SAM ADVANCED MANAGEMENT JOURNAL

Creating Customer Value Through Project Management Innovation

Jack Cook and Jared Cook

DOI:

Citation: Cook, J., & Cook, J. (2023). Creating customer value through project management innovation. SAM Advanced Management Journal, 88(1),36-47.

Abstract

Firms strive to develop and market quality products and services that customers value to distinguish themselves from the competition. While no exact blueprint exists for creating value through innovation and quality, exploration resulting in deviations from project baselines sometimes must occur to be effective. This paper proposes ways an organization can create customer value through project management innovation. In addition, this work examines the role of project managers within organizations and explores how their functions inhibit or help build customer value. With all parties aligned with and supportive of the desired task, including executive management, a collaborative effort will provide a cohesive setting for project managers to devise and implement innovative value-added products and processes.

References

Artto, K., Kulvik, I., Poskela, J., & Turkulainen, V. (2011). The integrative role of the project management office in the front end of innovation. International Journal of Project Management, 29(4), 408–421. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2011.01.008

Beaume, R., Maniak, R., & Midler, C. (2009). Crossing innovation and product projects management: A comparative analysis in the automotive industry. International Journal of Project Management, 27(2), 166–174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2008.09.004

Davies, A., Manning, S., & Söderlund, J. (2018). When neighboring disciplines fail to learn from each other: The case of innovation and project management research. Research Policy, 47(5), 965–979. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2018.03.002

Fernandes, G., Ward, S., & Araújo, M. (2015). Improving and embedding project management practice in organisations: A qualitative study. International Journal of Project Management, 33(5), 1052–1067. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2015.01.012

Fernez-Walch, S. (2017). The multiple facets of innovation project management. London: ISTE Ltd.

Flipse, S. M., & van de Loo, C. J. (2018). Responsible innovation during front-end development: Increasing intervention capacities for enhancing project management reflections on complexity. Journal of Responsible Innovation, 5(2), 225–240. https://doi.org/10.1080/23299460.2018.1465168

Gallagher, S. (2015). Time, risk, and innovation: Creating space in your day to solve meaningful problems. PMI Global Congress 2015 – EMEA. Presented at the PMI Global Congress 2015, London, England.

Gemünden, H. G., Killen, C., & Kock, A. (2013). A special issue of creativity and innovation management: Implementing and informing innovation strategies through project portfolio management. Creativity and Innovation Management, 22(1), 103–104. https://doi.org/10.1111/caim.12011

Geraldi, J. G., Rodney Turner, J., Maylor, H., Söderholm, A., Hobday, M., & Brady, T. (2008). Innovation in project management: Voices of researchers. International Journal of Project Management, 26(5), 586–589. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2008.05.011

Hamel, G. (2006). The why, what, and how of management innovation. Retrieved from Harvard Business Review website: https://hbr.org/2006/02/the-why-what-and-how-of-management-innovation

Hobbs, B., Aubry, M., & Thuillier, D. (2008). The project management office as an organizational innovation. International Journal of Project Management, 26(5), 547–555.

Katunina, I. V. (2018). Configuring the project management office: Case of an innovation industrial company. Strategic Decisions and Risk Management, 1(1), 58–63. https://doi.org/10.17747/2078-8886-2018-1-58-63

Keegan, A., & Turner, J. Rodney. (2002). The management of innovation in project-based firms. Long Range Planning, 35(4), 367–388. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0024-6301(02)00069-9

Kim, W. C., & Mauborgne, R. (2005). Blue ocean strategy: From theory to practice. California Management Review, 47(3), 105–121. https://doi.org/10.2307/41166308

Kohler, T. (2015). Crowdsourcing-Based business models: How to create and capture value. California Management Review, 57(4), 63–84. https://doi.org/10.1525/cmr.2015.57.4.63

Lakemond, N., Bengtsson, L., Laursen, K., & Tell, F. (2016). Match and manage: The use of knowledge matching and project management to integrate knowledge in collaborative inbound open innovation. Industrial and Corporate Change, 25(2), 333–352. https://doi.org/10.1093/icc/dtw004

Mahr, D., Lievens, A., & Blazevic, V. (2013). The value of customer cocreated knowledge during the innovation process. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 31(3), 599–615. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.12116

Martelo-Landroguez, S., & Cepeda-Carrión, G. (2016). How knowledge management processes can create and capture value for firms? Knowledge Management Research & Practice, 14(4), 423–433. https://doi.org/10.1057/kmrp.2015.26

Mingail, H. B. (2017). Creativity and innovation enable project success. Retrieved from Project Manager Times website: https://www.projecttimes.com/articles/creativity-and-innovation-enable-project-success.html.

Project Management Institute. (2019). Who are project managers and what do they do. Retrieved from Project Management Institute website: https://www.pmi.org/about/learn-about-pmi/who-are-project-managers

Project Management Institute. (2021). A guide to the project management body of knowledge: PMBOK guide (7th ed.). Newtown Square: Project Management Institute.

Puckett, J. (2018). The most innovative project management strategies. Retrieved from Technology Advice website: https://technologyadvice.com/blog/information-technology/innovative-project-management-strategies

Rubera, G., & Kirca, A. H. (2017). You gotta serve somebody: The effects of firm innovation on customer satisfaction and firm value. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 45(5), 741–761. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-016-0512-7

Singh, S., & Aggarwal, Y. (2021). In search of a consensus definition of innovation: a qualitative synthesis of 208 definitions using grounded theory approach. Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, 35(2), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/13511610.2021.1925526

Sondalini, M. (2018). What is quality? Define quality, how to measure quality. Retrieved from Lifetime Reliability Solutions website: https://www.lifetime-reliability.com/cms/free-articles/work-quality-assurance/what-is-quality/

Yang, C.-C., & Yang, K.-J. (2011). An integrated model of value creation based on the refined Kano’s model and the blue ocean strategy. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 22(9), 925–940. https://doi.org/10.1080/14783363.2011.611358

Zhang, H. (2022). Does combining different types of innovation always improve SME performance? An analysis of innovation complementarity. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 7(3). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jik.2022.100192

Subscription or SAM Membership Required

Share This Article

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn