Coping with project dynamics in an inter-firm project context

Abstract

This article is based on a research project that examined the management of change in an inter-firm project context. The research objective was to develop a generic change management process on the basis of existing literature and to test its applicability in an inter-firm project context. Thus, the research aimed at providing new insight into coping with project dynamics in inter-firm projects. As a method for testing the applicability of a generic process, a case study of two inter-firm research and development (R&D) projects in the telecommunications industry was conducted. The primary data was collected through in-depth interviews and business process simulations. This method was chosen in order to thoroughly examine the underlying dynamics of this little-researched topic. The case study indicated that the management of change was highly dependent on environmental and change-specific factors. The characteristics of the environment set the detailed requirements for the change management process, while the characteristics of change determined the extent of activities conducted in the change management process. It is necessary to consider the impact of these factors during the actual implementation of a change management process in an inter-firm project.