This paper proposes a conceptual framework to make sense of how project value is created in projects. We study the extant project management value creation literature using a value co-creation lens based on service-dominant (S-D) logic. We explore how project value is proposed, exchanged and then realized following a project life-cycle. This leads to the identification of an exploratory “value co-creation life-cycle” framework. This framework shows value as a whole transcends the limitation of measurable products value normally used to define the project value. In particular, it shows how operant resources (or actors) - typically referred to as stakeholders - within the project management system exchange services and integrate resources in order to co-create value. The exploratory framework, in turn, would enable future investigation of real projects with the view to unpacking the complex dynamic behavior of project value creation
