Increasing Project Success in China from the Perspectives of Project Risk, Methodology, Tool Use, and Organizational Support

Abstract

Besides lack of organizational support, using project risk management tools and methodology effectively has been one major challenge to project success. As China is extending its project management (PM) concepts from mainly construction and national defense projects to many other industries, project managers in those new industries rely on the use of PM tools and methodologies. However, it remains unclear to what extent the use of them can increase project success. To address the research questions, this study surveyed 93 project managers in China and found that success of project execution is contingent upon: (a) project risks, (b) PM methodology, (c) organizational support, and (d) PM tool use. The presence of project risk can stimulate increased use of PM tools, thereby helping achieve project success. Organizational support and PM tool use also remain conditions for project success. This study contributes to the current literature by assessing project success from the perspectives of organizational support, PM methodology, and PM tools.