IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/igg/jhcitp/v6y2015i3p1-19.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Replacing Project Managers in Information Technology Projects: Contradictions that Explain the Phenomenon

Author

Listed:
  • Kirsi Liikamaa

    (University of Turku, Pori, Finland)

  • Tero Vartiainen

    (University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland)

  • Maritta Pirhonen

    (University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland)

  • Heli Aramo-Immonen

    (Tampere University of Technology, Pori, Finland)

Abstract

According to anecdotal evidence, project managers working on information technology (IT) projects are occasionally replaced, although the literature on information systems (IS) and project management (PM) makes little mention of it. With a view to narrowing this knowledge gap the authors examined the reasons behind the practice. The authors took an interpretive approach to the data gathering and analysis, and collected descriptions about replacing project managers (RPM) from interviews and questionnaires (n=43). The concept of contradiction served as a lens through which to identify the underlying reasons. Contradiction refers to statements asserting or expressing the opposite of another statement. The authors identified four contradictions explaining why RPM occurs in IT projects. These contradictions show that RPM appears to be a simplistic solution when there are more fundamental issues to consider. The implications extend to education, practice, and research in the context of IT project management.

Suggested Citation

  • Kirsi Liikamaa & Tero Vartiainen & Maritta Pirhonen & Heli Aramo-Immonen, 2015. "Replacing Project Managers in Information Technology Projects: Contradictions that Explain the Phenomenon," International Journal of Human Capital and Information Technology Professionals (IJHCITP), IGI Global, vol. 6(3), pages 1-19, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:igg:jhcitp:v:6:y:2015:i:3:p:1-19
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://services.igi-global.com/resolvedoi/resolve.aspx?doi=10.4018/IJHCITP.2015070101
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:igg:jhcitp:v:6:y:2015:i:3:p:1-19. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Journal Editor (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.igi-global.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.