Portfolio Success Research Articles

Utilizing blockchain to enhance project management information systems: insights into project portfolio success, knowledge management and learning capabilities

PurposeThis paper explores how blockchain technology can enhance information quality within project management information systems (PMIS), thereby positively affecting knowledge management, learning capabilities and project portfolio success.Design/methodology/approachWe employ a literature review and a theory-based approach to develop a conceptual framework and set of propositions that integrate key principles from blockchain technology, project management and dynamic capabilities theory. Subsequently, a focus group is conducted to refine our propositions, providing insights and examples demonstrating the potential value of blockchain in project management.FindingsThe findings suggest that blockchain significantly impacts the information quality within PMIS. This improvement in information quality enhances traceability, reliability and security of project data, facilitating better decision-making and governance. The focus group revealed blockchain’s benefits in managing confidential data and streamlining knowledge sharing processes, ultimately contributing to project portfolio success.Originality/valueThis research offers a novel conceptual framework and original insights into the application of blockchain in project management, particularly within the context of Industry 4.0, paving the way for future research on digital transformation in project management.

Entrepreneurial orientation and project portfolio success: the roles of digitalization and modularization

PurposeThis study explores entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on project portfolio success in new product development projects, with the moderating effects of digitalization capability and modularization process.Design/methodology/approachThe sample data of 204 firms was used to analyze the research hypotheses. This study adopted hierarchical regression to test the theoretical conceptual model incorporating EO, digitalization capability, modularization process, and project portfolio success.FindingsThese results indicate that EO positively affects project portfolio success. More importantly, digitalization capability and modularization process positively moderate the relationship between EO and project portfolio success.Originality/valueProminent studies have focused on different antecedent and consequence factors of project portfolio success; however, the impacts of EO still need to be noticed. This study makes a pioneering effort to make up this gap and investigate the effects of EO on project portfolio success, digitalization capability, and modularization process as moderators, which can enrich the current literature on project portfolio management.

The effect of governance and governmentality on project portfolio success

The effect of governance and governmentality on project portfolio success

EFFECTIVENESS OF THE INNOVATION PORTFOLIO IN POLISH ENTERPRISES – RESEARCH RESULTS

A single innovation project has a low probability of success, while the company’s chances of gaining a competitive advantage are low. Only a properly diversified innovation portfolio gives a chance for market success. The aim of the article is to analyze the issue of the effectiveness of innovation portfolio management in Polish enterprises, due to various external and internal factors, and also to identify clues determining the success of the innovation portfolio among enterprises in the future. For this purpose, a literature review in the area of the innovation portfolio was conducted. Also the method of analysis and criticism of the literature was applied. In the research process, empirical articles and Statistics Poland reports were analyzed. As a result of the analyses, effective ways to build innovation portfolio efficiency were identified by pointing out factors that can contribute to key optimization decisions (e.g., proper planning and diversification of the innovation project portfolio). Enterprises, in order to achieve innovation portfolio efficiency in difficult market conditions, should reallocate their resources to less risky innovation projects, and at the same time accepting the risks associated with introducing a transformational innovation.

Significance of Transformational Leadership on Project Portfolio Success within the Micro Financial Sector in Cameroon

Purpose: This research investigates the effect of transformational leadership on project portfolio success in the micro-financial sector in Cameroon. Method: A quantitative research approach was used for this study. Data were collected from 205 managers of Microfinance institutions in Cameroon and analyzed with the help of the SPSS, version 25. AMOS 23 was used to conduct Confirmatory Factor Analyses to examine convergent and discriminant validity. Results: The result showed that less than 60% of current microfinance institutions have adopted key aspects of transformational leadership (idealized influence; intellectual stimulation; inspirational motivation; and individualized consideration). It was observed that transformational leadership has a significant and positive effect on project portfolio success. The effect of such leadership is mediated by team building practices and teamwork quality. Implication: Transformational leadership is not well recognized in the micro-financial sector of Cameroon irrespective of its effect on project portfolio success. Microfinance institution managers should adopt and apply such leadership for higher performance of their project portfolios.

Determinants Of Investment Portfolio Performance: A Systematics Literature Review

A thorough grasp of the variables influencing portfolio performance is necessary given the significance of investment portfolio management in the face of shifting financial market dynamics. This study uses a method called the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) approach with an emphasis on Prefered Reporting Item for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) 2020, which has not been discovered in prior research on the same issue. The study highlights the importance of ratios like Sharpe, Treynor, Jensen, and Sortino in assessing investment portfolio success. It also highlights the impact of non-financial variables like household preferences on performance. Return is crucial, and diversification can lower risk and boost returns. The study emphasizes the use of Value-at-Risk (VaR) for dynamic risk evaluation.

Influence of Top Management Characteristics on the Innovative Development of the World’s Top Companies in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Changes in the pharmaceutical industry lead to the need for detailed consideration of the issues of stimulating innovation, where top management largely determines the company's strategy of innovative development. Thus, it is important to study which characteristics of top management's human capital influence the innovation activity of pharmaceutical companies in creating new products. This article tests a hypothesis that the success of a pharmaceutical company's drug portfolio depends on ideas arising from basic research and large-scale commercialization that recoup high development costs, which in turn are influenced by the personal characteristics of top managers. The study is an econometric analysis of the impact of human capital elements, represented by top management characteristics, on the innovation activity of major pharmaceutical companies, where two models on patents and R&D were tested using panel regression. The models were tested using data from the world’s top 100 pharmaceutical companies from 2010 to 2022. The results made it possible to compile an average portrait of the top manager of the largest pharmaceutical companies. The analysis has shown that professional experience, age, as well as a job-specific degree can have a significant impact on innovation activity. The study contributes to the literature as it makes it possible to predict the innovation strategy of pharmaceutical companies through an average portrait of the top manager. The proposed model will reduce the number of failures of innovative directions, optimize the time period of commercialization of new drug development projects and can be used in other research studies.

Measuring the performance of green investment portfolios for zero-carbon environment: a comparative analysis of digital finance and asset-backed securities.

This study presents a comparative examination of the performance of green investment portfolios to attain a zero-carbon environment by studying assests-backed securities. Using the portfolio return, the draw ratio, or the ROMAD as measures, the numerical findings. The study intention is to measure and assess the success of green investment portfolios. This will probably include weighing the costs and advantages of several routes toward a carbon-free future, and the major emphasis is on measuring the effectiveness of financial investments in promoting ecological sustainability. The research specifically examines the use of digital finance and asset-backed securities (ABS). This research evaluates the efficacy of these two methodologies in promoting sustainable investments, using relevant scholarly literature and empirical evidence. The study examines many essential indicators, including risk-adjusted returns, carbon footprint reduction, and market stability. The research elucidates the merits and drawbacks of various approaches in fostering ecologically sustainable investments, drawing on case studies and real-world illustrations. The results of this study provide valuable insights into how digital finance and asset-backed securities (ABS) might effectively contribute to the attainment of zero-carbon objectives, all the while maintaining financial stability. This study provides valuable insights for politicians, investors, and financial institutions to make well-informed choices on implementing these initiatives in the context of sustainable development.

When Agility Meets a Project Portfolio: A Study of Success Factors in Large Organisations

The iterative nature of agile methods combined with high levels of team and customer interactions and continuously changing IT and software development project requirements make the management of agile project portfolios very complex. To date, the mechanisms under which project portfolio management adapts to these complexities and achieves portfolio success have not been thoroughly investigated. This study explores the notion of success and its impacting factors in large organisations' portfolios of agile IT and software development projects. Using a multiple case study design, we analysed the agile project portfolios of seven large organisations. We identified four success criteria and 15 success factors and categorised them into a unique agile portfolio success framework. Some of these criteria and factors are unique to agile project portfolios. The framework contributes to agile and project management literature by conceptualising the notion of success in portfolios of agile projects while revealing a set of factors that affect the relationship between an agile portfolio with its subcomponents and the surrounding environment. The framework supports managers and practitioners in large organisations in reflecting on their agility efforts to achieve higher success rates in their agile portfolios.

The interplay between dynamic capabilities’ dimensions and their relationship to project portfolio agility and success

Recent literature emphasizes agility's importance for a project portfolio's success in a dynamic environment. Conceptually, dynamic capabilities should be relevant antecedents for portfolio agility since they help organizations cope with dynamic environments. Dynamic capabilities disaggregate into three dimensions: sensing market and technology opportunities, seizing opportunities through prioritizing and exploiting them, and continuously reconfiguring assets and structures. Although previous literature emphasizes the importance of dynamic capabilities for project portfolio management (PPM), former research rarely analyzed dynamic capabilities in PPM empirically. Further, dynamic capabilities can be conceptualized differently, and it remains unclear how different conceptualizations coexist and what effects they have on the results of a study. This paper quantitatively investigates the relationship between dynamic capabilities’ dimensions (sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring) and project portfolio agility and success using a multi-informant, cross-industry sample of 135 project portfolios. The findings show that dynamic capabilities positively relate to portfolio agility and that portfolio agility mediates the relationship between dynamic capabilities and portfolio success. Surprisingly, sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring do not have entirely complementary effects. Instead, at least two of the three dimensions must be strongly present to enhance portfolio agility positively. The study underscores the importance of dynamic capabilities for portfolio agility. It contributes to the literature on portfolio agility in PPM and a more differentiated view of dynamic capabilities' dimensions and their consequences.

Modeling for external stakeholder risk assessment of project portfolios

PurposeExternal stakeholder risks (ESRs) caused by unfavorable behaviors hinder the success of project portfolios (PPs). However, due to complex project dependency and numerous risk causality in PPs, assessing ESRs is difficult. This research aims to solve this problem by developing an ESR-PP two-layer fuzzy Bayesian network (FBN) model.Design/methodology/approachA two-layer FBN model for evaluating ESRs with risk causality and project dependency is proposed. The directed acyclic graph (DAG) of an ESR-PP network is first constructed, and the conditional probability tables (CPTs) of the two-layer network are further presented. Next, based on the fuzzy Bayesian network, key variables and the impact of ESRs are assessed and analyzed by using GeNIe2.3. Finally, a numerical example is used to demonstrate and verify the application of the proposed model.FindingsThe proposed model is a useable and effective approach for ESR assessment while considering risk causality and project dependency in PPs. The impact of ESRs on PP can be calculated to determine whether to control risk, and the most critical and heavily contributing risks and project(s) in the developed model are identified based on this.Originality/valueThis study extends prior research on PP risk in terms of stakeholders. ESRs that have received limited attention in the past are explored from an interaction perspective in the PP domain. A new two-layer FBN model considering risk causality and project dependency is proposed, which can synthesize different dependencies between projects.

Your mileage may vary

The traditional model of retirement planning centers around the accumulation of a portfolio dur- ing the earning years followed by a drawdown from this portfolio after retirement. This drawdown is intended to support a desired retirement lifestyle, and central to a successful retirement is the sustain- ability of the retirement portfolio over the expected planning horizon. We define portfolio success to mean the ability of the retirement portfolio to sustain a desired retirement lifestyle over the desired planning horizon, and use simulations and logistic regressions to evaluate the impact of asset alloca- tion, the profile of portfolio returns, the withdrawal rate, and the length of the planning horizon on portfolio success. Our analysis shows that the likelihood of success is inversely related to withdrawal rate, retirement horizon, and portfolio risk increase, and directly related to portfolio return, allocation aggressiveness, and early experience. The analysis also indicates that portfolio success is highly sen- sitive to withdrawal rates, with conservative allocations exhibiting greater variation in portfolio out- comes and aggressive allocations providing more dependable portfolio outcomes for retirees who desire higher withdrawal rates.

Disclosing the Tacit Links between Risk and Success in Organizational Development Project Portfolios

Project portfolios aim to impact organizational strategic goals, influencing both the organization’s business model and its processes. Nonetheless, the actual impact is dependent on the portfolio’s success, which is affected by the materialization of risk factors. This study aims to examine the tacit conceptualization of project portfolio risk as a risk measure explicitly based on project portfolio success itself. In order to focus on the portfolios of organizational development projects, Social Representation Theory was adopted to analyze empirical evidence from twenty-eight semi-structured interviews conducted with project portfolio practitioners. Findings showed that strategic fit, future preparedness, and stakeholder satisfaction were dimensions of success within which project portfolio risk could be conceptualized. Additionally, results evidenced that risk factors influenced project portfolio success through systematic and non-systematic impacts on project portfolio outputs, and also had direct impacts on project portfolio outcomes. This paper provides empirical evidence to back up the conceptualization of project portfolio risk explicitly oriented to portfolio success as a multidimensional risk measure. It represents a new avenue for conducting portfolio risk analysis for both practitioners and academics, orienting the decision-making process based on the portfolio success rather than only on the success of each project.

Evaluating the criticality of the product development project portfolio network from the perspective of risk propagation

There are numerous projects with many interdependencies in the new product development (PD) portfolio, which can be viewed as a complex network. Due to the dependency among projects, the risks in one project may transmit to others, which will ultimately affect the success of the entire project portfolio. Thus, evaluating the priority and criticality of projects under the influence of risk propagation is a fundamental challenge for the PD project portfolio. This paper presents a risk propagation model using the Bayesian network and brittle risks. The criticality analysis presented is based on both the local and the global effects of risk in the portfolio. Firstly, we build a Bayesian network model of the portfolio based on the analysis of relationships between projects. Further, we measure the criticality of the project based on the local impact of risk propagation using Bayesian and complex networks. Then, we measure the criticality of the project based on the global impact of risk propagation using brittleness. Finally, we synthesize the calculation results of criticality to measure the integrated criticality of the portfolio, and examine an exemplar industrial portfolio to verify the effectiveness of the proposed model and method.

Project portfolio risk analysis with the consideration of project interdependencies

PurposeComprehensive project portfolio risk (PPR) analysis is essential for the success and sustainable development of project portfolios (PPs). However, project interdependency creates complexity for PPR analysis. In this study, considering the interdependency effect among projects, the authors develop a quantitative evaluation model to analyze PPR based on a fuzzy Bayesian network.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, the primary purpose is to comprehensively evaluate project portfolio risk considering the interdependency effect using a systematical model. Accordingly, a fuzzy Bayesian network (FBN) is developed based on the existing studies. Specifically, first, the risks in project portfolios are identified from the project interdependencies perspective. Second, a fuzzy Bayesian network is adopted to model and quantify the interaction relationships among risks. Finally, the model is implemented to analyze the occurrence situation and characteristics of risks.FindingsThe interdependency effect can lead to high-stake risks, including weak financial liquidity, a lack of cross-project members and project priority imbalance. Furthermore, project schedule risks and inconsistency between product supply and market demand are relatively sensitive and should also be prioritized. Also, the validity of this risk evaluation model has been proved.Originality/valueThe findings identify the most sensitive risks for guaranteeing portfolio implementation and reveal interdependency effect can trigger some specific risks more often. This study proposes for the first time to measure and analyze project portfolio risk by a systematical model. It can help systematically assess and manage the complicated and interdependent risks associated with project portfolios.

Does Fixed Income Buffer against Fraud Shocks?

Counterparty risk in the form of investment fraud damages a retiree’s nest egg. Does fraud negatively impact portfolios that are both stock and bond-heavy equally? This study uses Monte Carlo analysis within the Trinity Study framework to determine the average reduction in portfolio success of a retiree who experiences fraud. Findings suggest that each incidence of fraud results in a loss of three percentage points in retirement success. However, portfolios containing some bonds (75/25, 50/50, and 25/75) outperform all equity (and all bond) allocations, particularly when fraud is present. On average, each incident of fraud reduces the chance the victim will enjoy a successful retirement by nearly 3%. Various limitations, implications, and future research possibilities are discussed.

Project portfolio risk management: a structured literature review with future directions for research

Project Portfolio Risk Management (PPRM) has been identified as a relevant area regarding project portfolio success. This paper reports on a structured literature review of PPRM. A structured search and selection process was carried out and conventional content analysis was conducted in the literature analysis of 62 papers published in international journals. PPRM has its theoretical and practical bases in the modern theory of portfolios, decision theory and risk management (RM). The content analysis reveals four main recurrent topics in PPRM: (1) The influence of RM on project portfolio success, based on project portfolio impact level, moderators or contingency factors between RM and project portfolio success, and PPRM dimensions; (2) risk and project interdependencies, highlighting resources, technology, outcome, value, and accomplishment project interdependencies; (3) project portfolio risk (PPR) identification, where four main risk source categories are identified; and (4) PPR assessment, composed of risk measures and the main methods used for risk assessment. Therefore, this study provides an overview of PPRM as a research field, while it also promotes four future research directions: (1) PPRM as part of organizational RM; (2) RM,success dimensions and strategic impact; (3) mechanisms for PPR assessment, and (4) PPRM as a complex and dynamic system.

A novel exact solution algorithm for a robust product portfolio problem under return uncertainty

This research address the optimization of product portfolio problem under uncertainty using the principles of financial portfolios theory. Since the success of the product portfolio is a strategic decision and it depends on the return’s future changes, the return is best to be considered as an uncertain parameter. The innovation of this research is the use of robust optimization approach and providing an exact solution algorithm based on the model of Bertsimas and Sim. Given the assumption of uncertainty in the returns, the product portfolio model is developed based on the robust counterpart formulation of Bertsimas and Sim. An exact solution algorithm is also presented to reduce the solution time. The results obtained by implementing in a real case study of the dairy industry in Iran show that increasing the confidence level decreases the portfolio’s total returns and increases its total risk. A comparison between the proposed algorithm and similar methods shows that, on average, it makes 3% improvement in the solution time.

Strategic and cultural contexts of real options reasoning in innovation portfolios

AbstractDecision makers find creating an innovation portfolio challenging, because more innovative projects are associated with a higher degree of uncertainty. In this study, we investigate the potential benefits of applying real options reasoning (ROR) in innovation portfolio management from an attention‐based view. Using a sample of 137 innovation portfolios with multiple informants, we investigate ROR's influence on portfolio innovativeness and, ultimately, on portfolio success in a mediated model. Further, we analyze the moderating influence of an innovation portfolio's organizational context—entrepreneurial orientation and innovation climate—on ROR's application. The results support ROR's positive relationship to portfolio innovativeness and portfolio success. The analysis also supports the positive interaction between entrepreneurial orientation and ROR with respect to portfolio innovativeness. This study contributes to the literature by demonstrating the relationship between ROR and portfolio success, mediated by portfolio innovativeness. In addition, the study's analysis offers an explanation of previously mixed findings regarding ROR's benefits by considering the firm's strategic and cultural innovation contexts. The findings underline the relevance of strategic support for ROR's effectiveness in innovation portfolio management. Furthermore, the findings encourage managers to implement ROR, but also stress the essential contribution an entrepreneurial orientation makes when the managers do so.

The influence of risk management on the project portfolio success – proposal of a risk intensity matrix

Abstract: This article aims to understand how the risk management influences the project portfolio success. Two methodological approaches were selected in this research: a bibliometric survey followed by a case study. The object of study was the new products project portfolio of an organization from the industrial sector, manufacturer of durable goods. The findings revealed a low intensity of project portfolio risk management. This is aligned with the bibliometric survey results and with the evidence from the investigation performed on the case study unit. In order to evaluate the risk management influence over the portfolio success, this article proposes a matrix which suggests the risk management intensity associated with the project portfolio management processes. The proposed matrix application can be considered a contribution element to deepen the knowledge of the risk management influence on the project portfolio success.