No project is an island: linking projects to history and context

Abstract

Theories on project management are dominated by a perspective on singular projects, treating the unit of analysis as a lonely phenomenon. Anchored in a comparative case study, this paper discusses how the interior processes of a project are influenced by its historical and organizational context. The paper illustrates how the structures and procedures employed in a project have to be understood in relation to previous and simultaneous courses of activity, to future plans, and to standard operating procedures, traditions, and the norms of its surroundings. The findings suggest that future research on project management needs to extend its temporal scope, analyzing how project practices evolve through history over prior, present, and future projects, as well as its organizational scope, analyzing how project practices relate to long-term institutions as well as simultaneous activities in its environment.