Boundary activities and readiness for ... - Projekti-Instituutti

Theoretical background
early stage of change programs, including the initiation dynamics that are
often neglected within the traditional project management discipline
(Morris, 1989). Thirdly, the selected perspective highlights the
embeddedness of projects and programs in their context (Manning, 2008;
Sydow et al., 2004) and especially the continuous interaction with the
parent organization (Andersen, 2006, 2008; Vaagaasar & Andersen, 2007),
which is the particular focus of this dissertation.
The origins of the temporary organization perspective in organizational
and management literature can be traced back to accounts of temporary
systems in the 1960s and 1970s (Goodman & Goodman, 1976; Miles, 1964).
Goodman and Goodman (1976: 494) characterized how a temporary system
involves “a set of diversely skilled people working together on a complex
task over a limited time period”. They further described how temporary
systems or organizations are commonly established when the task at hand
is complex, unique, and critical and when the task involves specific goals
that set a time limit to the task, making both the task and the organization
working on it temporary. Temporary systems are not limited to
conventional projects and programs, but also include, for example, theatre
groups, conferences, sport events, carnivals, demonstrations, election
campaign organizations, juries and cockpit crews (Goodman & Goodman,
1976; Miles, 1964).
From the mid-1990s, an increasing number of authors have started to
adopt the temporary organization perspective to examining projects and
programs (e.g. Ekstedt et al., 1999; Modig, 2007; Turner & Müller, 2003).
The perspective is largely based on the seminal work by Lundin and
Söderholm who in 1995 outlined a theory of the temporary organization by
introducing four interrelated concepts of time, task, team and transition.
Firstly, the concept of time ultimately defines temporary organizations.
Unlike more permanent organizations, temporary organizations have either
a predetermined point in time or a time-related conditional state when they
are expected to cease to exist (Miles, 1964; Packendorff, 1995). The
existence of a time limit has implications for action and may spread a sense
of urgency (Lundin & Söderholm, 1995). Secondly, similarly to the taskoriented
tradition, the temporary organization perspective acknowledges
that a temporary organization is built around a certain task. The task
provides the rationale for the temporary organization to exist and
legitimizes it (ibid.). The task may be truly unique or it may be more
repetitive in nature (cf. Ekstedt et al., 1999 for an analysis of the differences
between unique and repetitive tasks). Thirdly, a team is formed around the
task. Lundin and Söderholm emphasize how temporary organizations
depend on individuals’ abilities and commitment. Temporary organizations
15