Strategic Drivers of Corporate Delivery Capability

Professor Lynn Crawford, Bond University, Australia
Dr Terry Cooke-Davies, Human Systems International Ltd, UK

Completion Date: 2011

Project Summary
The aim of this research, which is supported by the Project Management Institute, is to enhance understanding of the strategic drivers of corporations in different industry sectors and the implications this may have for variations in configurations of organisational project management capability.

Development of standards for management of projects has been on generic “models” of project management that are “generally applicable” in all environments. Research, on the other hand, indicates both that only a limited number of factors have a direct impact on performance (Cooke-Davies, 2001), and that there are demonstrable differences between practices in different industrial environments. Research into the value of project management has highlighted the importance of “fit” Research also suggests that differences in strategy may account for variation in project management practice between industries as organisations adapt their practices to respond to specific strategic drivers both for survival and competitive advantage (Cooke-Davies et al. 2009).
Review of relevant literature suggests:

• that organisations adopt different strategies for achieving successful corporate outcomes
• that different industry sectors, application areas and project types are therefore subject to different strategic drivers 
• that the nature of strategic drivers will cause emphasis and value to be placed on different project outcomes
• that project success in different industry sectors and application areas is related to the choice of the “right” management approach related to specific project characteristics and organisational strategy

The first phase of this research therefore aims to identify:

• strategic drivers that are characteristic of specific industries, application areas and / or project types
• outcomes that are typically most valued relative to specific strategic drivers, industries, application areas and / or project types
• The second phase of the research aims to identify the relationship between strategic drivers that are characteristic of specific industries and configurations of corporate delivery capability.

Selected Publications
Crawford, L. H. & Cooke-Davies, T. J. (2010). Managing projects in context: responding to strategic drivers. In Project Management Institute (Ed.), PMI Research and Education Conference, Washington, DC ( Newtown Square, PA: PMI.