Project Networks: Governance Choices and Paradoxical Tensions

Abstract

This article examines how project networks may be viewed as either a single interorganizational project or as a series of projects that are interconnected by interorganizational relationships. The article then discusses some core theoretic assumptions about project networks as more than temporary systems in comparison with the extant empirical research. Next, the article presents four types of mechanisms for governing and coordinating not only projects but also project networks: responsibilities, routines, roles, and relationships. Finally, the article unearths five types of paradoxes (the distance paradox, the learning paradox, the identity paradox, the difference paradox, and the temporal paradox) impacting project networks and offers insights into the governance-based choices available for coping with these paradoxical tensions.