Assessing the Impact of Organisational Capacity, Organizational Structure and Leadership on Project Management Success for Project Oriented Organisations in Developing Countries – A Study of Ghana

Abstract

Most developmental projects in developing countries have been found to be of necessity to human life, whiles their effective management by project oriented organizations have also been recognised as a crucial force for economic growth and poverty reduction for these countries. However, studies show that the management of projects in most developing countries tend to experience high levels of failure. Most developmental projects when started are not completed as projected in many developing countries. A review of the extant relevant literature on project management provided organizational capacity, organizational structure and leadership as some of the major factors that significantly impact on PMS, but these factors have not studied in the context of DCs. This thesis therefore intends to fill this gap by investigating how the major factors commonly signalled in the project management literature (and their combination) actually affect project management success in developing countries; with the empirical application considering the case of Ghana. The thesis also investigates competencies/skills and best practice principles for an effective project management in developing countries. Using three dimensions (namely, organizational capacity, organizational structure and leadership) with a total of 16 items, a survey was prepared and filled out by 215 certified project management practitioners. Data obtained were validated using exploratory factor analyses. New dimensions were obtained and using structural equation modelling, this thesis analysed how the different latent factors predict project management success in developing countries. To complement the findings already obtained, a qualitative comparative analysis was also carried out to help discover the configurational effects of the antecedent conditions on the outcome. Qualitative information obtained from the survey was also refined to obtain meaningful interpretations. Findings from the analysis show that leadership is the most significant factor affecting project management success in developing countries. The capacity and the structure of project oriented organizations (in terms of span of control) were also found to be significant predictors of project management success. Different combination of the antecedent conditions were also found to impact on project management success, although in all configurations, the presence of leadership was paramount. The findings obtained implied that citizens of developing countries need to vote competent political leaders who are system thinkers, negotiators and have a general business perspective, to lay the foundation for achieving project management success in their countries. Elected political leaders of various developing countries need to provide the kind of leadership that will propel project management success. To guarantee successful management of projects in developing countries, project oriented organizations need to employ only qualified project managers to lead their projects. Likewise, they need to further polish the leadership skills of their project managers by offering them periodic training and refresher courses and track their performance using information systems for enforce corrective actions. The thesis concludes recommending a set of competencies/skills and best practice principles for effective project management in developing countries.