Five propositions on how to combine threat and opportunity management in practice to further develop the project
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.19255/JMPM02712Keywords:
project, risk, threat, opportunity, uncertainty, practiceAbstract
Risk management in project contexts is increasingly more in focus amongst researchers and practitioners, including the debate on if and how opportunities can be integrated into the work with threats, or if separation is better. In this conceptual paper, integrating several strands of literature including risk management, project management, and organization theory in terms om sensemaking and paradox perspectives on decision making, it is argued that a sequential approach is a better option: An initial deliberate focus on threats to make sense of the existing project plan, then on innovative responses often entailing new opportunities. Five propositions on how this can be conducted in practice by project organizations are discussed as well as an overarching flow-chart linking the five propositions together, while recognizing that projects are temporary organizations in which a mix of people with different frame of references are expected to deliver results after short initiation. Therefore, it is important to be realistic and implement a clear and practical process for project risk management, which distinctly links to existing forums and processes for decision making rather than creating new ones. Several managerial implications are presented, but also some theoretical notions.
References
Atkinson, R., Crawford, L., & Wars, S. (2006). Fundamental uncertainties in projects and the scope of project management. International Journal of Project Management, 24(8), 687-98.
Berggren, C. (2019). The cumulative power of incremental innovation and the role of project sequence management. International Journal of Project Management, 37(3), 461–72.
Blomquist, T., Hällgren, M., Nilsson, A., & Söderholm, A. (2010). Project-as-practice: In search of project management research that matters. Project management journal, 41(1), 5-16.
Brill, J. M. ( 1 ), Bishop, M. J. ( 2 ), & Walker, A. E. ( 3 ). (n.d.). The competencies and characteristics required of an effective project manager: A Web-based Delphi study. Educational Technology Research and Development, 54(2), 115–40.
Böhle, F., Heidling, E., & Schoper, Y. (2016). A new orientation to deal with uncertainty in projects. International Journal of Project Management, 34(7), 1384–92.
Chapman, C., & Ward, S. (2004). Why risk efficiency is a key aspect of best practice projects. International Journal of Project Management, 22(8), 619–32.
Denney, V. P. (2020). Exploring the Upside of Risk in Project Management: A Phenomenological Inquiry. Journal of Modern Project Management, 8(1), 278-99.
Denney, V. P., & Powell, S. T. (2020). Identifying Project Opportunity Gaps Using a Descriptive Literature Review: 2010-2019. Journal of Modern Project Management, 8(1), 216–38.
Eisenhardt, K. (2000). Paradox, spirals, ambivalence: The new language of change and pluralism. Academy of Management Review, 25(4), 703-05.g
Eriksson, P. E. (2013). Exploration and exploitation in project-based organizations: Development and diffusion of knowledge at different organizational levels in construction companies. International Journal of Project Management, 31(3), 333-41.
Eriksson, P. E., Larsson, J., & Szentes, H. (2019). Reactive Problem Solving and Proactive Development in Infrastructure Projects. Current Trends in Civil & Structural Engineering, 3(2).
Erro-Garces, A., & Alfaro-Tanco, J. A. (2020). Action research as a meta-methodology in the management field. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 19, 1-11.
Eskerod, P., Ang, K., & Andersen, E. S. (2018). Increasing project benefits by project opportunity exploitation. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 11(1), 35–52.
Centre of Excellence in Project Management (2018). PM² Project Management Methodology Guide 3.0. European Commission, Brussel/Luxembourg.
Eweje, J., Turner, R., & Müller, R. (2012). Maximizing strategic value from megaprojects: The influence of information-feed on decision-making by the project manager. International Journal of Project Management, 30(6), 639–51.
Fulmer, I. S. (2012). Editor's Comments: The Craft of Writing Theory Articles—Variety and Similarity in AMR. Academy of Management Review, 37(3), 327-31.
Gil, N., & Tether, B. S. (2011). Project risk management and design flexibility: Analysing a case and conditions of complementarity. Research Policy, 40(3), 415–28.
Gilson, L. L., & Goldberg, C. B. (2015). Editors’ Comment: So, What Is a Conceptual Paper? Group and Organization Management, 40(2), 127–30.
Hillson. D. (2002). Extending the risk process to manage opportunities. International Journal of Project Management, 20(3), 325-40.
Hillson, D. (2019). Capturing Upside Risk: Finding and managing opportunities in projects. CRC Press - Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton.
Hällgren, M., & Wilson, T. L. (2008). The nature and management of crises in construction projects: Projects-as-practice observations. International Journal of Project Management, 26(8), 830–38.
Johansen, A., Bjerke, Y. C., & Landmark, A. (2018). Effective opportunity management in a Megaproject. Procedia Computer Science, 138, 883–90.
KarimiAzari, A., Mousavi, N., Mousavi, S. F., & Hosseini, S. (2011). Risk assessment model selection in construction industry. Expert systems with applications, 38(8), 9105–11.
Lewis, M. W. (2000) Exploring paradox: Toward a more comprehensive guide. The Academy of Management Review, 25(4), 760-76.
Lewis, M. W., & Smith, W. K. (2014). Paradox as a metatheoretical perspective: Sharpening the focus and widening the scope. The Journal of Applied Science, 50(2), 127-49.
Olsson, N.O.E. (2006) Management of flexibility in projects. International Journal of Project Management, 24(1), 66-74.
Olsson, R. (2007). In search of opportunity management: is the risk management process enough? International Journal of Project Management, 25(8), 745–52.
Osipova, K., & Eriksson, P. E. (2013). Balancing control and flexibility in joint risk management: Lessons learned from two construction projects. International Journal of Project Management, 31(3), 391-99.
O´Reilly, C., & Tushman, M. (2013). Organizational ambidexterity: Past, present and future. Academy of Management Perspectives, 27(4), 324-38.
Perminova, O., Gustafsson, M., & Wikström, K. (2008). Defining uncertainty in projects – a new perspective. International Journal of Project Management, 26, 73-79.
Pich, M. T., Loch, C. H., & de Meyer, A. (2002). On Uncertainty, Ambiguity, and Complexity in Project Management. Management Science, 48(8), 1008–23.
Project Management Institute. (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK ® Guide), Sixth Edition. Newtown Square (PA), USA: Project Management Institute.
Qazi, A., Dikmen, I., & Birgonul, M. T. (2020). Mapping Uncertainty for Risk and Opportunity Assessment in Projects. Engineering Management Journal, 32(2), 86–97.
Sanderson, J. (2012). Risk, uncertainty and governance in megaprojects: A critical discussion of alternative explanations. International Journal of Project Management, 30(4), 432–43.
Smith, W.K., & Lewis, M.W. (2011). Toward a theory of paradox: A dynamic equilibrium model of organizing. The Academy of Management Review, 36(2), 381-403.
Sundaramurthy, C., & Lewis, M. (2003). Control and collaboration: Paradoxes of Governance. The Academy of Management Review, 28(3), 397-415.
Szentes, H., & Eriksson, P.-E. (2016). Paradoxical Organizational Tensions between Control and Flexibility When Managing Large Infrastructure Projects. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 142(4).
Söderholm, A. (2008). Project management of unexpected events. International Journal of Project Management, 26(1), 80–86.
Söderlund, J. (2011). Pluralism in Project Management: Navigating the Crossroads of Specialization and Fragmentation. International Journal of Management Reviews, 13(2), 153-76.
Technical Committee ISO/TC 262, Risk management (2018) ISO31000:2018.
Tse, T. (2013). Paradox resolution: A means to achieve strategic innovation. European Management Journal, 31(6), 682-96.
Turner, J. R., & Müller, R. (2003). On the nature of the project as a temporary organization. International Journal of Project Management, 21(1), 1–8.
Ward, S., & Chapman, C. (2003). Transforming project risk management into project uncertainty management. International Journal of Project Management, 21(2), 97–105.
Weick, K. E. (1979). The social psychology of organizing. McGraw-Hill, New York.
Weick, K. E. (1993). The Collapse of Sensemaking in Organizations: The Mann Gulch Disaster. Administrative Science Quarterly, 38(4), 628–52.
Weick, K. E., & Sutcliffe, K. M. (2015). Managing the unexpected : resilient performance in an age of uncertainty (3. ed.), Wiley, Hoboken – New Jersey.
Weick, K. E., Sutcliffe, K. M., & Obstfeld, D. (2005). Organizing and the Process of Sensemaking. Organization Science, 16(4), 409–21.
Willumsen, P., Oehmen, J., Stingl, V., & Geraldi, J. (2019). Value creation through project risk management, International Journal of Project Management, 37 (5), 731-49.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2022 Henrik Szentes
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
