Disclosing the Tacit Links between Risk and Success in Organizational Development Project Portfolios

Camilo Micán, Gabriela Fernandes and Madalena Araújo
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Camilo Micán: School of Industrial Engineering, Universidad del Valle, Cali 760034, Colombia
Gabriela Fernandes: CEMMPRE, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Coimbra, 3030-788 Coimbra, Portugal
Madalena Araújo: ALGORITMI, Department of Production and Systems, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 9, 1-19

Abstract: Project portfolios aim to impact organizational strategic goals, influencing both the organization’s business model and its processes. Nonetheless, the actual impact is dependent on the portfolio’s success, which is affected by the materialization of risk factors. This study aims to examine the tacit conceptualization of project portfolio risk as a risk measure explicitly based on project portfolio success itself. In order to focus on the portfolios of organizational development projects, Social Representation Theory was adopted to analyze empirical evidence from twenty-eight semi-structured interviews conducted with project portfolio practitioners. Findings showed that strategic fit, future preparedness, and stakeholder satisfaction were dimensions of success within which project portfolio risk could be conceptualized. Additionally, results evidenced that risk factors influenced project portfolio success through systematic and non-systematic impacts on project portfolio outputs, and also had direct impacts on project portfolio outcomes. This paper provides empirical evidence to back up the conceptualization of project portfolio risk explicitly oriented to portfolio success as a multidimensional risk measure. It represents a new avenue for conducting portfolio risk analysis for both practitioners and academics, orienting the decision-making process based on the portfolio success rather than only on the success of each project.

Keywords: project portfolio risk; risk management; project portfolio success; portfolio management; risk factors; organizational development portfolios (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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