Exploring Project Complexity through Project Failure Factors: Analysis of Cluster Patterns Using Self-Organizing Maps

Vicente Rodríguez Montequín, Joaquín Villanueva Balsera, Sonia María Cousillas Fernández and Francisco Ortega Fernández

Complexity, 2018, vol. 2018, 1-17

Abstract:

In the field of project management, complexity is closely related to project outcomes and hence project success and failure factors. Subjectivity is inherent to these concepts, which are also influenced by sectorial, cultural, and geographical differences. While theoretical frameworks to identify organizational complexity factors do exist, a thorough and multidimensional account of organizational complexity must take into account the behavior and interrelatedness of these factors. Our study is focused on analyzing the combinations of failure factors by means of self-organizing maps (SOM) and clustering techniques, thus getting different patterns about the project managers perception on influencing project failure causes and hence project complexity. The analysis is based on a survey conducted among project manager practitioners from all over the world to gather information on the degree of influence of different factors on the projects failure causes. The study is cross-sectorial. Behavioral patterns were found, concluding that in the sampled population there are five clearly differentiated groups (clusters) and at least three clear patterns of answers. The prevalent order of influence is project factors, organization related factors, project manager and team members factors, and external factors.

Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://downloads.hindawi.com/journals/8503/2018/9496731.pdf (application/pdf)
http://downloads.hindawi.com/journals/8503/2018/9496731.xml (text/xml)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hin:complx:9496731

DOI: 10.1155/2018/9496731

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Complexity from Hindawi
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Mohamed Abdelhakeem ().