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Governing Project-based Firms: Promoting Market-like Processes within Hierarchies

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  • Lars Lindkvist

Abstract

This article takes an empirical point of departure in an in-depth study of an R&D organization that was transformed into a strongly project-based organization. As demonstrated in the analysis, its mode of governance differed radically from traditional bureaucratic and cultural conceptions of governance. Instead the new “rules-of-the-game” introduced amounted to creating an institutional framework, promoting new individual responsibilities and enabling lower level market-like processes of self-organizing discovery. The specific set-up used, included anew organization structure, new responsibilities, etc and the use of “prices”, playing a role both in shaping incentives and guiding knowledge work. The interpretation put forward relies on combining economic theories of governance with more “fine-grained” organization theories, and suggests that there is some discretion for top managers to engage in the design of a market-promoting mode of governance for their project-based firms. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 2004

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  • Lars Lindkvist, 2004. "Governing Project-based Firms: Promoting Market-like Processes within Hierarchies," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 8(1), pages 3-25, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jmgtgv:v:8:y:2004:i:1:p:3-25
    DOI: 10.1023/B:MAGO.0000015392.75507.ad
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Pantic-Dragisic, Svjetlana & Söderlund, Jonas, 2020. "Swift transition and knowledge cycling: Key capabilities for successful technical and engineering consulting?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(1).
    2. Mohamed Ali Hedhili & Sami Boudabbous, 2020. "Recruitment and Evaluation Practices at the Service of Project-Based Organization and Competence Management: Case of Tunisian Companies," Asian Journal of Social Sciences and Management Studies, Asian Online Journal Publishing Group, vol. 7(1), pages 17-24.
    3. Mohamed Ali Hedhili & Sami Boudabbous, 2021. "The Role of Career Development in the Relationship between Project-based Organization and Human Resource Management: Evidence from Tunisia," International Review of Management and Marketing, Econjournals, vol. 11(3), pages 36-41.
    4. Lobo, Sunila & Whyte, Jennifer, 2017. "Aligning and Reconciling: Building project capabilities for digital delivery," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 93-107.
    5. Mark Mortensen, 2014. "Constructing the Team: The Antecedents and Effects of Membership Model Divergence," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(3), pages 909-931, June.
    6. Luciana Castro Gonçalves, 2012. "Learning Dynamics across Boundaries of IS Context: A Structural perspective to Support Knowledge Management," Post-Print hal-02340306, HAL.
    7. Mohamed Ali Hedhili & Sami Boudabbous, 2020. "The impact of project-based organization on competence management practices: Case of Tunisian Companies," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 9(2), pages 177-191, March.
    8. De Rooij, Mariska M.G. & Janowicz-Panjaitan, Martyna & Mannak, Remco S., 2019. "A configurational explanation for performance management systems' design in project-based organizations," Other publications TiSEM edcb4bed-2636-4985-97ab-8, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    9. Mitsuru Kodama & Tomoatsu Shibata, 2013. "Research into Ambidextrous R&D in Product Development New Product Development at a Precision Device Maker," TMARG Discussion Papers 109, Graduate School of Economics and Management, Tohoku University.
    10. Craig Boardman & Branco Ponomariov, 2014. "Management knowledge and the organization of team science in university research centers," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 39(1), pages 75-92, February.
    11. Alajoutsijärvi, Kimmo & Mainela, Tuija & Salminen, Risto & Ulkuniemi, Pauliina, 2012. "Perceived customer involvement and organizational design in project business," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 77-89.
    12. Karl Breunig & Katja Hydle, 2013. "Remote control: measuring performance for value creation and governance of globally distributed knowledge work," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 17(3), pages 559-582, August.
    13. Georg Schreyögg & Jörg Sydow, 2010. "CROSSROADS---Organizing for Fluidity? Dilemmas of New Organizational Forms," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(6), pages 1251-1262, December.
    14. Mehdi Abzari & Arash Shahin & Ali Abasaltian, 2016. "Studying the Impact of Personality Constructs on Employees’ Knowledge Sharing Behavior Through Considering the Mediating Role of Intelligent Competencies in Project-Oriented Organizations," Modern Applied Science, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 10(6), pages 194-194, June.
    15. Fanny Simon & Albéric Tellier, 2016. "Balancing contradictory temporality during the unfold of innovation streams," Post-Print hal-01572302, HAL.
    16. Víctor Hermano & Natalia Martín-Cruz, 2020. "The Project-Based Firm: A Theoretical Framework for Building Dynamic Capabilities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-14, August.
    17. Claudiu George BOCEAN, 2011. "Project Based Organization - An Integrated Approach," Management and Marketing Journal, University of Craiova, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, vol. 0(2), pages 265-273, November.

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