| 1. |
- Bengtsson, Susanna Hedborg, et al.
(författare)
-
Developing a neighbourhood: exploring construction projects from a project ecology perspective
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Construction Management and Economics. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0144-6193 .- 1466-433X. ; 38:10, s. 964-976
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- As a consequence of ongoing urbanisation, construction projects are likely to be performed in multi-project contexts. Zooming out from the single project and focusing on the context in which construction projects are performed is suggested as a way to broaden our understanding and develop new theory. The empirical case in focus here, which is studied as a project ecology, is the development of a major urban development district, where several interdependent construction projects have been initiated in sequence and in parallel in a limited geographical area. This case poses several challenges to the developers (construction clients) who are performing their projects simultaneously, and literally, as neighbours. Therefore, we zoom out from the single construction project and put the project in a wider context on a macro level, to increase the understanding of the context in which construction projects are performed. The theoretical lens of social capital helps us zoom in on the interdependencies that develop over time, going beyond traditional, contractual and vertical relationships. Based on empirical material, including interviews and meeting observations, the findings indicate that the developers have to coordinate horizontal interdependencies between projects. The findings also show that the construction client’s role has been extended from initiating and delivering the project mission to also having a collaborator role between projects, where ambidexterity is required.
|
|
| 2. |
- Hedborg, Susanna, et al.
(författare)
-
Organisational routines in multi-project contexts : Coordinating in an urban development project ecology
- 2020
-
Ingår i: International Journal of Project Management. - : Elsevier Ltd. - 0263-7863 .- 1873-4634. ; 38:7, s. 394-404
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Project management literature have focused on either intra-organisational relationships or on vertical inter-organisational relationships. The purpose of this paper is to explore inter-project interdependencies and coordinating in multi-project contexts by using the notion of project ecologies. We adopt an organisational routines perspective to explore the coordinating practices managing those interdependencies. The empirical material underpinning our findings were collected and analysed through a case study of an urban development district, new to both the project ecology literature and the organisational routines literature. The findings highlight the existence and importance of horizontal interdependencies in project ecologies, as compared to the more commonly studied interdependencies in vertical relationships within and between projects. The need for horizontal coordinating is outside project managers’ regular focus on steering vertical relationships. Accordingly, the routines to manage the horizontal interdependencies in project ecologies are different to those in more engineered routines that are often described in project management guidelines.
|
|
