Effective Project Sponsorship an Evaluation of the Role of the Executive Sponsor in Complex Infrastructure Projects by Senior Project Managers

Abstract

Project management literature frequently refers to the role of the project executive sponsor, but does not address in any great depth the factors contributing to effective project sponsorship, a role increasingly associated with project success. Most research about key project roles addresses either structural or behavioral factors with a definite emphasis on the former. This research attempts to bridge an emerging structural-behavioral schism using an approach based on Grounded Theory, involving in-depth interviews with senior project managers and project directors, all of whom were involved with the management of internal infrastructure projects. Project managers’ assessments of the effectiveness of the role of the executive sponsor are analyzed. The projects under scrutiny have been described by business owners as complex and of medium-to-high risk to the organizations concerned. Analysis of 28 interviews identifies key attributes of successful project sponsorship. Significantly, project managers appear to be exercising a complex range of behavior patterns to compensate for inadequate sponsor support in some projects. Important consequences arise for the organizations concerned if, in the process, inadequate sponsor performance is masked and opportunities for problem-focused conversations between project managers and sponsors are reduced or eliminated.