Marketing by, for and of the project: project marketing by three types of organizations

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 841-855 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Rodney Turner ◽  
Laurence Lecoeuvre

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to place project marketing within the framework of organizational project management. There has been an ongoing discussion in the project marketing literature about whether project marketing is part of project management or project management is part of project marketing. Marketing is done by organizations to create a demand for products or services that have value for customers. The authors identify three types of organization involved in the management of projects, the project, the initiator and the contractor, and review current thinking on how they market their products and services, and create networks and dialogs to bring value to stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach The authors review the literature on project marketing, and develop new models based on an organizational perspective. The authors develop propositions as a basis for further research. Findings Marketing is done by three types of organization. The authors label these as marketing BY the project, marketing FOR the project by the contractor, and marketing OF the investment made by the project by the investor. The authors draw links with marketing theory, and introduce the service-dominant logic as a new perspective on organizational project marketing. Research limitations/implications Traditionally, project marketing theory has taken the perspective of the overlap between project management and project marketing. The authors take an organizational perspective, and identify avenues for research into how the types of organization involved in the management of projects create dialog with their customers and stakeholders to exchange products and services that have value for them. Practical implications Project managers have not traditionally viewed project marketing as having relevance to them. The authors show that providing a service to stakeholders is an essential part of the management of projects. Originality/value The authors develop directions for research into project marketing as part of organizational project management.

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 385-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jayaraman Rajagopalan ◽  
Praveen Kumar Srivastava

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a new comprehensive metric to successfully plan and execute IT projects. The development will be based on a study of all the variables that go into making a successful IT project. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire, containing qualitative and quantitative response questions, to gather data from practicing project managers is designed and used in an IT company. Cronbach’s alpha is used to analyze the data and multiple regression is used to find the equation relating project success to project management success. Findings A comprehensive variable called Project Health Index (PHI) has been identified. Using this variable, one can predict whether a project is likely to succeed or not. This comprehensive, composite variable is calculated by using 17 other project-related metrics identified from the responses to the questionnaire. Research limitations/implications The PHI has been calculated for the company studied. However, more studies need to be performed before it can be established that the PHI can also be used in other companies and projects. What has been established and validated is that PHI can be used in the studied company and that the methodology to calculate PHI is valid. Practical implications The PHI can be used as a predictive variable, i.e. one that can be used to take corrective and preventive actions to make a project successful. The PHI can also be used to allocate resources, prioritize the allocation and improve project management during the course of project execution. Social implications By implementing projects efficiently, resource utilisation increases and leads to waste avoidance. Improved sustainability is the end result. Originality/value The work is original. The contents and the conclusions drawn, as well as the use of the PHI will enable IT companies to implement projects efficiently, reduce cost and enhance profit.


2014 ◽  
Vol 115 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 263-271
Author(s):  
Aline Soules

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review current strategies in collections, selection and the access libraries provide, to present scenarios that illustrate the roles libraries are beginning to play and to discuss viable strategies for libraries in the future. Design/methodology/approach – An extensive review of the literature was conducted to identify current strategies in collections and selection, and to explore innovations in access strategies that reveal future directions. Findings – Librarians are redefining collections and selection, implementing new strategies to provide information that is more relevant to today’s needs, focusing more intently on niche collections and experimenting in access strategies to market information and increase use. Practical implications – Libraries’ survival depends on re-thinking the philosophy and approach to collections, selection and access. Social implications – Libraries need this shift in thinking and approach to find their place in the new information world. Originality/value – The paper provides an overview of current thinking in collections, selection and access, prompts thought about new directions in this area and provides a forum for discussion.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl Marnewick

Purpose Standards are written by practitioners for practitioners. It is therefore logical that project managers should comply with project management standards. Benefits management is a domain within programme management. The focus of benefits management is to deliver benefits of initiatives beyond the closure of a normal programme or project. This is not the case with projects within the information systems (IS) discipline, implying that IS programme and project managers are not adhering to standards. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether the best practices associated with benefits management are applied to IS initiatives in order to maximise the benefits of these initiatives. Design/methodology/approach Senior and middle managers in South African organisations were interviewed to determine how benefits are managed within their various projects. The purpose of the interviews was to determine adherence to standards and especially benefits management and, second, to determine whether these organisations are achieving any benefits and ultimately value. Findings There is an overwhelming non-adherence to benefits management best practices within the IS discipline, and IS programme and project managers do not have the slightest idea how to perform benefits management. Irrespective of this, organisations do believe that they are receiving benefits and value from these IS projects. Research limitations/implications The research was only done in South Africa with the specific focus of IS. The results are thus very specific and opens the door for more comprehensive research that focusses on various industries, countries and standards. Practical implications The results have several implications ranging from how standards are written to the professionalism of IS programmes and project managers. Organisations are not achieving the optimal benefits from investments. The fact that organisations do realise benefits from a broken process, implies that more benefits can be realised when the entire benefits realisation process is followed. Governance controls should also be put in place to ensure that programme and project managers are adhering to standards. Originality/value Standards are dominating the project management discipline and there is a general assumption that programme and project managers are adhering these standards. This research queries the value of standards as the results indicate that there is limited adherence to standards and best practices.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shamini Manikam ◽  
Rebekah Russell-Bennett

Purpose – Despite the importance of theory as a driving framework, many social marketers either fail to explicitly use theory as the basis of designing social marketing interventions or default to familiar theories which may not accurately reflect the nature of the behavioural issue. The purpose of this paper is therefore to propose and demonstrate the social marketing theory (SMT)-based approach for designing social marketing interventions, campaigns or tools. Design/methodology/approach – This conceptual paper proposes a four-step process and illustrates this process by applying the SMT-based approach to the digital component of a social marketing intervention for preventing domestic violence. Findings – For effective social marketing interventions, the underpinning theory must reflect consumer insights and key behavioural drivers and be used explicitly in the design process. Practical implications – Social marketing practitioners do not always understand how to use theory in the design of interventions, campaigns or tools, and scholars do not always understand how to translate theories into practice. This paper outlines a process and illustrates how theory can be selected and applied. Originality/value – This paper proposes a process for theory selection and use in a social marketing context.


2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 1329-1354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Hughes ◽  
Mario Vafeas ◽  
Toni Hilton

Purpose Resource integration is a central idea within service-dominant logic (S-D logic), but there has been little scholarly research on this aspect of theory. This paper aims to explore resource integration between marketing agencies and their clients. Design/methodology/approach In total, nine case studies have been developed using a dyadic approach of interviewing clients and members of their agency teams. This is followed-up with presentations and workshops with over 200 practitioners who validated the findings and added new perspectives. Findings The key operant resources in the client/agency context have been identified. The ways the operant resources of the actors developed during the course of resource integration, building potential resources for future co-creation are shown. The differing perspectives of the actors to each other’s contribution are highlighted. Research limitations/implications This study suggests that resource enhancement and development, as a result of integration, is important. For agency/client research, resource integration and development brings new perspectives complementing existing relationship approaches to research. The findings have implications for relationship marketing theory across business-to-business (B2B) contexts. Practical implications The findings suggest a resource integration approach that could be jointly addressed between agency and client in improving the way they work together. The discourse of co-creation suggests a way for them to talk about how to work together effectively. Suggestions are made for teaching. Originality/value This study develops the S-D logic theory through exploring resource enhancement and development in a B2B co-creation context. The dyadic nature of the research is novel in studying how marketing agencies and clients work together and new perspectives emerge from the approach.


2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soroush Maghsoudi ◽  
Colin Duffield ◽  
David Wilson

Purpose Unlike manufacturing and research and developments, major infrastructure projects rarely emphasize or drive their objectives on the basis of innovation. This is in part because of a risk-averse culture, yet conceivably great benefits and opportunities are being lost because of this behavior. Design/methodology/approach The case for focusing on innovation in infrastructure projects is that the reasons driving innovation are not fully understood, and this impedes the effective implementation of lessons learned for the numerous innovative projects into practice more generally. The purpose of this study was to discover how innovation is produced and captured in major infrastructure projects in Australia and to understand how innovation may be replicated for future projects through refinement of design, project management, finance and procurement. Findings Engineering and project managers may find this paper helpful to better understand how innovation might happen in infrastructure projects and what different forms it can take. Originality/value The findings of this study demonstrate that people and culture drive consistent successful infrastructure outcomes more than simply the development of new products or processes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 603-615
Author(s):  
Ang Gao ◽  
Kai Zhao ◽  
Qing Qu

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the effect of person–organization (P-O) adhocracy value congruence on employee creativity using the supplementary fit theory while investigating the moderating effect of the immediate supervisor's transformational leadership.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses polynomial regression to analyze 431 employees from 47 Chinese companies.FindingsHigher levels of creativity were observed in employees whose adhocracy value was congruent with that of the organization.Practical implicationsThe practice of hiring employees with creative value or building creative culture may not trigger employee creativity if managers do not take value congruence into consideration.Originality/valueThis study introduces a new perspective on understanding creativity in the workplace. First, it contributes to work on the consequences of P-O value congruency by exploring how supplementary fit influences employee creativity. Second, it contributes to creativity research by proposing a P-O supplementary fit argument to explain the actor-context interactionist model of creativity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 223-234
Author(s):  
Aliye Emirali ◽  
Rachel O'Rourke ◽  
Caroline Friendship

Purpose This paper explores absconding from a new perspective. Literature has tended to focus on the risk factors linked with absconding. This paper aims to consider desistance factors for absconding for prisoners at higher risk of absconding in open prisons. Design/methodology/approach Stage 1 used logistic regression to identify factors associated with increased risk of absconding. Stage 2 identified new receptions with increased risk and used thematic analysis to analyse interviews with prisoners that did not abscond after three months. Findings Stage 1 found that the total number of previous offences predicted absconding. Stage 2 found three themes linked to desistance in absconding: “support”, “ownership” and “sense of self”. Practical implications This study highlights the importance of ensuring prisoners in open prisons are offered the appropriate emotional and practical support. It also identifies the importance of hope amongst prisoners in open conditions. Future research should further explore this idea in more depth. Originality/value Previous literature has looked at absconding from a risk factor perspective. This research identifies the desistance factors associated with absconding for individuals who have been identified as high risk of absconding. Improvements in factors associated with desistance from absconding may support a reduction in absconding from open prisons.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 867-888
Author(s):  
Sławomir Wawak ◽  
Krzysztof Woźniak

PurposeThe objectives of the study were to demonstrate the suitability of methodology based on a text mining toolset for detecting trends in scientific papers and to find trends that were present in the field of project management during the research time span (2000–2019).Design/methodology/approachAn approach based on text mining tools supported by expert analysis was adopted due to an extensive number of publications in the field of project management. The novelty of the approach lies in the proposed method of trends discovery instead of the commonly used trends predefinition. The use of computer support allowed the full texts of papers, and not only abstracts, to be analysed, which significantly increased the reliability of the achieved results. Overall, 3,544 papers from seven journals were analysed.FindingsAs a result, 43 trends were discovered including seven long-lasting, four declining, 17 emerging and 15 ephemeris trends. Trends were analysed in comparison with the results of previous studies and project management frameworks. New trends and potential gaps were discussed.Originality/valueThe results highlight the topics of research that gain popularity among researchers, and which are related to the current problems that arise in project management. Therefore, the results can help focus studies on the most important areas, as well as find new ones which are not so popular yet. The knowledge of current trends is also important for those project managers who seek to improve the efficiency of their work.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 616-647
Author(s):  
Haoran Li ◽  
Zhenzhi Zhao ◽  
Ralf Müller ◽  
Jingting Shao

Purpose Followership is the free will recognition of leadership in the commitment toward realization of the collectively adopted organization vision and culture. The purpose of this paper is to identify the relationship between project managers’ leadership and their followership. Most project managers are both leaders and followers at the same time, but research typically investigates only their leadership. This ignores followership as an important aspect in understanding and predicting behavior, and further in the selection of project managers. Design/methodology/approach The method used for this paper is the explanatory in nature and a deductive approach, within which the above research hypothesis is tested through quantitative techniques. Data are collected through a nation-wide survey in China. Data analysis was done through factor analysis, canonical correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis. Findings The results show that transformational leadership is positively correlated with transformational followership and transactional followership, and that transactional leadership is negatively correlated with transactional followership. Research limitations/implications The paper supports a deeper investigation into leadership and followership theories. A model for both leadership and followership is developed. The findings from this paper will guide organizations to choose the project managers. Originality/value The originality lies in the new way to examine the relationship between leadership and followership. It is the first study on the relationship of project managers. Its value is new insights, which introduced a new perspective to understand leadership and followership.


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