The role of agency in project initiation decisions

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of decision rules and agency in supporting project initiation decisions, and the influences of agency on decision-making effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach – The study this paper is based upon used grounded theory methodology, and sought to understand the influences of individual decision makers on project initiation decisions within organizations. Data collection involved 28 participants who were involved in project initiation decisions within their organizations, who discussed the process of project initiation in their organization and their role within that process. Findings – The study demonstrates that the overall effectiveness of project initiation decisions is a product of agency, process effectiveness or rule effectiveness. The employment of agency can have a direct influence on decision-making effectiveness, it can compensate for organizational inadequacies of a process or political nature, and it can be constrained in the evidence of formal and effective organizational practices. Research limitations/implications – While agency was recognized by all participants, there are clearly circumstances where actors perceive the ability to exercise agency to be externally constrained. The study is exploratory, contributing to the development of substantive theory. Theory testing as well as a more in-depth investigation of the underlying drivers of agency would be valuable. Practical implications – The study provides executives and individuals supporting the initiation of projects with insights on how to effectively influence the effectiveness of project initiation decisions, and the degree to which personal characteristics influence organizational dynamics. Originality/value – Most discussions of agency has been framed the subject as an executive- or board-level phenomenon. The current study demonstrates that agency is in fact being perceived and operationalized at all levels. Those demonstrating agency in the majority of instances in this study do so in exercising stewardship behaviours. This has important implications for how agency is perceived by executives, and by how agency is exercised by actors at all levels of the organization.

Errors, lies and misunderstandings: Systematic review on behavioural decision making in projects

“…• negotiations Conceptual article, development of a negotiation framework (Mullaly, 2014) Process and political constraints in project initiation decisions…”

Quantifying heterogeneous individual perceptions in project management research

“…The pluralist school focuses on opportunistic behaviour based on self-interest and environmental factors such as contractual relationships and organisational politics (e.g. Flyvbjerg, 2007;Mullaly, 2014;Pinto, 2014). The potential to quantify perceptions of environments at the individual level with the individual level BWS object case enables a Heterogeneous individual perceptions range of large-scale research in this school.…”

Transforming Strategy Into Action on Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) Projects

“…191-194) identify four criteria that indicate an actor's agency: the actor must be able to make a difference; the actions must be intentional; there must be room for free play on the part of the actor; and the actor must be reflexive, in that they must be aware that they are exercising agency. Mullaly (2014) found that effective decision makers considered themselves as flexible, resilient or exercising initiative and followed rules and processes pragmatically with a focus on the fit and relevance of the rules and regulations to the perceived context. This suggests that multiple actors, each with their own sense of agency and what their cultural norms lead or guide them to do, may influence each other.…”