Interchange roles of formal and informal project management on business operational success

Abstract

While there are numerous studies on factors affecting the project and business performance in the literature, no research published on the concurrent roles played by formal (FPM) and informal (IPM) project management on project success. The study’s three main objectives are: first, give a conceptual framework for evaluating the individual and concurrent contributions of FPM and IPM to project success. Second, the project management methods’ mediation effects on the link between senior management support and project success are evaluated. Third, the effects of using multiple environmental control variables are investigated. A sample of 103 small to medium-sized enterprises was used to collect managerial and business operational data. Using structural equation modelling and correlational relationships, ten different models are examined. The findings revealed that IPM has a partial mediation effect, whereas FPM has no effect. Furthermore, the analysis revealed that IPM has the greatest impact on project success. Integration of FPM and IPM with environmental factors is considered. These findings are explained in terms of business, economic, and commercial diversities.

Keywords:

• Formal project management
• informal project management
• senior management support
• project success
• project selection

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mohammed A. Kafaji

Mohammed A. Kafaji is an associate Dean at the college of business, Alfaisal University in Saudi Arabia. Prior to joining Alfaisal University, Dr. Kafaji served in various academic, leadership, and management roles in the United Kingdom and the Middle East. His areas of expertise, research, and consultancy encompass Project/Program/Portfolio Management, Business Performance, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Information Management Systems. In addition to teaching in undergraduate and postgraduate programs, Dr. Kafaji supervised graduate students and is the principal investigator of several internal and national grants. He published over 60 peer-reviewed research papers in business and engineering including 24 publications in A and B reputed journals. His consultancy experience is used to enrich research and teaching practices. He integrates people, process, and technology as an effective teaching and research management approach to drive strategic business and organizational changes.