The Differential Roles of Multilevel Change Capabilities in Project-Based Organizations

In this paper we introduce project-based organizations as multilevel entities that possess multiple operational and dynamic capabilities to manage organizational change and more precisely the stability- change paradox. In this study we focus particularly on two distinct, yet compatible and complementary dynamic project capabilities that facilitate change in project-based organizations. Our cases indicate the existence and application of different change capabilities in practice that enable project-based organizations to deal with the paradox. These different dynamic capabilities coexist across the different organizational levels. More precisely, we offer evidence for formal change routines, characterised by ostensive dynamic capabilities, while we also provide support for our theoretical argument that project-based organizations use less formal routines in the form of performative dynamic capabilities to initiate and manipulate change

The Interrelationship of Governance, Trust, and Ethics in Temporary Organizations

This study investigates the variety of ethical decisions of project managers and their impact from corporate governance and project governance structures. The roles of personal trust and system trust as a mechanism to steer ethical decision making in different governance settings is explored. Nine qualitative case studies in Europe, Asia, and Australia show that ethical decision making is contingent on trust, which in turn is contingent on the fulfillment of personal expectations within a given governance structure. The findings show the prerequisites for ethical decision making and the consequences of lack of trust. Further managerial and theoretical implications are discussed