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

Theoretical background
2.3.3 Program-parent organization interplay
Within mainstream project management literature, the interplay of projects
with their parent organizations has been primarily covered as structural
and governance choices (Project Management Institute, 2004), such as
matrix organizing (Arvidsson, 2009; Kuprenas, 2003; Wilemon, 1973). The
discussion has centered on comparing the advantages and challenges
related to different organizational structures (Alsène, 1998; Andersen,
2000; Larson & Gobeli, 1989), and especially on describing tensions
between the project personnel and the functional organization. Previous
literature has reported difficulties related to dual reporting, role conflicts
and authority issues (e.g. Andersen, 2000; Wilemon, 1973).
Some studies have taken a broader perspective to the relationship
between a project and its parent organization, examining this interplay as
loose vs. tight coupling (Heller, 1999), attachment vs. detachment
(Johansson, Löfström, & Ohlsson, 2007), or integration vs. isolation
(Lehtonen & Martinsuo, 2009). The studies have reported how project
goals are derived from the goals and strategies of the parent organization
(Heller, 1999), and how the parent organization may provide tools,
techniques, infrastructure, funding, resources, and support for the project
(Besner & Hobbs, 2008; Gelbard & Carmeli 2009; Ives, 2005). The parent
organization may establish various governance mechanisms to guide and
control the project’s progress (Ives, 2005). Especially, the appointment of a
project owner or a sponsor provides a central link between the project and
the parent organization (ibid.). Project teams may also be linked with other
members of the parent organization by common location choices
(Lakemond & Berggren, 2006) and by shared resources (Eskerod, 1996).
Related to the interplay of projects with their parent organizations, a
growing stream of studies examines how knowledge and learning is
transferred across the projects’ boundaries (e.g. Bresnen, Goussevskaia &
Swan, 2004; Cacciatori, 2008; Dougherty & Takacs, 2004; Grabher, 2004),
so that this knowledge can be utilized in other projects and activities.
Literature on program management gives more emphasis to the
program’s connections with its parent organization than the traditional
project management literature. Artto et al. (2009) compared literature
sources on project and program management and concluded that whereas
project management articles tend to focus on issues at the level of single
projects, the level of analysis in program management studies is often the
organization as a whole. There are several reasons for the higher level (and
more external) focus of the program management studies. Firstly, the need
to link the program to the business and strategy of the parent organization
is widely reported (Ferns, 1991; Pellegrinelli, 1997; Ribbers & Schoo, 2002).
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