A Conceptual Model for Exploring the Relationship Between Sustainability and Project Success

Abstract

Sustainability is one of the most important challenges of our time. How can we develop prosperity, without compromising the life of future generations? Companies are integrating sustainability in their marketing, communication and their actions. Sustainability has more recently also been linked to project management. The logic behind this link is that sustainability needs change and projects are realizing change. Several studies explored how the concept of sustainability impact project management. The research project reported in this paper elaborates on these works by studying how sustainability affects the perception of project success. Project managers, logically, strive for project success and considering sustainability may influence the perception of success. Despite studies that show a positive business case of considering sustainability in business strategy, paying attention to sustainability aspects in projects is generally still perceived as ‘costing time or money’ and therefore as not supportive to project success. The conceptual model developed in this paper provides a more detailed understanding of how considering different dimensions of sustainability may affect the individual criteria of project success. The empirical part of the study is still in progress. This paper reports the literature review and the development of the conceptual model.