Ershadi, M; Jefferies, M; Davis, P and Mojtahedi, M (2021) Project management offices in the construction industry: A literature review and qualitative synthesis of success variables. Construction Management and Economics, 39(6), pp. 493-512. ISSN 01446193
Abstract
Today’s project management offices (PMOs) in the construction sector need to be equipped with breakthrough capabilities necessary for making a difference in multi-project management. Although there is an upward trend in academic research on PMOs, a comprehensive framework of potential success variables is still lacking in the literature. This research aims to assess the extant literature from the perspective of the construction sector to provide a single consolidated overview of potential PMO success variables. A systematic search process was adopted to retrieve publications and narrow them down to eligible studies followed by a qualitative synthesis. A set of 32 success variables was synthesized and inductively categorized under four emerging themes of (1) establishing PM infrastructure, (2) promoting PM practices, (3) PMO structuring, and (4) organizational support. This set of variables refers to three kinds of functional, structural, and contextual variables characterizing potential features of successful construction PMOs. These variables were compared between the construction industry and other industries to reflect contextual contrasts and similarities. A research agenda was proposed to encourage empirical studies on examining success variables. This study contributes to an improved understanding of PMO success variables in the construction industry and directs future research towards the most important topics.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction industry; project management office; success variables; systematic review |
| Index terms: | project management, construction sector, empirical study, publication, literature review, research agenda, construction industry, systematic literature review |
| Subjects: | data analysis and analytics, research methods, research management, industry analysis, project management theory and practice, research dissemination and communication, research evaluation and metrics |
| Topics: | Project Management, Research Practice, Information Management |
| 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