How knowledge sharing contributes to project portfolio success

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between knowledge sharing and project portfolio success in Chinese construction firms. It also examines how and under what conditions knowledge sharing contributes to project portfolio success. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected questionnaire survey from 178 construction enterprises in China that manage project portfolio as a main form of their business. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to test the proposed framework. Findings The empirical results indicate that all three types of knowledge sharing (knowledge sharing within the project, knowledge sharing among projects and knowledge sharing within the organization) are positively related to project portfolio success. Portfolio management quality (PMQ) conduits the impact of knowledge sharing on project portfolio success. Furthermore, portfolio interdependency moderates the main effect. Originality/value This research is among the first to explicitly differentiate three types of knowledge sharing existing in project portfolios. Also, this research contributes to the literature on the antecedents of project portfolio success by showing the effect of knowledge sharing. Furthermore, this study empirically contributes to portfolio management research by clarifying the critical role of PMQ and portfolio interdependency in the mechanism of knowledge sharing and project portfolio success.