Jan Terje Karlsen

International Journal of Information Technology Project Management 13(1) Doi: https://doi.org/10.4018/IJITPM.304060

Facilitating knowledge transfer in organizations has proven to be challenging, and one of the most prominent obstacles for successful knowledge transfer is the organization’s culture. Therefore, the core objective of this study was to investigate how organizational culture affects the knowledge transfer process in project-intensive IT organizations. We conducted a multiple-case study with in-depth semi-structured interviews from two IT consultancy companies. We identified five main categories of factors within organizational culture that have a significant effect on knowledge transfer in project-intensive IT companies: organizational values, relationships and communication, leadership, project characteristics, and individual factors. The role of organizational values, cooperation, and leaders’ behavior are all crucial for successful knowledge transfer. Organizational values must support knowledge transfer. Cooperation creates the best environment for knowledge transfer, and leaders must be aware of their behavior.

Management Research Review 44(6) Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/MRR-12-2019-0540

Abstract Purpose Trust in how projects are managed is important because leaders have the power to make decisions that impact project outcomes. Steering committees provide strategic direction and governance for projects and they support the project manager. The purpose of this paper is to study how steering committees contribute to governance and trust. More specifically, the aim is to explore, which steering committee features and governance mechanisms are important for building trust. Design/methodology/approach Empirical data were collected using in-depth interviews. The studied case concerns the Norwegian Navy’s experience with a steering committee in the project of building new frigates. Findings Findings show that the steering committee had a significant impact on governance and trust in the project. The identified governance mechanisms performed by the steering committee included: control and performance measurement, support, decision-making, relationship management, reporting, resource management, risk management and strategic focus. Research limitations/implications Despite the limitations of studying only a single case, the findings may provide general learning, as well as important practical information and experience to managers interested in the role of the project steering committee. Practical implications The paper provides key managerial implications that project owners should take into account when organizing a steering committee. The analysis identifies composition, competence, authority, responsibility, commitment and continuity as steering committee features that contribute to building trust. Findings particularly highlight the choice to include external steering committee members to be successful. Originality/value This research extends the current understanding of how through different features and governance mechanisms a steering committee can build trust in the management of projects.

International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management 8(3) s. 289-303 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1504/IJPSPM.2021.118677

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the applicability of project management as a tool and framework for managing a public transformation change process. The studied case concerns a large public merger project occurring between Trondheim and Klæbu municipalities in Norway. The results demonstrate that the Trondheim-Klæbu case effectively applied project management successfully as a tool for managing the change process. We found that basic project management practices from various knowledge areas were vital and employed in a systematic and integrated manner. We especially identify the importance of a fixed goal, a milestone and progress plan, and good communication with stakeholders.

International Journal of Technology Management 85(1) s. 42-77 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1504/IJTM.2021.113693

This article presents a study of two projects focusing on the relationships of two Nordic clients with suppliers in low-cost countries. It explores the interplay between trust and control when offshoring information systems development projects. The key insight reveals that trust is not a substitute for control, no matter its level. The paper offers several contributions. First, we build a conceptual model for exploring the relationship between trust and control and the role of actual project performance. Second, the study reveals that trust supports a team's willingness to share knowledge, and control facilitates its ability to do so. Furthermore, our analysis shows that the impact of trust and control on project performance is better managed through the adjustment of project goals instead of adjusting the levels of trust and control. Finally, we contribute to theory through the development of a causal model of trust, control, actual performance, and project goals.

Journal of Management in Engineering 36(2) Doi: https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000734

Stakeholder satisfaction in megaprojects has always been a critical concern in research and practice due to the dynamism, complexity, and uncertainty of the various relationships between the project and the stakeholder community. The most successful outcome for a megaproject would be achieved when it creates values fairly for stakeholder community to satisfy them. Therefore, due to the resource constraints, megaproject should create values for stakeholders proportional to the values that they put into it. This article proposes a framework for priority-setting in stakeholder engagement based on the balance of mutual value creation between the megaproject and stakeholder community. In this way, we developed an innovative and systematic approach by drawing on “stakeholder theory”, “value creation theory”, “expectation disconfirmation theory”, and “fuzzy set theory” while adopting from Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) concepts. This study contributes to the theory and practice of engineering management by examining stakeholder engagement to satisfy them fairly in megaprojects. Particularly, this study categorises stakeholders based on the proportional of their salience to expectations to three main types: “Modest”, “Fair” and “Demanding”. This typology will provide a road map for managers to prioritise the responses to stakeholders’ expectations. Finally, we applied the proposed approach for a real-case of mega construction project (MCP).

Magma forskning og viten s. 94-100

Én strategi for å lykkes med ledelse er å utvikle egne og andres styrker. Eksempler på styrker er mot, kreativitet, selvdisiplin, emosjonell intelligens og optimisme. Bruk av personlige styrker kan gi belønninger i form av mer energi, motivasjon, mestring og mening. En betingelse for å kunne utvikle sine styrker er psykologisk trygghet. Psykologisk trygghet legger grunnlag for læring, utvikling og vekst. For å fremme en styrkebasert ledelse bør det også bygges en gi-kultur, der medlemmene hjelper hverandre til å lykkes. Et teoretisk fundament for styrkebasert ledelse er positiv psykologi. Hensikten med positiv psykologi er å få individ, gruppe og organisasjon til å blomstre. Dette vil medføre en personlig og skrittvis læreprosess, i samarbeid med andre, der intensjonen er å leve et godt og meningsfullt liv, samtidig som organisasjonens mål oppnås.

International Journal of Organization Theory and Behavior 23(2) s. 155-171 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOTB-04-2019-0052

Purpose This paper investigates the emphasis placed on different managerial roles by the project manager in a public merger and change project. Design/methodology/approach A research model was designed based on six management roles: leader, resource allocator, spokesman, entrepreneur, liaison and monitor. Empirical data were collected using in-depth interviews. The studied case concerns a large public merger and change project between two municipalities in Norway. Findings The paper reveals that the project manager emphasized the externally oriented entrepreneur role mostly. The internally oriented resource allocator role that focuses on managing the project was least emphasized. The research identifies a gap between needed and actual competence in basic project management as a barrier to exercise the resource allocator role more thoroughly. Research limitations/implications Future research should investigate other public merger and change projects so that these findings may be generalized. Practical implications This research concludes that project managers in public change projects should be more internally oriented towards the resource allocator role. Furthermore, public project managers need to make sure that they possess the necessary technical project management competence to practice the resource allocator role effectively. Originality/value Rather than stressing the importance of leadership in general to manage a project, this paper is original as it applies a set of management roles to empirically study what a public project manager practice.

Team Performance Management 26(3/4) s. 247-262 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/TPM-12-2018-0081

This paper aims to study the influence of project managers’ signature strengths on project team resilience. Design/methodology/approach The authors performed a qualitative multiple case study design to explore the research question. Open-ended interviews, site visits, observations and documents were the data sources. The authors used character strengths and virtues within positive psychology as a theoretical framework in the data analysis. The main finding of this study is that the project manager’s use of signature strengths influences the resilience of the project team. The cross-case analysis revealed four signature strengths – leadership, open-mindedness, persistence and hope – that influenced team resilience in all three studied cases. Future research should investigate other organizations, types of projects and countries so that the findings may be generalized. This paper provides managers and teams with useful insights on signature strengths and team resilience. The findings stress the importance of managers being aware of their signature strengths and knowing how to use them. As the working situation today is often more complex, uncertain and difficult than ever, it is important to have resilient managers and teams. Originality/value This study contributes to increased knowledge on signature strengths and team resilience.

International Journal of Knowledge and Learning 13(4) s. 356-368 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1504/IJKL.2020.111143

Journal of construction engineering and management 145(9) Doi: https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0001684

This article presents a comprehensive project stakeholder typology model (PSTM) based on stakeholder salience attributes (SSAs). Stakeholders are considered as one of the major pillars of construction projects and management of stakeholders is essential to effective project management in the construction industry. A literature review of stakeholder typology and management models was conducted to identify all the different SSAs that are being applied. This analysis revealed important variation in the attributes, models, and frameworks. A questionnaire survey and semistructured interviews were conducted to fulfil the research purpose. Based on a Venn-diagram analysis of data, we suggest a clear and nonoverlapping SSAs framework to be used in construction projects. We also propose a project stakeholder typology model based on SSAs. The results indicated that PSTM divides stakeholders into 15 different types based on four attributes, namely Potency, Legitimacy, Urgency, and Proximity. It is expected that the results of this study can be used by practicing professionals such as project managers when identifying, categorizing, and managing stakeholders in construction projects.

Magma forskning og viten 21(2) s. 68-76

Det er fristende å skylde på omgivelsene når noe går galt. Dette hindrer imidlertid personlig læring. Man ødelegger for seg selv. Den enkelte medarbeider bør i større grad ta ansvar for å lede seg selv. Dette kan gjøres ved å trene på å styre sine tanker, følelser og handlinger. Enkelte bedrifter, institusjoner og skoler er fremdeles preget av en ordre- og kontrolledelse. Det gir lite innovasjon og læring. Andre former for ledelse etterlyses. Superledelse er å lede medarbeidere til å lede seg selv. Selvledelse er å ta regi i eget liv. Dette kan gi økt innovasjon, trivsel, prestasjon og mening. Mange medarbeidere er lite bevisst på sin egen selvledelse. Årsaken kan være fastlåst tenkemåte, egosvekkelse, manglende fokus, lav mestringstro samt ytre kontrollplassering der man skylder på omgivelsene. Artikkelen utfordrer ledere til å prøve ut selvledelse og superledelse for å takle sine oppgaver og få egne erfaringer. Virkemidlene er blant annet å ha et realistisk menneskesyn, bruke en skrittvis læremetode, bygge en gi-kultur og utvikle psykologisk kapital. Som case i denne artikkelen brukes en leder som er dyktig til å lede sine medarbeidere til å lede seg selv.

International Journal of Technology Management 78(4) s. 310-342 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1504/IJTM.2018.095760

Western multinational corporations (MNCs) that want market access in China have to share knowledge with Chinese partners. This may expose them to imitation, so MNCs prefer to protect knowledge resulting in a strategic paradox: MNCs have to both share and protect knowledge. To analyse this paradox, we developed a theoretical conceptual model capturing the tensions and feedback cycles of this paradox. Next, based on data from the shipbuilding industry, a system dynamics model was developed to simulate the long-term effects of sharing and protecting strategies. The results indicate that protection is detrimental to long-term success, because it undercuts the trust of the Chinese supplier and irreparably reduces innovation rates. Knowledge protection thus reduces instead of increases the ability to share (new) knowledge in the future. A sharing strategy increases imitation, but also trust and knowledge sharing by the Chinese partner, such that it enhances the MNC's innovation rate and long-term performance.

Magma forskning og viten s. 50-59

Management Research Review 39(9) s. 1122-1142 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/MRR-07-2015-0157

Project Management Journal 46(3) s. 49-60 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/pmj.21501

International Journal of Information Technology Project Management 5(2) s. 44-59 Doi: https://doi.org/10.4018/ijitpm.2014040104

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business 7(3) s. 449-472 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMPB-01-2013-0003

International Journal of Risk and Contingency Management 2(4) s. 79-101 Doi: https://doi.org/10.4018/ijrcm.2013100106

This study is about project risk management tools. The aim has been to identify which tools have the greatest potential for contribution to risk management processes in the Norwegian oil and gas industry, and which factors contribute to efficient risk management. Empirical data from the Norwegian industry have been gathered using a questionnaire. The results revealed strong relationships between project system complexity, average tool score and risk management contribution. Furthermore, the results of the analysis show that some of the previous recommendations of tools for project risk management may have been based on a restricted set of determinants. On the other hand, similarities are also found with previous research in terms of the highest ranked tools based on perceived contribution to the risk management performance. Compared to the previous findings, this study indicates that a new measure for project management performance is needed, and that the recommendation of tools based on the risk management contribution index may be flawed. Nevertheless, it is concluded that several of the recommended tools are of great value across industries.

Engineering Management Journal (EMJ) 25(4) s. 52-61 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/10429247.2013.11431995

Journal of Workplace Learning 24(3) s. 177-199 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/13665621211209267

PURPOSE: The focus of this paper is on management training and development. The purpose has been to address how coaching can be applied to learn about leadership tools and what effect this has on management behaviour and development. METHODOLOGY: This is a qualitative case study of a management development program. The empirical data were obtained using in-depth interviews, surveys, and observations. In addition to investigating the 14 participants, data were also collected from their superiors and subordinates. FINDINGS: One of the main findings is that coaching is a helpful training process to learn about the manager’s toolbox and to develop new management behavior. Furthermore, data revealed that the management training should be based on the specific work challenges that the participants experience at their workplace. Based on a variety of work challenges, the participants highlighted the following tools as most important: Emotional intelligence, empowerment, self-management, signature-strengths, and positive emotions. LIMITATIONS: Future research should apply a more comprehensive research design, for example, using a control group. IMPLICATIONS: Data analysis shows that coaching is a management training process where the participants can learn to solve real work challenges. By trial and testing at their own workplace, managers learn how to use appropriate tools and change their behaviour. As part of the learning process we recommend debriefing where the managers can get feedback and inspiration for self-reflection. Furthermore, through team and peer coaching, the managers can help each other learn. We also recommend that the participant’s superiors and subordinates should be involved in the training process. ORIGINALITY: In this research we have studied coaching as a learning and training method applying leadership tools.

International Journal of Risk and Contingency Management 1(3) s. 59-74 Doi: https://doi.org/10.4018/ijrcm.2012070104

This paper explores the risk associated with contract growth and opportunistic behavior in contractors with a special focus on the management of changes and interfaces. The study compares two successful megaprojects, the Gudrun oil platform by Statoil in the North Sea and the ATLAS detector at CERN. The empirical data were obtained using in-depth interviews with key personnel at Statoil and CERN. The study makes three significant contributions to knowledge: (1) megaprojects can benefit from having a high level of staffing since management costs are relatively small compared to construction costs; (2) when part of the end design is left to contractors, the contractors are given an opening to act in an opportunistic manner, which can cause contract growth; and (3) when a high level of integration is performed in-house, companies can take an extreme cost-driven approach to contracting.

International Journal of Project Organisation and Management 4(3) s. 256-271 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1504/IJPOM.2012.048224

This research provides insight into the important role of experiencedsailing officers in shipbuilding projects. The aim of this exploratory case studywas to develop an understanding of mechanisms used to facilitate knowledgetransfer. We identify five shipbuilding phases as scoping, specification,negotiation, construction and acceptance testing. Further we identify theimportant role of experienced sailing officers in knowledge transfer betweenship owner, shipyard, and the shipbuilding project. The original value of thepaper is the use of knowledge management theory to extend the scientificresearch and theory of shipbuilding and to inform project managers onknowledge transfer mechanisms.

Journal of Systems and Information Technology 13(1) s. 66-80 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/13287261111118359

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business 4(2) s. 240-256 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/17538371111120225

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business 3(4) s. 642-660

International Journal of Innovation and Learning 6(4) s. 448-460

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development 16(3) s. 432-442

International Journal of Innovation and Learning 6(4) s. 438-447

Learning Organization 16(2) s. 88-102

Baltic Journal of Management 3(1) s. 7-22 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/17465260810844239

International Journal of Business and Systems Research 2(3) s. 227-243

European Journal of Industrial Engineering 2(1) s. 35-49

Cost Engineering 50(7) s. 20-23

International Journal of Project Organisation and Management 1(1) s. 105-118

International Journal of Business Information Systems 3(4) s. 356-373

International Journal of Knowledge and Learning 4(4) s. 349-356

International Journal of Public Sector Management 21(3) s. 271-284

Engineering Management Journal (EMJ) 19(3) s. 31-41

International Journal of Project Management 25(1) s. 3-9

This paper addresses perspectives underlying the project management litterature. Content analysis of selected textbooks and formal articles revealed that this litterature is primarly based on a few perspectives, and that the perspectives emphasized have changed over time. Today the leadership perspectives is the dominant one, while the task perspectives earlier was the most emphasized. The study also revealed growing application of the leadership and business perspectives.

International Journal of Innovation and Learning 4(4) s. 391-410

International Journal of Management and Enterprise Development 4(2) s. 128-142

International Journal of Management and Enterprise Development 3(4) s. 297-311

Engineering Management Journal (EMJ) 18(1) s. 30-36

Industrial management & data systems 105(9) s. 1137-1149

International Journal of Information Technology and Decision Making 4(4) s. 525-540

Cost Engineering 47(9) s. 24-29

Journal of Management in Engineering 20(4) s. 134-140

The early project phase is associated with uncertainty. In past literature on projects as well as in business, uncertainty (risk) is often conceived of as something unpleasant that should be avoided. This paper, in contrast, points at unexploited opportunities embedded in this uncertain early project phase. The key argument is that the profit potential of projects is inversely related to degree of uncertainty. A distinction is made between internal and external sources of uncertainty to capture the uncertainty profile of projects. Analysis of four large-scaled projects shows that choice of project strategy can alter dramatically a project's uncertainty profile and thus its profit potential. Implications for project management are highlighted.

Engineering Management Journal (EMJ) 16(1) s. 3-10

Journal of Computer Information Systems 44(1) s. 112-119

International Project Management Journal 8(1) s. 7-13

Engineering Management Journal (EMJ) 14(2) s. 5-11

Engineering Management Journal (EMJ) 14(4) s. 19-24