BUS603: Managing People

By identifying and analyzing the organizational factors that influence project success (or critical success factors), this study contributes to the literature on project and innovation management and human resource management. Furthermore, the results of this research may support practitioners and academics in defining management practices that can influence project success. Moreover, the study focuses on the Brazilian automotive industry that has several assemblers and suppliers in the country. In addition, this industrial sector has contributed significantly to the industrial production of the country since the 60's.

The results revealed that the factors that have a significant influence on project success are related to human resource management, especially issues related to an organizational culture oriented to innovation and change management. Therefore, an important aspect into which organizations should drive their efforts is the development of their employees. According to this perception, project success could be increased through the joint work of human resource and project management to ensure adequate training is being provided. In addition, a strong organizational culture gives flexible values to employees and their development, and appropriate communication within the organization. Therefore, a closer relationship between human resource management and project management may positively affect project performance and increase the chances of project success.

Given the results of this study and considering that many companies have used the projects as a form of management, it is relevant that practitioners and researchers in human resource management and project management deepen knowledge and improve their skills in how to better manage organizational aspects in project environments, both for traditional and agile approaches. We understand that proper management of these organizational aspects in an integrated manner can facilitate the performance of various kinds of projects, such as the development of new products, information technology, R&D, among others.

Furthermore, these results are important for professionals involved with projects in the Brazilian automotive supply chain. This is mainly due to the evidence of the local subsidiary's increasing participation during the stages of product and process engineering, identified earlier studies in addition to the increase of developing projects focused in the adaptation of products to the needs of the Brazilian automotive market (bi-fuel models, different road conditions, and demand for smaller vehicles, etc.).

As with any research that is constrained by methodological choices, there are limitations in this study. The first limitation was with regards to maintaining only OC3 and OC4 variables to define the organizational culture construct, because they were statistically significant and the model adjustment measures presented improvements, resulting in a possible final model that best fit. The suggestion is, therefore, that future studies on project management and performance in the automotive sector in Brazil should focus on the organizational culture.

Moreover, there is a sample limitation, as this work was based on a set of project management practitioners in the context of the Brazilian automotive industry. The fact that only single responders were used for both independent and dependent variables may bias the results, which is also a limitation recognized in this study.

Future studies could use similar research instruments in other industrial sectors, in addition to cross-country studies. This work only investigated the influence of organizational factors related to the success of projects. Future research could also add, as dependent factors, technical factors related to project management, such as risk analysis, control deadlines, scope, and cost management. Finally, it is also expected that future studies on organizational factors in project success would also incorporate a greater number of micro and small companies.