various formulations need to be empirically tested, together they indicate that PMSE is much more important and complex than previously reported. The article should prove useful to practitioners and those interested in increasing the supply of project managers.