Top management support—almost always necessary and sometimes sufficient for success: Findings from a fuzzy set analysis

Project Governance and Project Performance: The Moderating Role of Top Management Support

Project governance (PG) has been primarily acknowledged as critical by researchers and practitioners in regard to successfully executing projects. However, project governance of public projects has received less attention from researchers. Therefore, in this study, we studied the effects of project governance and top management support (TMS) on project performance (PP) and their interactions in public sector projects. Using the lens of resource dependence theory (RDT), we hypothesize whether TMS moderates the impact of PG on PP. A quantitative deductive approach was employed to examine this relationship. Quantitative data were collected using a structured questionnaire from 346 project managers, team members, and stakeholders. Our results indicated that PG and TMS are positively significantly correlated with project performance. Moreover, we found that TMS acts as a quasi-moderator in the relationship between PG and PP.

Linking supply chain integration to supply chain orientation and performance – a knowledge integration perspective from Indian manufacturing industries

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the complex interrelationships among the key constructs, supply chain orientation (SCO), supply chain integration (SCI) and supply chain performance (SCP) in Indian manufacturing industries. These relationships have been studied using the relational view (RV) and the knowledge-based view (KBV) theoretical perspectives.

Design/methodology/approach

The conceptual model was derived from the existing body of knowledge in the supply chain domain. The study is based on a sample size of 122 data collected via face-to-face meetings with the Indian manufacturers using well-established scales. The covariance-based structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed hypotheses.

Findings

In Indian manufacturing and supply chains, SCO has a positive relationship with SCI and SCP. Moreover, the direct impact of SCO on SCP diminishes when SCI is used as a mediating variable. This study also observes positive impact of: i) SCO on SCP, ii) SCI on SCP and iii) discovery of mediating role of SCI on SCP under the theoretical lenses of RV and KBV.

Research limitations/implications

Cross-sectional survey of manufacturing firms of one country (using one response per firm) calls for validation covering other parts of the world and demands a longitudinal survey. This research will trigger more scholarly, practice and policy debate among researchers studying Indian and emerging economies context.

Practical implications

The notion of a holistic view of the SC with a focus on improving the customer value can enhance strategic partnerships among the SC partners (i.e. SCI) and overall SCP. Firms should make efforts to include SCI in SC designs to successfully transform SCO into SCP.

Originality/value

The originality of the research lies in studying the complex interrelationships among key concepts of SC in a unique Indian manufacturing context. The Indian supply chains operate in a set of unique characteristics, which have been detailed out in this paper. This paper not only establishes the mediating role of SCI for overall SCP in emerging economies but also enhances the scholarly knowledge in the SC domain. Most studies report SCO as a single-order construct, measured by scales comprising of only few items. The second-order SCO measures in this study bring credibility to the findings. Additionally, it contributes to both academicians and practitioners alike in the context of an integrated SC in emerging economies.

Factors Influencing the Adoption of Health Information Standards in Health Care Organizations: A Systematic Review Based on Best Fit Framework Synthesis

Background

Since the early 1970s, health care provision has experienced rapid growth in the investment and adoption of health information technologies (HITs). However, the development and deployment of HITs has often been conducted in silos, at different organizational levels, within different regions, and in various health care settings; this has resulted in their infrastructures often being difficult to manage or integrate. Health information standards (ie, the set norms and requirements that underpin the deployment of HITs in health care settings) are expected to address these issues, yet their adoption remains to be frustratingly low among health care information technology vendors.

Objective

This study aimed to synthesize a comprehensive framework of factors that affect the adoption and deployment of health information standards by health care organizations.

Methods

First, electronic databases, including Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed, were searched for relevant articles, with the results being exported to the EndNote reference management software. Second, study selection was conducted according to pre-established inclusion and exclusion criteria. Finally, a synthesized best fit framework was created, which integrated a thematic analysis of the included articles.

Results

In total, 35 records were incorporated into the synthesized framework, with 4 dimensions being identified: technology, organization, environment, and interorganizational relationships. The technology dimension included relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, trialability, observability, switching cost, standards uncertainty, and shared business process attributes. The organization dimension included organizational scale, organizational culture, staff resistance to change, staff training, top management support, and organizational readiness. The environment dimension included external pressure, external support, network externality, installed base, and information communication. Finally, the interorganizational relationships dimension included partner trust, partner dependence, relationship commitment, and partner power.

Conclusions

The synthesized framework presented in this paper extends the current understanding of the factors that influence the adoption of health information standards in health care organizations. It provides policy and decision makers with a greater awareness of factors that hinder or facilitate their adoption, enabling better judgement and development of adoption intervention strategies. Furthermore, suggestions for future research are provided.

Theorizing IT Project Success

This study theorizes IT project success by integrating the project level drivers to the IT, business, and environment level enablers. An attempt is made to delve into underlying structures below the project level in order to understand the systemic reasons behind a particular success or failure. In this journey we rely on the general systems theory and the key concepts like elements, state, properties, process, hierarchy, and environment. It is shown that IT projects can be straightly abstracted by the general system principles. Within the systemic framework, potential factors behind the success of the IT projects are identified, the relationships between the factors are hypothesized and then the hypotheses are integrated into a hierarchical research model. Finally, the hypotheses and the research model are empirically evaluated. According to the results it was confirmed that all levels considered in the research model have significant impacts on the success of an IT project. Similarly, a significant improvement in IT project management in terms of project success can be obtained by improving the quality of involved factors. A favorable financial situation, highly-perceived importance of IT, sound business – IT alignment, and good IT and IT project competencies have remarkably significant positive impacts on the success of IT projects.

The role of organizational climate in setting project goals

Purpose

Project goal setting, led by a project proposal development team, is an important operations process because effective goal setting aligned with the operations strategy can enhance project investment decision making, project success and thereby operations performance. The purpose of this paper is to argue that because of the strategic nature of this task, the organizational climate (OC) that the proposal development team works in is critical for the effectiveness of their goal setting.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors raise hypotheses regarding the role OC plays in enhancing the effectiveness of the support senior executives provide to project proposal teams. The authors test the hypotheses in a longitudinal survey of 200 managers in the USA.

Findings

Results show that a formal organizational process used by proposal development teams for setting project goals is highly effective and that an appropriate OC further intensifies the positive effect of such a process. However, a formal organizational process has no positive effect on effective goal setting if implemented in an environment with a poor OC.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the literature by finding that a positive OC intensifies the already positive effect of organizational support. In practice, the creation of such a climate can enhance project goal setting, project success, and as a result, operations performance.

Using a Social Capital Lens to Identify the Mechanisms of Top Management Commitment: A Case Study of a Technology Project

The implementation of large-scale technology projects is still fraught with failures resulting in tremendous costs to organizations. One of the factors that is widely recognized as critical for achieving technology implementation success (and, for that matter, projects in general) is top management commitment. The actual mechanisms by which top management impacts project success, however, have not received much attention in the project management literature. We use a case study approach here to illustrate how social capital theory provides a useful lens for understanding how top management's actions impact project success and show how project success is strengthened by the enhancement of social capital through top management commitment. We employ causal maps to clarify, illustrate, and visualize the complex interactions between top management commitment and social capital in facilitating project success. This study contributes to the literature and theory on the mechanisms by which top management commitment influences project success by offering propositions for future research.

The moderating role of top management support on employees’ attitudes in response to human resource development efforts

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships among human resource development (HRD) efforts, top management support, and employees’ attitudes (job satisfaction and organizational commitment) in the Korean context. Based on the Korean Human Capital Corporate Panel survey data, 3,899 responses from 159 large companies were analyzed by adopting hierarchical multiple regression analysis and a regression-based path analysis. The results indicated that HRD efforts positively affected organizational commitment through job satisfaction. In addition, job satisfaction had a moderated mediation effect on the interaction of HRD efforts and top management support on organization commitment. Finally, top management support moderates the relationship between HRD efforts and employees’ attitudes such that increased top management support for HRD efforts improves employees’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment.

Development and validation of an instrument for multidimensional top management support

Purpose

Literature reveals that there is a paucity of instruments to measure multidimensional top management support (TMS). The multidimensionality and the complexity of the TMS cannot be reflected by a single-dimensional construct. The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate an instrument for the measurement of multidimensional TMS.

Design/methodology/approach

In this cross-sectional study, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed to check the validity and model fitness based on sample data collected from the PMI community. Ordinary least square and structural equation modeling techniques were used to test the research hypotheses and validate multidimensional TMS.

Findings

The findings revealed a significant positive correlation among all dimensions of top management and their significant influence on project success, especially on project efficiency and team dimensions.

Research limitations/implications

Based on the existing knowledge through a coherent and refined process, the development and validation of a top management support questionnaire (TMSQ) made a significant contribution to theories and research methods.

Practical implications

Multidimensional TMS provides an opportunity to ensure provision of apt assistance throughout the implementation of projects for improving organizational performance across the industries.

Originality/value

This study targeted a sample size of 300 to develop and validate an instrument, which is in line with previous research studies on the development and validation of a reliable instrument. To operationalize TMSQ, this study adopted an online survey and received 208 responses (69 percent) from the PMI community.

Chasing Success: An Empirical Model for IT Governance Frameworks Adoption in Australia

Over the past few decades, information technology (IT) has played a central role in transforming society and enabling the knowledge economy. Such transformation has also introduced new problems, leading to a growing need among organisations to adopt IT governance frameworks in order to provide assurance that their IT operations meet required standards and community expectations. However, the adoption of such frameworks is a complex phenomenon fraught with risks and challenges, and is yet to attract adequate research attention. This study explores factors influencing the success of IT governance frameworks adoption by proposing an integrated research model that draws upon the technology-organisation-environment (TOE) framework and the Delone and McLean’s information systems (IS) success model. Data were collected from 126 Australian organisations that have adopted IT governance frameworks through mail surveys and analysed using the partial least-squares (PLS) method. The findings demonstrate that ease of use, innovation compatibility, training and external pressures were significant to the success of IT governance frameworks adoption, assessed through user satisfaction; while ease of use, top management support, external support and user satisfaction were found significant to organisational performance. These findings are of relevance to researchers, practitioners and a broad range of organisational stakeholders, given the growing global importance and implications of IT governance frameworks adoption to organisations.

Agile Methods on Large Projects in Large Organizations

Agile methods have taken software development by storm but have been primarily applied to projects in what is referred to as the “agile sweet spot,” which consists of small collocated teams working on small, non-critical, green field, in-house software projects with stable architectures and simple governance rules. These methods are being used more and more on large projects, but little documentation is available in the academic literature. This article investigates the adoption and adaptation of agile methods for use on large projects in large organizations. The empirical study is based first on case studies, followed by a survey to validate and enrich the case study results. The results are somewhat paradoxical in that some features are common to almost all observations, whereas others show extreme variability. The common features include use of Scrum methodology and agile coaches, as well as the non-respect of the agile principle of emergent architecture.

Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA)

Theoretical “necessary but not sufficient” statements are common in the organizational sciences. Traditional data analyses approaches (e.g., correlation or multiple regression) are not appropriate for testing or inducing such statements. This article proposes necessary condition analysis (NCA) as a general and straightforward methodology for identifying necessary conditions in data sets. The article presents the logic and methodology of necessary but not sufficient contributions of organizational determinants (e.g., events, characteristics, resources, efforts) to a desired outcome (e.g., good performance). A necessary determinant must be present for achieving an outcome, but its presence is not sufficient to obtain that outcome. Without the necessary condition, there is guaranteed failure, which cannot be compensated by other determinants of the outcome. This logic and its related methodology are fundamentally different from the traditional sufficiency-based logic and methodology. Practical recommendations and free software are offered to support researchers to apply NCA.