Howsawi, Eskander Mohammed Adam (2014) Effective strategies for successful engineering project delivery during national crises. PhD thesis, University of Technology Sydney, Australia.
Abstract
Modern project management is a highly regarded approach for delivering successful projects. However, despite applying project management principles, the rate of success in projects is still below expectations. This major fact motivates the research on project success in many sub-areas of interest, such as the financial side of project success or the human resource aspect. The research in each area of interest reveals distinct results that fill a distinct knowledge gap. This thesis therefore sets out to explore project success from the perspective of the project context and in particular, in respect of national crises as a context for project management. National crises, such as wars, natural disasters and economic crises are increasing in number, frequency and severity worldwide. These crises are unique contexts and they induce the emergence of new dynamics and abnormal challenges that affect projects. Seeking project success in such contexts is different from seeking it in peaceful situations. However, existing literature in the project success field does not clearly show the distinction between the two different contexts or how to achieve success in the context of national crises. To tackle the topic of project success during national crises, this thesis applies the qualitative research method on multiple sets of data. The main approach of this thesis is one of multiple case studies, and several interviews, archival documents, video data and expert discussions have provided rich sources of data. Qualitative content analysis was the main analysis method used to extract the results of this research. As a result of the ambiguity that exists in the definition of project success, this thesis provides a framework to clarify and define project success itself. The concept of managing projects during national crises is developed, and the thesis then provides its core: the success strategies employed during national crises and the model that links them to common success factors. The thesis concludes by highlighting the contributions and implication this research has made, such as the new model and framework that can guide practitioners to deliver projects successfully during national crises, the enhancement of the theory through the provision of new concepts, and suggestions for further research.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Eager, D |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | case studies; content analysis; emergence; project delivery; project success; qualitative research; success strategies |
| Index terms: | case study, project success, war, dynamics, project management, project delivery, interview, natural disaster, qualitative research method, strategy, content analysis, success factor, human resource, qualitative research, documents, practitioner, emergence |
| Subjects: | practitioner, environmental hazards, conflict and crisis studies, data analysis and analytics, health monitoring assessment and metrics, project delivery, data collection methods, research design and methodology, systems engineering, project management theory and practice, professional development, management |
| Topics: | Business Strategy, Information Management, Research Practice, Roles and Professions, Human Resources, Health and Safety, Engineering Principles, Project Management, Sustainability, Procurement, Legal Issues |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here