Abstract
In the world of university research, although the figure of project manager is not formally foreseen, the principal researcher (PR) is, at many times, the last responsible the project results, schedule, and cost. The study aimed to investigate, in the light of the literature and through a cross-cultural study conducted in Italy and Poland, the relationship between soft skills (empowering leadership style, self-efficacy beliefs, and collective efficacy) of the principal researcher (PR) and the perceived success of research projects and satisfaction with the project, taking into account cross-cultural differences. A total of 67 PRs of complex projects in public universities (28 in Italy and 39 in Poland) participated in the study, completing a self-report questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive and correlational analyses. The results showed a significantly higher mean value for team management self-efficacy in a Polish sample and a higher satisfaction with projects in Italian sample. All the soft skills included in the study were related to project success and satisfaction with the project. The results could be used to identify possible ways of intervention to establish a more mature project culture in public research organizations.
Highlights
Contrary to industry ones, principal researcher (PR) often lack knowledge and skills related to project management systems, formal authority over the project team, and project administrative support [3,4]
Contrary to what happens in industry, PRs often lack knowledge and skills related to project management systems, formal authority over the project team researchers, and administrative project support [3,4]
The research presented in this paper investigated a relatively understudied topic: the relationship between PR management skills and the success of research projects, including satisfaction with the project
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. We hypothesized that the PR’s skills would be positively associated with project success and satisfaction This examination was based on a survey of a sample of PRs in public research institutions (mainly universities) in Italy and Poland. Both countries’ university research systems share many similarities, such as centralization, which means that public funds are distributed among universities on the basis of evaluation indicators, and non-compliance with standards can result in research funds being cut [32,33,34] In both countries, the PR is a peer among peers, has no formal authority over the research team, is selected based on scientific results rather than managerial capabilities, and generally lacks formal knowledge of project management methodologies [35]. We intended to indicate further research paths to study the interrelations between research project success, the satisfaction of project stakeholders, project management self-efficacy, team management self-efficacy, project-team collective efficacy, and empowering leadership
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