Development of a crisis in a project: a process perspective

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the development and outbreak of a crisis in a high-priority project within a large organization. Design/methodology/approach Single-case study using extreme case sampling, a type of purposeful sampling, because this case provides rich information on a rare research opportunity: a project crisis that emerged during the fieldwork. Research data are semi-structured interviews, observations, project and organization documentation, logbook, notes and memos. Findings The paper shows the relevance of notions from organizational crisis management to an internal crisis in a temporary setting. This allowed a deeper understanding of crisis development. The paper reveals the wealth of meaningful, transparent data that can be collected when a crisis emerges. It highlights the high potential of project crises to reveal parent organizations’ dysfunctions. Indeed, findings suggest that the parent organization’s usual project management practices greatly contributed to the crisis affecting this project, which was unusually large and complex. Research limitations/implications The main potential limitation relates to transferability. However, a single-case study is appropriate when it represents a rare phenomenon that is not easily accessible for researchers – a crisis outbreak. Practical implications Results can provide insights enabling practitioners to improve their understanding of the ambiguous, stressful situations created by a crisis. Originality/value The results show the relevance of notions from organizational crisis management to the development of a project crisis and demonstrate the potentially harmful impact of a parent organization’s “usual” practices, especially on “unusually” large and complex projects.