Practices of isolation

Practices of isolation: The shaping of project autonomy in innovation projects

Willems, Thijs (Singapore University of Technology and Design)
van Marrewijk, A.H. (TU Delft Design & Construction Management; BI Norwegian Business School; Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
Kuitert, L. (TU Delft Public Commissioning)
Volker, L. (University of Twente)
Hermans, M.H. (TU Delft Public Commissioning)

2020

A project's autonomy, the degree to which a project can evolve without constant interference from the parent organization, is a key feature of innovation projects. The literature treats autonomy as a passive phenomenon and underestimates how projects as temporary organizations interact with more permanent forms of organizations. A dynamic and contextually sensitive understanding of project autonomy is valuable; autonomy can change over the course of the project's lifecycle and evolve into extreme isolation. We show how autonomy is shaped through practices of isolation and how this influences project outcomes. Two innovation projects were studied through qualitative\055interpretive methods and we analyzed symbolic, discursive and spatial practices of isolation. These practices facilitate the exploration of innovations but limit the transmission of these innovations to the parent organization. We contribute to the literature on temporary organizations and project-to-parent integration by illustrating and theorizing the role of practices of isolation in this process.

Innovation
Isolation practices
Project autonomy
Project-to-parent integration
Temporary organizations

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:5f821581-ca70-4949-a488-5605f123a697

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2020.03.004

2020-12-07

0263-7863

International Journal of Project Management, 38 (4), 215-228

Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.

Institutional Repository

journal article

© 2020 Thijs Willems, A.H. van Marrewijk, L. Kuitert, L. Volker, M.H. Hermans