Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin Internal and External Forces of Organizational Change in Project Management A case study on a collaborative project F ANNY A RONSSON A XELIA H UUSKO V IKTOR W ANSULIN School of Business, Society & Engineering Course: Thesis in Business Administration Course code: FOA243 15 cr Supervisor: Inti Lammi Date: 21/1-2021
58
Embed
Internal and External Forces of Organizational Change in ...
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
Internal and External Forces of Organizational Change in Project Management A case study on a collaborative project
FANNY ARONSSON
AXELIA HUUSKO VIKTOR WANSULIN
School of Business, Society & Engineering Course: Thesis in Business Administration Course code: FOA243 15 cr
Supervisor: Inti Lammi Date: 21/1-2021
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
Acknowledgement We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the people around us who have been very
supportive in completing our goal and making this study possible. First of all, thank you to
Professor Inti Lammi, for your guidance and support during this process, it has been
incredibly appreciated. Second, for all the great reviews and opinions that helped us form
this thesis, we would like to thank our opposition groups. Lastly, a huge thank you to all
the respondents from Swedish Scaleups and all the participating partners; Eskilstuna
Kommun, Inkubera, Linköping Science Park, Uppsala Innovation Center and Västerås
Science Park for participating in our interviews and for taking the time to read, reflect and
address the questions honestly. This thesis would not have been possible without you.
Thank you,
Fanny Aronsson, Axelia Huusko & Viktor Wansulin
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
Abstract
Date: (21/01/2021)
Level: Bachelor Thesis in Business Administration, 15 credits
Institution: School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University
Authors: Fanny Aronsson Axelia Huusko Viktor Wansulin (96/07/27) (96/05/24) (98/11/30)
Title: An Examination of Internal and External Forces of Organizational Change in a Project Setting; A case study on a collaborative project
RQ: 1 How has the working processes/structure transformed due to internal and external changes?
RQ: 2 How does these changes affect the collaboration and work satisfaction, seeing that such extensive changes, which take place simultaneously or in close connection, can be very demanding?
Purpose: The purpose of this research is to find evidence on how temporary projects change in connection to both internal organizational changes, in terms of change in management, as well as the external force of change of COVID-19. In addition, the thesis will also go into depth on how these changes have affected collaboration and work-satisfaction.
Method: The research is a case study of qualitative nature and ten semi-structured interviews, with five project leaders and five employees in a collaborative project, were conducted to enable interactions between theories and empirical findings. It was decided to obtain a case project in order to investigate how the external force of COVID-19 and the internal force of change in head management has affected the project's work settings, collaboration and the well-being/work satisfaction of the employees. Along with the interviews, the theoretical structure made it possible to perform a thematic analysis.
Conclusion: The changes connected to the working processes and the structure given the forces of internal and external change have altered the way the employees perform and operate in the project. It is concluded that collaboration is of utmost importance and that building trust and relationships have clearly become harder in a virtual work setting, it has affected how the project participants work together towards common objectives. These major changes have also affected the work satisfaction of the project members to different extents.
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
Table of Contents 1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………....1 2. Problematization & Purpose………………………………………………………………………. 3
2.1 Research questions…………………………………………………………………………….. 4 3. Literature Review………………………………………………………………………………….. 5
3.2 Organizational change…………………………………………………………………………. 8 3.2.1 Forces of change…………………………………………………………………………………..8 3.2.2 Collaboration in changing projects…………………………………………………….. 10 3.2.3 Work satisfaction in changing projects………………………………………………....11
4.1 Research Design…………………………………………………………………………….... 15 4.2 Setting………………………………………………………………………………………....16 4.3 Data collection………………………………………………………………………………...18
4.5 Data Analysis………………………………………………………………………………….20 4.6 Quality criteria………………………………………………………………………………...21 4.7 Methodological Limitations………………………………………………………………….. 22
5. Empirical Findings………………………………………………………………………………...23 5.1 Employee feelings towards change…………………………………………………………... 23
5.1.1 The internal change……………………………………………………………………..23 5.1.2 The external change……………………………………………………………………. 24
5.2 Absence of social interactions………………………………………………………………... 25 5.3 Striving towards common goals…………………………………………………………….... 27 5.4 Stress in connection to workload……………………………………………………………...28
6. Analysis …………………………………………………………………………………………….30 6.1 Internal and external forces of change affecting processes within a project………………….30 6.2 The importance of structure and the different stages in a project……………………………. 32 6.3 Collaboration and the importance of relationships in a project setting………………………. 33 6.4 Work satisfaction within a changing project…………………………………………………. 36 6.5 Implications…………………………………………………………………………………... 39
1. Introduction The accompanying section will include a concise outline for the significance of conducting this study, the foundation data, and introduction of topics and theories that will be presented in this thesis.
A project can be defined in multiple ways, it could be considered an agency for change or a
way to organize resources (Cleland & King, 1983; Andersen et al., 1987; Hornstein, 2015;
Turner & Müller, 2003). In addition, it can also be considered as a temporary organization
(Cleland & Kerzner, 1985; Turner & Müller, 2003; Marchi & Sarcina, 2011). What makes the
temporary organization unique among other organizations is that it is time bound and in this
setting it is also created to achieve specific objectives (Marchi & Sarcina, 2011; Hornstein,
2015).
Many organizations use projects as a part of their structure where they act as the mother
company (Asad Mir & Pinnington, 2014), however, there are also projects which are actually
created to be a temporary organization. An example could be EU-funded, temporary growth
projects. These kinds of temporary organizations have specified objectives such as stimulation
of growth in regards to different companies as well as the economy of the host country
(Marchi & Sarcina, 2011). A project like this could be very loosely structured and
collaboration plays a key role in order for the project to achieve its objectives.
What would happen if the environment surrounding these temporary organizations, as well as
the internal structure changed drastically?
Late December 2019 marked the start of what would later become a widespread and deadly
pandemic called COVID-19 (WHO, 2020). The effects of the virus have of course been on
many different levels; personal, business, societal but also on a national level. One of the most
common restrictions that has been executed throughout the globe is a phenomenon called
social distancing, this is also one of the restrictions that have severe effects on the economy
(Maharaj & Kleczkowski, 2012) and how work is executed.
COVD-19 is an unpredictable external factor that has had a large effect on many companies,
organizations and projects. Such an extensive external factor could often result in a lot of
internal changes such as furloughs, employees being terminated, change in leadership and
staff, as well as reorganizations of the structure and processes (Shin, 1977). However, these
1
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
kinds of internal changes could happen even without the threat of a pandemic or any other
external factor causing changes in the internal environment.
What is interesting to investigate is how COVID-19, which is an external source for change,
has affected the concept of working in projects, while at the same time there is a large internal
change of switching project management.
Organizations all over the world are increasingly implementing project management as a tool
in order to increase its efficiency (Asad Mir & Pinnington, 2014; Hornstein, 2015). This is not
only a normal occurrence within the business administration field, but it can be found in the
majority of today's industries and sectors. By transferring the task from the business unit, to
project teams who are: operating with a limited budget, are unique and temporary, the task
can be accomplished in an efficient way (Hornstein, 2015). Project teams are constantly
adapting to changes in terms of environment and needs (Deeprose, 2002). The dynamic
environment that projects are facing today can affect the project by increased threat, a
negative impact, or by increased opportunity, a positive impact (Anderson & Merna, 2003).
COVID-19 has forced companies to adapt to a changing environment in a short amount of
time (Seidl & Whittington, 2020).
In addition to these extensive changes it would also be interesting to investigate how they
have affected the collaboration between and within the parties involved in a project/temporary
organization. As has been concluded by previous researchers such as Hällgren and Söderholm
(2011), extensive changes within organizations can often lead to uncertainty, stress and other
negative feelings. Therefore, an examination of the effects on work satisfaction is also of high
relevance.
2
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
2. Problematization & Purpose In this section, the problematization, purpose and research questions will be presented.
Many project organizations have quite a loose structure. They are temporary, meaning that
they only exist for a limited time, for example three years as in this case and during this time
they interact with many different parties. The project depends on interrelations with
stakeholders and they need to participate and be involved, which ultimately means that they
do a lot of networking (Marchi & Sarcina, 2011). To be able to function as a project
organization like this, there is a need for flexibility and adaptability (Jalali Sohi, 2018;
Within all kinds of businesses, such as organizations or projects there are sometimes a need
for change of leadership. This could be because of objectives not being met, disorganization,
staff withdrawals, lack of strategic focus, large financial losses or even bullying to name a few
(Boddy, 2017; Lehn & Zhao, 2006). When a change like this occurs, the new leader could
implement drastic and very different ways of working for the employees or change nothing at
all. However, research supports that usually, if the new leader is an external hire, entirely new
to the organization, they will want to make more changes, whereas if they were hired within
the organization they would follow previous strategies and actions (Westphal & Fredickson,
2001). A change like this is what has occurred in the temporary, project-based organization
that is the focus of investigation for this thesis. In December 2019, they had a change of head
management.
Due to COVID-19, the environment surrounding the project-based organization has changed
drastically and new, unforeseen changes could occur at any moment because of the
uncertainty of the pandemic and how it is handled. What this implies is that, during an
extensive change such as exchanging the head leader, a strategic decision, the project is also
hit by an unforeseen external force such as COVID-19, which provides a new set of
challenges as well as further changes within the organization.
While there has been a lot of research conducted on project-based and temporary
organizations, as well as investigations on these organizations in connection to the
environment they are operating in (Engwall, 2003). There has not been any previous research
on how such a temporary, project-based organization handles an internal change such as a
3
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
shift in leadership while at the same time they have to handle an external crisis causing further
changes, such as COVID-19. What working processes have been changed, how, or if they
have been changed at all, how the collaborations between different partners in the project
handles these changes or how people feel regarding them. Therefore, there is considered a gap
in the research, seeing that there is no previous research covering this area.
The purpose of this research is to collect data and investigate how temporary projects change
in connection to both internal organizational changes in terms of change in head leadership as
well as the external force of change, being COVID-19. If there are any behavioral adaptations
in order to cope with the situation of the pandemic and how the project and its participants
have been affected. This research can be used to understand the different situations that can
occur due to organizational change, caused by internal and external factors simultaneously or
in close connection. Since operational practices are all about continuity, a quick change can
interrupt the flow of working activity. Researchers have previously focused more on slowly
natural evolutionary change rather than a fast-changing environment, like a pandemic (Seidl
& Whittington, 2020).
Regarding further purposes, this thesis could also be used as a reference for managing
collaborative projects with a loose based structure undergoing multiple changes
simultaneously. To see the importance of collaboration where depending on each other in
order to reach a common objective is key. However, it is important to note that it is a case
study and may therefore be very specific.
2.1 Research questions
Based on the introduction and problematization, two research questions have been formed.
- How has the working processes/structure transformed due to internal and external
changes?
- How do these changes affect the collaboration and work satisfaction, seeing that such
extensive changes, which take place simultaneously or in close connection, can be
very demanding?
4
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
3. Literature Review In this chapter, the already existing knowledge about projects, change, collaboration and work satisfaction will be presented. The concepts presented are selected to provide support for this research and will be discussed in later chapters.
3.1 Project management To be able to understand the setting of this thesis it is important to get a general grasp of what
projects actually are and how they work.
Projects can come in different shapes or forms and can be used for several different areas.
Packendorff and Lindgren (2014) discusses the concept of projectification from two
perspectives, narrow and broad. They state that “the notion of projectification has emerged as
projects have become a common form of work organisation in all sectors of the economy
during recent decades”. The narrow point of view is the idea of projects as an organizational
solution to certain types of tasks for handling complex and nonroutine tasks, or that a project
can be seen as a temporary organization that is task oriented. The broader perspective is
discussed as “projectification as cultural and discursive processes”. Where you look at the
process of projectification not only in a work setting, meaning that the individual organizes
activities like projects in a daily life situation since daily situations can be seen as temporary,
unique, limited et cetera, just like a project. They also conclude that projects have become a
more and more popular way to structure the work, both within organizations but also as stand
alone.
Previous project research has concluded that projects could for example be engineering
projects that usually need large teams and collaboration is of the utmost importance (Turner,
2009; Simon et al., 2012). There are also smaller projects, for example construction at work,
maintenance, research, development or even product launches. It could also be as common as
moving houses or going on a vacation (Turner, 2009). The lifetime of projects differ
depending on the type of project, a project can be active between two weeks up to five years
or even longer as an example. Clearly there is room for interpretation when it comes to the
term project and what it means.
As stated in the introduction, several different researchers have had their take on the definition
of projects (Cleland & King, 1983; Andersen et al., 1987). Turner and Müller (2003) provides
5
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
a clear definition in their work: “A project is a temporary organization to which resources
are assigned to undertake a unique, novel and transient endeavour managing the inherent
uncertainty and need for integration in order to deliver beneficial objectives of change.”
What this definition states is that a project in fact is a temporary organization, meaning that it
is time-bound and has an end. Different types of resources are put into the temporary
organization to handle this unique and new endeavor, with all its entailing uncertainties, to
reach beneficial objectives already set out.
In Skulmoski and Hartman’s 2010 study, they investigate the different competencies that can
be identified in the various stages in a project. Because of the different stages, different tasks
need to be completed. The stages investigated are; the initial phase, the planning phase, the
implementation phase and the close-out phase. Their study shows that depending on which
phase the project is in, there is increased workload in certain areas. For example, team
building in the initial phase as well as writing and quality checking in the close-out phase.
As has been stated previously, regarding the term temporary organizations, different
definitions of the term “project” presented temporary organizations as one of them, therefore,
it means that temporary organizations could also be defined as projects (Turner & Müller,
2003). What previous literature has concluded is that temporary organizations have greater
adaptability and changeability capacity, and that these temporary organizations can be
evaluated by taking into account the essence of the objectives, length of the project, working
group or team characteristics, as well as the variety of leadership and organizational styles
(Marchi & Sarcina, 2011). For the purpose of this thesis, the term project will be considered
interchangeable with the term temporary organization.
Further, as has been touched upon previously, project literature also includes the term
processes. Literature regarding processes studies how things develop over time and why
things develop the way they do (Van de Ven & Huber, 1990, Langley, 1999) which also ties
into the changeability of projects and temporary organizations. When it comes to processes in
a project setting it is beneficial to define the activities and task that generates the process.
Clarification of roles, reporting relations and responsibilities are beneficial to define, when
doing that it is easier to understand the process as a whole, which can increase the chances of
project success (Abdomerovic and Blakemore, 2002).
6
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
3.1.1 Projects-As-Practice A further project approach presented by Hällgren and Söderholm, was published in 2011 and
called projects-as-practice. Within their research they present two different views of projects,
the first one is more traditional with a focus on best practice, organizational form, leadership
styles, tools and models. Whereas the second one has a focus on processes which include
change, social processes and development of the organization (Hällgren & Söderholm, 2011).
According to their research, projects are seen as the sum of the different actions of the people
involved within it, with an emphasis on how the people involved act, as well as the structure
of their work. What is concluded within their research is that both the process approach as
well as the traditional approach are lacking in regards to explaining “the situated activities of
human beings”. This is where the projects-as-practice approach comes in. In addition to
Hällgren and Söderholm (2011), other researchers such as Whittington (2006), Jarzabkowski
& Spee (2009) have also had their take on the practice approach and concluded that this
approach has a focus on the activities and practices of human beings in a social context and
that it is divided into three parts. These three parts are praxis, practice and practitioners.
Praxis is the work that gets the job done, there is no specific plan followed, but rather the
tools and methods known, are utilized to reach the end goal. The work needed could for
instance be meetings, briefings, presentations and simple talk between employees (Mezias et
al., 200; Whittington, 2006). Practices are drawn upon values, operational procedures,
cultures, norms, policies and rules when executing the project (Hällgren & Söderholm, 2011;
Mezias et al., 2001; Jarzabkowski & Spee, 2009; Whittington, 2006). It is routinized behavior
which includes know-how of different tools and methods to actually finish the job. Practice is
the explanation of why people within the project act a certain way (Whittington, 2006;
Hällgren & Wilson, 2008). In addition, based on previous and new experiences new practices
can be developed (Hällgren & Söderholm 2011). Practitioners are the people who execute the
praxis and practices, this includes anyone involved with developing, executing or finalizing
the project (Whittington, 2006).
Hällgren and Söderholm (2011) also suggest that projects-as-practice look into the smaller,
more mundane activities performed by practitioners that make up their usual workdays. That
their research gives an understanding of those smaller details that are usually forgotten about
or deemed too insignificant to bother with. This approach paves the way for practitioners to
understand why they do certain activities “to get the job done” as well as allows them to
understand why changes are perceived in a certain way. 7
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
What all of these theories of project management, projects as practice and processes have in
common is change, hence the following section on organizational change.
3.2 Organizational change
Regarding organizational change, Kurt Lewin is considered by many researchers to be a well
known and respected researcher of the subject. Lewin’s model of change consists of three
steps and is considered by many scholars as the classical perspective and approach for
handling change (Cummings et al., 2016). However, some scholars have widely criticized
Lewin’s model as it can be recognized as oversimplified, meaning that the model lacks depth
and perspectives of the change process. Other scholars argue that change should be viewed as
constant processes within an organization (Burnes, 2004). According to researchers,
organizational change is a complex phenomenon that is often associated with failure due to
the complexity of the environment the change is occurring in (Jacobs et al., 2013; Roland
Gareis, 2010; Lehmann, 2010), however, it is necessary in order for businesses to adapt and
flourish in the fast-changing business environment. Also, in order to remain relevant,
organizational change is inevitable and impossible to disregard (Singh & Shoura, 2006).
Lehmann (2010) enlightened the importance and usefulness of communication during periods
of change. Emphasizing that communication is the start of the change as well as it can be used
as an effective tool in preparing the people involved to decrease the feelings of insecurity.
Organizational change is the actions taken in order to alternate a specific component of the
organization, such as restructuring of the organization as well as altering its internal processes
(Nery Vanessa de Fátima et al., 2019).
3.2.1 Forces of change According to Bryson et al. (1993) strategic decision-making is made to optimize operations, it
is a critical factor for successfully operating projects, also referred to as planned change. A
strategic decision can be defined as an important decision in terms of the resources
committed, actions taken or precedents set (Eisenhardt et al., 1992). Common contextual
factors for strategic decision-making is based on the external environment surrounding the
subject area as well as the internal organizational characteristics (Papadakis et al., 1998).
Managers face situations of decision-making with acquainted intentions (Eisenhardt et al.,
1992).
8
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
There has been little theoretical and empirical work for unpredicted change and the challenge
it would contribute for organizations. Previous research for bounded rationality in strategic
decisions shows that environments with high uncertainty and low external control limits
rationality (Dean & Sharfman, 1993). Unanticipated change can be considered the opposite to
strategic decision and planned change. It can be connected to bounded rationality, but it is the
extreme case where there is little or no knowledge in advance. It is commonly disregarded,
thus it can easily turn out to become a crisis (Hällgren & Wilson, 2008). The COVID-19
pandemic is a perfect example of an unanticipated and unforeseen change, it has caused
massive organizational change throughout the globe. There is little or no rationality behind
this change which has led to many managerial decisions and changes in organizations.
Regarding organizational change, a differentiation can be made based on the nature of the
reason for the change. The change can have an external or an internal characteristic based on
the event occurring (Langley et al., 2013).
The different types of change affect the organization from different angles. Change can be
identified from the broadest of concepts such as mindsets, to the most narrow like a specific
tool or employee (Mintzberg & Wesley, 1992). Previous studies have shown that depending
on what types of changes that are occurring, they could have vastly different outcomes
(Mintzberg & Wesley, 1992; Dominguez et al., 2015) and a potential change per se, can have
devastating effects on the outcome and performance of projects (Hällgren & Wilson, 2008).
How a potential change affects a specific organization depends on the competences and
resources exploited and how they are utilized (Teece et al., 1997). Most research made, either
pay attention to an internal or an external change separately. Viewing these combined is
crucial for organizations to meet demand and long-term learning (Murk & Walls, 1999;
Vuorinen & Martinsuo, 2019).
Table 1 (created by the authors)
9
Forces of external change Forces of internal change
project management and an external force of change in the environment being COVID-19.
Here, strategic and unanticipated change is introduced to clearly separate the different
changes occurring.
There is an assumption that large organizational changes, such as the external force of change
being COVID-19 and an internal force of change, the change in head management, are very
demanding. However, considering a project setting, in which according to previous literature,
practitioners should be used to changes occurring seeing that it is a normal development
within projects and temporary organizations, this might not be the perception. As mentioned
in the problematization, what has not been previously studied, is how these changes affect the
project when they occur simultaneously or in close connection to each other. Such extensive
changes like these from two different variables should have negative consequences for both
collaboration and work satisfaction of employees. Given that humans are against changes by
nature, a restructuring change as well as an environmental change alternating the working
processes in this setting is investigated to validate this theory.
Figure 1 (created by the authors)
13
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
This model is created to visualize the connections between the theoretical concepts, it shows
how the theoretical framework will be used for narrowing down important concepts in order
to answer the research questions and fulfill the purpose of this thesis. The point of departure
of the model is the concept of Project Management, which is then affected by the internal and
external changes, being the phenomenon of the study. These changes in turn affect the
working processes and structure within the project. Lastly, depending on how the processes
and structures change, they may also affect collaboration and work satisfaction. The
project-as-practice approach includes the technological tools as being part of the daily work,
therefore it will not be presented in this model, however, it can be considered included in the
working structure/processes part.
14
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
4. Methodology In the following section the research design, setting, data collection methods, what types of sources, a literature review as well as limitations will be presented.
4.1 Research Design The method used to carry out this thesis is qualitative, which is a form of study that focuses
more on the non-measurable dimensions in order to obtain outcomes beyond what can be
answered by numbers and short statements. Seeing that this qualitative approach is an
open-ended way of conducting research, it does not adopt sequential measures (Bryman &
Bell, 2015).
The focus of this study is on organizational change first and foremost. The context in which
this is studied is a temporary project which has experienced a large internal change in terms of
a new head management resulting in processes and structures being changed because of the
new project manager. However, there is also a second dimension to this organizational
change, namely the external force of COVID-19, which occurred in close connection to the
change in head management. Therefore, the focus is not only on organizational change, but
external and internal forces of change occurring simultaneously or in close connection and
what the effects of them are. The theoretical structure relies on literature regarding project
management, organizational change, collaboration and work satisfaction in order to
supplement the key concepts.
The initial approach for this thesis was a deductive approach, this means that the authors
collected information about relevant themes for the topic of choice, chose different theories
that would fit the research and then elaborated on these theories (Saunders et al., 2012).
However, according to Bryman (1988) there are some limitations to the deductive approach,
namely the possibility of reaching an early conclusion because of the chosen theories.
Therefore, there is a need for adaptation of the approach to be more inductive. The inductive
approach can be incorporated into the deductive approach in order to integrate new theories
into the research, based on unanticipated themes surfacing in the collected data (Saunders et
al., 2012). Which is the case for this thesis, the interviews provided new theories that would
better fit the research and were therefore incorporated into the literature and theory section of
this thesis. Therefore, this thesis uses a mix of the deductive approach and the inductive
approach, which can be called an abductive approach according to Saunders et al. (2012).
15
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
Regarding what type of research methodology is used there are three different types of
epistemological research methodologies. They are positivism, realism and interpretivism.
Interpretivist research requires prior comprehension of accepted knowledge, but because of
the uncertainty and unpredictable nature of what is considered to be fact, there is an
expectation that existing knowledge is inadequate (Hudson & Ozanne, 1988). According to
Bryman and Bell (2015) the primary concern of interpretivism is understanding human
behaviors through interviews and observations. Interpretivism is the specific epistemological
branch used for this thesis.
4.2 Setting The selection method used for the primary data during this undertaking was purposive
selection (Bryman & Bell, 2015). The chosen project, Swedish Scaleups, that is examined in
this thesis had the best possible attributes for the research area and was eager to take part of
the study. The background information presented about the project, which is also the setting
of this study, was collected from Swedish Scaleups website, documents provided from the
project organization, as well as from an initial meeting with top management from Swedish
Scaleups.
The project itself is called Växtzon 2 and within this project there are a number of other
smaller scale projects. This means that Växtzon 2 operates the platform called Swedish
Scaleups. Växtzon 2, and therefore Swedish Scaleups, is a project that is part of the European
Union's growth policy and a lot of money has been invested by the EU in order to create
growth operations. The main focus of the project is innovation and business support, while the
purpose of the project is to create collaboration methods and stimulate growth, work
opportunities as well as the economy as a whole (Swedish Scaleups, 2020).
Swedish Scaleups was initiated in 2018, it is a project in which ten different parties consisting
of incubators and science parks operate in the Eastern Central of Sweden region. The
municipalities included in this region are Eskilstuna, Linköping, Norrköping, Uppsala,
Västerås and Örebro. The firms that benefit from Swedish Scaleups are given access to all ten
parties' knowledge, expertise and networks to scale up their operations more quickly. As is
custom for projects, Swedish Scaleups is active for a limited time. During a period of three
years, they will support more than 240 firms to grow from a start-up phase to a scale-up phase
(European Commission, 2020).
16
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
The structure of Swedish Scaleups is very loose, which can of course make it quite confusing,
complex and hard to understand. However, an illustration has been created of the structure to
make it easier to comprehend:
Figure 2 (Swedish Scaleups, 2020)
At the top is the project manager, who works closely with people who are in the eight
different programmes below. At the bottom is the ten incubators and science parks which
conduct the activities in the project, hereinafter referred to as partners. Within this structure,
employees may have double responsibility, both within the ten partners as well as the eight
programs. The people within the ten partners do not work solely within the project, the
involvement differs between the project workers. Other time is spent on activities within their
own incubator or science park. Which means that in theory, opinions and activities between
the place of hire (science park/incubator) and the project could clash.
The reason why this organization is of interest for this thesis is that in december 2019 they
had a change of head management. By then the project had been going on for a little more
than one year and had about two more years until completion. A change in head management
can be quite difficult and frustrating for participants, it could also lead to changes in processes
and structures within the project which in turn could lead to even more frustration and stress.
In the middle of the implementation of the new head project manager, COVID-19
commenced and even further changes had to be made because of the restrictions and
recommendations put into place.
17
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
4.3 Data collection There are several different data collection methods that can be used for this particular study.
For example; observations, sampling, questionnaires and secondary data. For the aim of this
study, a qualitative approach will be used in the form of semi-structured interviews to get a
deep understanding of the questions studied. In addition to the interviews which are primary
data, secondary data will also aid this study. Interviews give the undertaking a more profound,
subjective comprehension of the current circumstance, while secondary data gives a more
extensive viewpoint. (Saunders et al, 2019).
An observation might have fit the purpose of this thesis incredibly well, however, due to the
current situation of COVID-19, it might not be the safest data collection method. According
to the Public Health Authority in Sweden, there are some local general recommendations that
should be followed in order not to spread the virus. Some of these recommendations are, to
refrain from meetings unless absolutely necessary and if possible, employees should work
from home (Folkhälsomyndigheten, 2020). Therefore, as to not risk spreading the virus, the
authors will refrain from the observation method.
4.3.1 Qualitative interviews
Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted to gain a deeper and broader knowledge of the
project. The questions were divided into four sections that were of interest for the analysis of
this thesis, these are project, organizational changes in which the internal and external factors
of change are included, as well as the changes together, following the theme of collaboration
and lastly work satisfaction.
The interviews were about 45 minutes to an hour long and were conducted through Zoom.
The respondents at Swedish Scaleups were five project leaders from five of the ten different
partners as well as five employees working for the project leaders. This to get a broader
perspective on the changes, both from a leadership point of view and an employee point of
view. As to not cause confusion, the change of head management will hereafter be referred to
change in project management or change in project manager and the responding 5 sub-project
leaders will be referred to as project leaders. The language chosen for the interviews was
Swedish, since the respondents preferred speaking in their native tongue to be as precise and
accurate as possible in their statements and descriptions of the concepts being studied.
18
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
The interviews were semi-structured, which means that most of the questions were already
made up previous to the interviews, with a predetermined theme about the research
phenomena (Saunders et al, 2019). Before the interviews, the questions were sent to the
respondents via email, so that they would be able to prepare and give thoughtful insights to
the areas of interest. In accordance with the prepared research questions, the questions asked
during the interviews were formulated to cover the contexts and concepts of importance.
Instead of being inspired or adopted from previous research, in order to develop stronger
arguments for the analysis, the group members formulated the questions with regard to the
phenomenon and developed research questions.
4.3.2 Secondary sources
The secondary sources used for this thesis are books, course literature, websites, scientific
articles as well as journals from different types of official publishers. In addition to previous
literature, documents from Swedish Scaleups have presented valuable information for the
project background.
Secondary sources consist of summaries that have been published which contain raw data, it
can be used for further explanations and information transfer where its main objective is to
demonstrate additional knowledge and draw conclusions (Saunders, 2019). The course
literature Research Methods for Business Students by Saunders et al., (2019) has been one of
the principal sources for the structures used within the report. However, secondary sources
such as papers and journals have been collected to improve the credibility of the systems in
order to not be biased. These journals have been peer-reviewed, cited previously and the
majority of them can be found in a scholar’s index.
4.4 Operationalization According to Saunders et al., (2012) operationalization is the concept of translating concepts
into tangible indicators. In order for the interview questions to fit the relevant theoretical
framework, the questions were operationalized. In the table below the questions are presented
together with the theme and the aim of the question (Saunders et al., 2012). The questions
were divided into different themes that were derived from the theoretical concepts in order to
get a broad understanding of the area of study. The order the questions were asked could vary
between interviews which allowed the authors to be able to ask further questions in response
to the topic of the discussion that could be of value (Bryman & Bell, 2015). The purpose of
operationalization is to create an extension between theory and practice, as indicated by
19
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
Lynham (2002). According to Bryman & Bell (2013), operationalization is based on a set-up
on how the study will proceed to measure theoretical concepts. In this thesis, the authors have
constructed this operationalization based on the theoretical concepts, as a starting point of
view, in order to establish a link between theory and practice. The questions were formulated
based on the previous literature research within this field of study to be able to answer the
research questions for this thesis. The table can be found in the appendix.
4.5 Data Analysis Saunders et al. (2012) state that qualitative data is more likely than not, non-standardised data,
which is rather broad in volume and difficult to fully comprehend. A process through which
the researcher summarizes, condenses and categorizes the data in order to group it together
and put it into themes, is needed to analyze all of this information. In addition, the researcher
will also need to link the themes together in order to answer the research questions.
In this thesis, the interviews conducted were audio recorded, with the permission of all of the
participants, to be able to fully transcribe what each individual respondent answered to the
questions. Through saving the audio file after the transcription was completed, the authors
were able to go back and listen multiple times to the way the respondents answered the
questions, if they hesitated or seemed generally unsure of what they were stating, which is
rather important as it gives another dimension to the collected material. The majority of the
transcriptions were dictated through Google docs voice input function as it considerably
decreased the time put into each transcription. This resulted in the transcriptions being
completed soon after the actual interview and the authors were able to hear as well as say the
information provided by the interviewees, which resulted in a deeper understanding of the
material (Saunders et al., 2012). There were of course some minor mistakes made by the
software, however, these mistakes were easy to fix for the authors and it also enabled the
authors to read carefully through the answers again. After the transcriptions had been
completed, the commencement of writing transcript summaries began. These summaries
comprise long statements into shorter ones which consist of the essence of what has been said
by the respondent and are very helpful for the analysis of the data. The summaries allow the
authors to identify principal themes and relationships that surfaced in the interviews
(Saunders et al., 2012).
The method of Thematic Analysis was selected to be able to analyze and make sense of the
qualitative results, with the use of coding which involves labeling the different data from the
20
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
transcripts with codes for symbolizing meaning and extracting the data of highest relevance
(Saunders et al., 2019; Langley, 1999). These methods were chosen in combination for
analyzing the respondents’ answers in the interview due to the essential purpose of the
methods selected focusing on themes and patterns which occur in a selection of data
(Saunders et al,. 2019). Since the presented theory in this thesis is explanatory in character
with an abductive approach, all of the data provided from the interviews is potentially
interesting but will be restricted to the research questions for selecting the most relevant data
to code. The source of coding is both concept driven based on previous theories and data
driven based on labels from the authors and terms used by the participants (Saunders et al.,
2012).
For this thesis, the summary transcripts were
color coded in accordance to interesting
categories that arose, this to make it easier to
see patterns between the interviews. To
provide an example, one theme that arose
from coding the information collected from
the interviews was Absence of Social
Interactions. The table shows the categories
picked out from the interviews and in how
many of the interviews they appeared in, thus
resulting in a good basis for a collective
theme.
The procedure of analyzing the data began right after the interviews were conducted,
transcripts were made in separate documents through the process mentioned earlier in this
section where the authors got familiar with the data, thereafter coding was performed which
led to the search for themes and potential relationships in accordance with the research
questions and purpose.
4.6 Quality criteria
It is important to dig deeper into the topic from previous studies and articles to be able to
provide an overview and conclusion for the reader. To gain confidence in the topic of
research, diving into literature that already exists on the subject is of great importance (Yin,
2013). The databases that have been used to gather the information about the researched
21
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
topics are ABI/INFORM Global, Primo, Elsevier ScienceDirect, Diva, Google Scholar and
Emerald Insights, which have been valuable to find scientific articles that have been
peer-reviewed to be able to guarantee their reliability, validity and credibility and most of
them can be found in the ABS-index list.
In addition, official web pages, journals, as well as documents collected from the respondents
have been gathered to build a good foundation for this thesis. The authors have not excluded
any information that is important to the research in question, this in order to make sure that
the work is not biased (Bryman & Bell, 2015). The reader should be able to make their own
assumptions and conclusions when reading the text and not be influenced by personal
opinions of the writers, which increases the study's reliability (Bryman & Bell, 2015;
Saunders et al., 2012).
4.7 Methodological Limitations
One limitation that can be found regards the previous literature on the theoretical concepts
included within this thesis. The authors have used a scholars index concerning business and
management literature called Academic Journal Guide (2018) by Chartered ABS. This list
ranks different journals within this field of study and provides a good guide for finding
valuable and credible sources of information. However, regarding newer theories, such as
project management and organizational change management, the ranking is low and the
sources scarce. Though, as mentioned previously, the literature used is found within this
index, or at the least peer-reviewed. A second limitation has emerged due to COVID-19 and
that is the restrictions and recommendations that have been put into place. These restrictions
limit the authors from using specific data collection methods such as observations and
face-to-face interviews, which might have resulted in the loss of expressful body language.
22
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
5. Empirical Findings In the following section the empirical findings will be presented.
By looking through the transcript summaries in a detailed manner the authors have found
different themes that arose in the interviews. The empirical findings will be presented using
the following themes as headings; Employee feelings towards change; Absence of social
interactions; Striving towards common goals; and lastly Stress in connection to workload.
The table below shows the different respondents connected to the partner.
Table 3 (created by the authors)
5.1 Employee feelings towards change
5.1.1 The internal change The change of head management was according to eight out of ten respondents something
positive. Before the internal change, the respondents found the project to be unstructured, that
the objectives could easily be interpreted differently and that the partners were working at
their own ends. PL1 stated: “When I heard about the new head project manager I felt like it
at least could not get any worse.” According to PL3 the previous head managers were very
divided, it did not feel like the two head managers were working towards the same things. E5
stated that “The reason the project was structured poorly before the change was not having
the right people for the correct positions.”
When the new manager took over the project, eight out of ten respondents felt that the biggest
changes the new project manager caused were a better and more clear structure and
continuous work as well as improved communication. The understanding of the platform that
23
Partner Project leader Employee
1 PL1 E1
2 PL2 E2
3 PL3 E3
4 PL4 E4
5 PL5 E5
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
is being built in the project has also become clearer. Respondent E4 explains that “The
change entailed a more action oriented leadership and a more structured project, the
combination of restructuring the project and the change in head management led to more
clarity for the employees.” Respondent E5 thinks that the project is much easier to work in
now given that they have a project manager that views the full picture and who is willing to
interact and discuss different ideas. The effective leadership is the biggest difference for
working together within the project, as well as the phase the project was in.
5.1.2 The external change
Before COVID-19 the project employees were traveling a lot between the different partners
for meetings and workshops et cetera. When the pandemic started, the project's working
processes and activities transformed into digital which has led to an increased amount of
meetings as people are more accessible and because it has been easier to invite people and
start meetings. The respondents emphasize that the biggest change has been the loss of
physical interactions between the partners of the project. Which in turn have affected the
communication and the networking. This will be further discussed in later sections.
What was mentioned by seven respondents were that the different phases of the project and
the stage the project was in, affected the outcome of the external change. When COVID-19
started, the project was already halfway through, and at this stage relationships have been
established and trust has been built between the partners. The respondents emphasize the
importance of respecting the project's different phases and that the relationships would not
have been as easy to establish if this would have occured in the initial phase. PL5 believes
that “In the initial phase of the project, it was more confusing, but the longer you work in the
project, the clearer it becomes.”
Eight out of the ten respondents expressed that the external change was not as positive as the
internal change. E3, PL4 and E4 felt that the creative aspect as well as the physical
interactions are lost. PL1 feels like they have more to do now than previously and that
COVID-19 has affected the goals in the way that it might be harder to reach them and that the
outcomes might not be as satisfactory. PL3 explained that “having meetings digitally is a lot
quicker and more efficient as there is a higher focus on the agenda and work, however, it is
also a lot more intense”. The respondents felt that the increased intensity of the meetings
makes it hard since they do not have the energy to sit in meetings the entire day. E3 states
that the digital way of conducting work is manageable but it is not as fun as meeting in
24
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
person and visiting the office. However, the respondents also explain that there is less time
spent on traveling and more time for preparations which has made the workdays in some
ways more effective.
5.2 Absence of social interactions Another theme that was brought up a lot by the respondents were absence or lack of social
interactions. As mentioned previously, due to the restrictions and recommendations put into
place to handle the COVID-19 situation, all working processes turned digital for the
participants. Nine out of the ten respondents have talked about how the lack of physical
interactions and meetings have affected them negatively. They all state, in one way or
another, that they are very social and that they gain energy from meeting people in person.
The social contact has, to a large extent, lessened due to all of their working processes
becoming digital. They also find it harder to build relationships and gain trust with people
they do not know that well. PL3 even says that “I sometimes have COVID-19 depressions
because I am unable to meet people physically, it feels as if everyone is just going in circles.”
One respondent, E5, did not feel that the absence of physical meetings affected them to a
great extent, because they already conducted most of their work digitally, previous to the
pandemic.
What has also been expressed in the interviews is that it is less fun to have digital meetings
rather than meeting in person, this opinion is shared by five out of the ten respondents. They
feel that meeting virtually is less relaxed, it is more focused on the agenda and work, which
results in less focus on their actual well-being and what is happening in their lives beside
work. PL3 expressed that “All processes get a little worse because of the digitalization, it gets
a little tougher to do the work and there is a loss of energy, it is not as fun and you do not get
to know people as good.” E1 and E3 concur, E3 says that “The digital way of working is not
as stimulating as working physically where you get to meet people. It is not as fun.” They
express that this also ties into the work satisfaction, if they are not able to have fun, their
work satisfaction is lowered. However, E4 expressed that the digitization process was not
dramatic.
Though the absence of physical meetings is hard for most of the employees, some do state
that because of the digitalization of their meetings, people are more accessible now. While
three out of ten respondents think this is a good thing, some have pointed out that it is also
negative. PL1 states “It has been a lot easier to start meetings and invite to meetings as
25
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
people are more accessible, maybe a bit too accessible and that it is too easy to start short
meetings.” Being too accessible has turned out to be somewhat of a problem for five out of
ten respondents, they have a lot more meetings now than previously, some say that they get
pulled into virtual meetings for the smallest of things and even though the meetings are short
they still take up time and may be disruptive. What has also been brought up in the interviews
is that it is a lot harder to reach consensus and have discussions in digital meetings, E2 states
“You let the person speaking finish what they have to say, it is a lot harder to interrupt and
chime in. Also, people are more easily distracted during digital meetings than if they would
have been physically present.”
Furthermore, all of the project leaders think that the digitalization and therefore lack of
physical and social interactions did not affect the implementation process of the new project
manager. They were able to meet and get to know the new project manager at a physical
conference just before the restrictions were put into place. However, three out of the five
employees express that they do feel that the implementation process was affected, because
they did not get to meet the new project manager physically. E1, E2 and E5 all agree that it is
harder to get to know the project manager on a deeper level. E2 states “I feel like it could
have been a bit of uphill work for the new manager seeing that they did not have the
possibility to meet us physically and therefore it is harder to create close personal
connections.”
Regarding lack of physical meetings and creating close personal connections, the feeling that
it has become harder and more difficult is something that is shared by a majority of the
respondents. They not only feel that it is harder to get to know new employees within the
project, but that it also is harder to create a personal relationship to the firms who take part in
the activities arranged by the project. PL2 states that “The networking activities have become
harder to perform, we can no longer connect different entrepreneurs to meet and we are
unable to visit firms.” PL4 states that “The digitalization has negatively affected the personal
connection to other people. It is harder to build relationships and get an understanding of
others, what they do and why.”
As has been stated by the respondents, how they have been affected by the lack of social
interactions, is incredibly personal. They express that the more social the person, the more
they are going to be affected by the virtual work setting and the more they are going to miss
the social exchange.
26
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
5.3 Striving towards common goals A theme that emerged during the majority of the interviews, which is also an important
aspect of this study, is how the respondents experienced if they were working towards the
same objectives. According to all the respondents, the project is working well. Although,
there are different opinions of how the different partners operate in order to reach the goals
of the project. Four respondents brought this to light during the interviews and expressed
that some partners in the project follow more their own agenda or have different aims in
order to reach the goals. PL1 states “We are not really collaborating to reach the same
common goals, the partners are going their own ways to reach a goal which they have
interpreted to fit their activities the best.”According to E1, there are some partners using
the project in order to finance their own activities.
PL3 states that the partners are very different in character, there is a difference between
Incubators and Science Parks as well as their structure within. They have different
assignments which make them work differently. PL5 expresses that the level of
collaboration between the actors depends on different areas of the project. The
collaboration is more intense in between some partners. When collaborating between
different partners there is a higher chance to reach mutual goals and through
communication, which increases during collaboration, the objectives are further discussed.
“It has become clearer who to collaborate with, not everyone needs to be involved in
everything, so it becomes more effective”, stated by PL5. There is evidence of different
interpretations of the goals set by the management of the project. Two of the respondents
have clear opinions about operational activities, processes and models used within their
partners without referring to the project. Four respondents referred to the processes, models
and criterias set for the project and its purpose.
Collaboration and communication are vital for working together to reach common goals,
seven out of the ten respondents feel like the collaboration is lacking in some parts. This is
evident from the differences in objectives that the partners can improve their collaboration.
Five of the respondents clearly stated that collaboration is more intense where different
partners have mutual interests or joint activities. The geographical location seems to be
another factor for increased collaboration expressed by PL1, PL3 and E5. According to
PL2 collaboration is built on trust and as a project leader it is hard to work explicitly well
with all nine other project leaders. “It is not an easy task to steer ten strong individual
CEOs towards the same direction.” Four respondents expressed that the new project
27
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
manager was easier to contact and discuss everything related to the project as well as the
structural improvements mentioned earlier. “The change in project management resulted in
more clear and continuous work, as well as improved communication”, stated by PL5. To
make sure that ten different partners are working towards common goals in a complex
project, communication and structure were the major factors discussed by the respondents.
The external environmental change caused by COVID-19 has affected the way
communication and work is performed in the project. All the respondents have shifted into
virtual settings. The majority of the respondents agree that the daily work has become
more efficient in the way that there is no traveltime and it is easier to book meetings.
However, half of all the respondents feel that the communication is straightforward and
meetings are focused only on the agenda. According to E5, firms are able to participate in
digital activities which are no longer restricted to geographical locations. The
disadvantages of digital work in relation to striving towards common objectives is that
even if the communication occurs more frequently, there is lack of in-depth discussions,
social talk and relationships is much harder to establish. “Networking has been harder, the
aspect of getting to know new people and meeting in groups is not as qualitative in virtual
settings”, stated by E1. All respondents concur that digital meetings are not as qualitative
and satisfactory compared to physical.
5.4 Stress in connection to workload One of the most talked about concerns, were the organizational changes in relation to stress.
While the opinions did differ, the respondents did talk about it quite in-depth. Six respondents
feel that the level of stress has increased in some way or another. The reasons mentioned for
the higher amount of stress were the increased workload due to COVID-19. Two respondents
state that while their workload has not explicitly increased, they feel more stressed because of
the lower amounts of breaks in their daily work, while this does not instantly translate to a
higher workload, a lower amount of breaks mean that they have more time for work and that
it is more intense. Two of the respondents, PL2 and E5, mentioned that they felt an increased
amount of stress due to concerns about the project completion, which is connected to the
different phases of the project, as time is running out. This stress is related to the higher
amount of increased workload in the processes connected to the completion of the project.
This is also, of course, connected to the responsibilities for the employees.
28
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
Respondents PL4 and E4 state that their stress levels are unchanged, this is because they do
not think that their workload has increased. They mention a few factors causing them to feel
this way, for example that the rules and regulations are different in the area they are from.
They also mention that the collaboration is better within their partner. Lastly, PL3 and PL5
feel that their levels of stress have actually decreased, their reasoning is that they do not spend
as much time on traveling and that it is easier to structure their work when everything is
digital.
29
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
6. Analysis In the following section a discussion of the empirical findings as well as an analysis will be conducted. The following sections will cover the themes established through the thematic analysis on the empirical data collection.
6.1 Internal and external forces of change affecting processes within a project
Regarding the forces of change it is something that has been discussed elaborately by the
respondents. Jarzabkowski (2003), Dominguez et al., (2015) and other researchers, state that
internal forces of change refer to changes within the organization. These organizational
context variables are grounded from sources inside the organization such as changing
leadership which is exactly the case for the project in question. The changes in turn could also
indirectly affect strategy, structure and people within the project.
What has been brought to light during the interviews is a general feeling of satisfaction
regarding the internal change and dissatisfaction about the external changes. These positive
and negative feelings could be explained by the pre-conditions for each of the changes. As
has been explained by many of the respondents, before the new project manager took over,
there were two project managers running the operations, they also explained that the project
was unstructured and that they were not very satisfied. One respondent, PL1, explicitly stated
that “... it could at least not get any worse.” when talking about the change in head
management. The project was not in an optimal state, meaning that the changes that were
about to happen were sorely needed and welcomed with a feeling of relief from the project
participants. All of the respondents agreed that to be able to move the project forward they
needed a change, which is something that has been expressed by researchers such as Roland
Gareis, 2010; Lehmann, 2010; Singh and Shoura, 2006 in their works. The researchers state
that in order for businesses to remain relevant, adapt and even flourish, organizational change
is both needed, but also inevitable. Had this internal change not occurred, some of the
respondents believe that the project would not succeed to the same extent that they now
believe that it will.
Regarding the external forces of change, according to Papadakis (1998) it refers to
uncertainties outside of the organization. This leads to adaptation and organizational change
in order to cope with the environment. As presented by Battaglia et al, (2019) context
variables such as COVID-19 can be identified as a natural disaster. Additionally, Hällgren
30
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
and Wilson, (2008) say that unanticipated changes, as was the case for COVID-19 can easily
turn out to become a crisis, which already there brings an air of discontent and misery. Now
concerning the preconditions for the external change, they looked quite different than for the
internal change. Before the pandemic, business was conducted as what was normal, physical
meetings and traveling was allowed. Project participants were satisfied with the change in
head management and the structural changes that had come with it. Most of them were happy
with the new leadership and the clarification of goals, objectives and activities conducted
within the project. Therefore, when the external change occurred, the preconditions for the
change did not allow for the respondents to feel relief or satisfaction. Rather, they felt
generally dissatisfied both because of this external change being considered a crisis or natural
disaster, but also because the settings within the project were that good after the internal
change and now because of the restrictions and digitalization they would lose everything that
worked so well. However, even though this external change was undesired by the
participants, had they not changed or adapted their working processes, the project would most
likely fail which is something that Jacobs et al (2013) states in their work, organizational
change is needed in order to adapt and not fail.
What is also to be taken into consideration, is that, as explained by Bryson et al., (1993) and
Mellert et al., (2015), projects have little or no control over external factors forcing change, it
is beyond the control of the organization. This means, once again, that as a project you could
either adapt or fail. E4, amongst others, expressed that the digitization process was smooth
and that most of the partners found it quite easy to adapt. This could be because they had no
choice, they were more or less forced into the virtual work setting or they would fail, so they
adapted without much resistance, however, the majority of the respondents were still
dissatisfied. This also goes to show that what the researchers above as well as what Marchi
and Sarcina (2011) say, about temporary organizations having a greater adaptability and
changeability capacity, is rather true.
Concerning the effect COVID-19 has had on the new project manager and their
implementation, it is quite hard to draw links or conclusions seeing that the opinions of the
respondents were quite different. According to the project leaders, the implementation
process of the new manager was not at all affected by the pandemic. They feel that the
process was quick, smooth, easy, efficient and worked well. Whereas E1, E2, and E5 felt that
COVID-19 did affect the implementation process negatively because they were unable to
meet physically and connect on a deeper level. It is quite interesting that all of the project
31
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
leaders felt that COVID-19 did not affect the implementation, whereas the majority of the
employees felt that it did. The explanation for this could be that the new project manager
made sure to meet all of the project leaders to be able to present themselves and get to know
each other before the pandemic started. However, this was not the case for most employees.
As stated by Abdomerovic and Blakemore (2002) clarification of roles, reporting relations
and responsibilities should be defined to increase project success. This could be why the
employees felt that the pandemic affected the implementation processes. Because the
employees were unable to meet the new project manager physically and did not connect with
them in the same way as the project leaders were able to, this clarification might have been
lacking when it comes to the employees.
6.2 The importance of structure and the different stages in a project When it comes to the structure of the project, the respondents' opinions differ to some extent.
According to the majority of the respondents, the project is complex and messy. The reasons
for the complexity could be divided into two. The first one being the multiple partners that
participate in the project, complicating the project's processes and structure by not working
perfectly in line with the shared goals. The second one being that the project is EU funded,
which comes with rules and regulations that must be followed. According to Hällgren and
Söderholm, (2011) this implies that the practices are drawn upon rules and policies which
steer the project in the way they act and have routinized their behavior. The external change
has also added another dimension to the practices by forcing the project to follow new rules
and regulations about the pandemic that have forced the project to act differently as well as
altering its methods for the delivery of the objectives.
Abdomerovic and Blakemore (2002) as well as Skulmoski and Hartman (2010) discuss the
importance of defining tasks and roles within a project in order for the project to get an
overview of the project as a whole in a clear and comprehensive way. In the case of Swedish
Scaleups, the importance of structure became a crucial part for the success of the project due
to its complexity. The new project manager made the structure more clear by increasing
meetings, clarifying the roles and relationships and had the ambition to create value for all
partners and firms within the project. If this change in head management did not occur, it
could have been damaging for the project's outcome, seeing how beneficial the change was
for the project.
32
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
Skulmoski and Hartman’s (2010) study the different phases within a project, that a project is
divided into four different phases; the initial phase, the planning phase, the implementation
phase and the close-out phase. In the initial phase they highlight the importance of
teambuilding, but that the need for teambuilding declines in the three latter stages of the
project. When the study was conducted, the project was moving towards the close out phase,
meaning that the main work and the building of relationships has already been done, and what
is left to do is the reporting and wrapping it up. By this phase, relationships and trust between
the partners and the firms had already been established.
Since the project is collaborative of its kind, the relationships both with the firms and between
the partners are the basis of the project and its success. If the external change would have
occurred in the initial phase of the project, where partners and firms were getting acquainted,
it would have had more severe effects on the project since it is harder to gain trust and
establish relationships through virtual communication. If the internal change would have
occurred earlier in the project, in the initial phase or planning phase, it could have affected the
project even more positively. If the change in head manager would have occurred earlier, the
objectives could have been more specific and clarified which could have increased the
understanding of the objectives by the project employees. The new project leader would also
have had even more time to get to know more people on a deeper level which could have
increased the quality of the communication on an earlier stage. Additionally, the new manager
clarified the structure, which the project would have benefitted from on an even earlier stage
than the change occured. The timing of the changes occurring during the implementation
phase was not as devastating for the project as if it would have occurred in the initial phase.
Which the respondents expressed as well.
6.3 Collaboration and the importance of relationships in a project setting The respondents of this case study are heavily aware of the need for collaboration in a
large-scale and complex project like Swedish Scaleups. In the data set there was evidence of
different views regarding the function and extent of existing collaboration. All respondents
agreed that the overall collaboration is working, even if there are some aspects in which this
could be improved.
According to Bond-Barnard et al., (2018) collaboration in projects is the operation of joining
forces or joint partnership between two or several persons/partners to achieve a shared goal, it
is utilized to combine knowledge to efficiently reach objectives. People think, believe and act
33
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
differently even if they receive the same information. According to Bond-Barnard et al.,
(2018), different perceptions of similar settings can be solved through communication and
close collaboration. The respondents experienced that some of the partners involved in the
project are not following the common objectives, not striving towards the same goals or work
separately by themselves. Either through interpreting the activities to fit their own operations,
as a way to finance their own functions or just having different objectives. According to
Vaaland (2004) conflicts are destructive by nature and the major factor for dysfunctional
collaboration. Even though conflicts were not addressed by the respondents, not striving
towards common objectives could lead to conflicts and therefore dysfunctional collaboration.
Regarding the internal force of change, the project manager improved communication and
structure which was positively addressed by all respondents. The roles became clearer and the
manager was determined in what to do, being able to put their foot down where it was needed.
The empirical findings clearly show that collaboration is more intense where different
partners have mutual interests or combined activities. Nepelski & Piroli, (2018); Caloghirou,
Tsakanikas & Vonortas, (2001); Hagedoorn, Link & Vonortas, (2000) state that the incentives
for higher collaboration in projects increases when different parties have something to gain
from joining forces or receiving complementary resources when performing complex projects
with challenging operations. In addition to their theories, the findings of this study showed
that the geographical location is another factor for higher collaboration between the different
partners. Partners located with less distance between them have a higher degree of
collaboration. However, this is an interesting aspect, seeing that now they are not able to
travel and because of the digitalization the geographical locations should no longer matter.
People are habitual, therefore the higher collaboration between geographically closer partners
could remain, even though there is no real reason for it anymore. Had the project been digital
from the start, the collaboration between all ten partners might have been better than it is now.
According to Nepilski & Piroli (2018), the workforce consisting of the skill-set and
knowledge of the composed people involved, determines the level of output created in
connection to collaboration. The respondents agreed that the new project manager, who was
active and engaged, has made the collaboration stronger than it has ever been in the Eastern
Central of Sweden region. All respondents think that the collaboration has improved in some
way due to the new management. Although, E1 felt a lack of information received from other
partners' operations. What this goes to show is that leadership is incredibly important in a
34
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
project like this, during changes like these. However, it is hard to satisfy everyone and
compromising is inevitable.
The importance of establishing networks and having strong alliances was presented by Gulati
(1999) who states that collaboration is strongly connected to network theory. In light of the
external force causing a virtual work setting, the respondents expressed that network activities
have become harder to perform. Setting up meetings with different firms to connect
entrepreneurs is no longer an option because of the restrictions of social distancing. It is no
longer possible to visit large-scale companies for inspiration, bonding relationships and
building networks. All respondents agreed that communicating through virtual tools is not the
same thing compared to physical face-to-face communication. Lehman (2010) describes the
importance of communication during change, it is an effective tool for preparation and
initiation. From the data collected, trust and communication turned out to be important
aspects for establishing relationships which emphasizes collaboration for people to work well
together. However, some findings argue that they expect other partners to follow the criterias
and guidelines in order to reach the goals and objectives set out before operating the project.
Given the large-scale and complexity of the project, it is very hard to make all partners work
well together, respect and trust might differ or be stronger between a few of them. As stated
by Bon-Barnard (2018) and Tyler (2003), trust is an important linkage, a success factor for
project management and collaboration performance to exchange knowledge as well as
expertise.
Given the fact that the partners are different in character and size, the composed people as
presented by Nepilski and Piroli (2018) as well as having different assignments. The belief of
striving towards the same goals can be different depending on the perception of each
individual. Communication and trust have proven to be key factors which are in line with
conclusions by Bon-Barnard (2018) and Tyler (2003) when performing projects with
collaborative character. Even if the internal force improved communication, the external force
worsened the depth of it even if they meet more often during reconciliation meetings. The
external force was not only negative, it also brought some benefits. The majority of the
respondents agreed that they now operate more efficiently due to the possibilities of a virtual
work setting in that it is not geographically restricted. There is no travel time and it is easier to
plan the working days. These improvements have been brought to light even if they emerged
on the cost of the disadvantages elaborated on throughout this thesis. The loss of social talk
and face-to-face communicative interactions is one driver affecting lower satisfaction. Virtual
35
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
meetings make it possible to use break-out rooms, but according to the respondents, people
are less willing to speak up during digital meetings. This can be the case that people do not
want to lose their faces by saying something that might be wrong or disagreed by other
participants. The respondents stated that it is much harder to sense tensions and read body
languages on a screen rather than in real life. In an office setting, interactions between
colleagues might appear when suitable. In a digital meeting where there are several
participants, it is hard to speak with one individual. It could be seen as unprofessional to bring
up irrelevant subjects since time is money and when an individual might be uncertain in their
thoughts, they might choose not to speak up to the group.
6.4 Work satisfaction within a changing project When it comes to the work satisfaction in this case, the factors that had the biggest effect on
work satisfaction, were the organizational changes in relation to stress. Rafferty and Grifn
(2006) have concluded that poorly planned changes, which can often occur when something
unexpected happens, lead to greater feelings of uncertainty and therefore more stress. It is safe
to say that the change in head project management where not particularly unexpected, nor
unwelcome based on what some of the respondents had to say on the matter. COVID-19,
however, was certainly quite unexpected and not something that could be planned for. This
pandemic was something that took the world by storm, there were no predictions and it has
moved along fast and spread to all parts of the world. It is and was unexpected in its entirety,
therefore, going by Rafferty and Grifns’ (2006) conclusion, the changes in relation to
COVID-19 can be seen as poorly planned, which is also somewhat mirrored in the opinions
and feelings of the respondents.
What has previously been talked about is the pre-conditions or starting points for change and
that depending on the starting point, the change is perceived differently by those it affects.
This also ties into the changes and how unexpected they are (Rafferty & Grifn, 2006). The
change in management had a good starting point for change, the previous head management
were unsuccessful and this resulted in low work satisfaction. Therefore, the switch of head
management was not particularly unexpected, it did not lead to higher levels of uncertainty
nor higher levels of stress for the participants, although it did lead to higher work satisfaction.
Regarding the starting point for COVID-19 it was not as good for the outcomes of the
changes, at this point people were content with the change in head management and their
work satisfaction was high. Then, unexpectedly, COVID-19 comes along with all entailing
36
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
restrictions and increased workload, which resulted in higher levels of uncertainty and stress
for the majority of the participants, as well as lowered work satisfaction. Which was the case
for PL1, E2 and E3 to name some. According to Bordia et al. (2004) organizational change
can in many cases lead to stress, lower work satisfaction, frustration, and lowered
performance. Rafferty and Grifn (2006) concur and state that the stress caused by
organizational change is often due to the uncertainty regarding the changes in the working
environment. Therefore, the feelings the respondents experienced during these large
organizational changes are, according to literature, not uncommon and at some level goes
hand in hand with changes like these. What needs to be taken into consideration however is
the starting point for the changes as it can, which has been proven here, have quite a large
effect on the employees feelings and work satisfaction.
What should be considered when changes like these occur, especially in a project setting, is
the fact that a project is temporary (Turner & Müller, 2003), it has an end. What should also
be considered is the stage the project is in. Two participants, PL2 and E5, mentioned
specifically that the cause for their heightened stress levels and thus lowered work
satisfaction, has more to do with the fact that the project is moving into its completion stage.
Skulmoski and Hartman (2010) talk about the different stages in their study and how there is
an increased workload in certain areas in the close-out phase of a project and that heightened
stress levels are not uncommon connected to these areas. However, this cause of stress is also
connected to the responsibilities of the respondents, some of the respondents might not feel
stressed over this at all because their job is finished when the planning or implementation
phase is over, while others, who have a larger role in the close out phase might be majorly
affected and their stress levels may go up.
A further area of stress in a project setting is discussed by Söderlund and Bredin (2006), who
state that stress is often caused by low trust within a project. As has been talked about in the
collaboration section of this analysis is how, according to some respondents, the collaboration
is lacking in some areas. They say that the ten partners do not work explicitly well with each
other and that there is a perception, among some of the respondents, that the other partners
work more on their own end and towards their own goals. Even though some respondents,
such as PL5 talk about the importance of building relationships and finding who to
collaborate with in their interview, the feeling of trust between all the partners seem quite low,
based on the information collected from the interviews.
37
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
There is also another area which is connected to work satisfaction, namely the lack of social
contact and physical meetings. Eight out of the ten respondents have talked about how the
lack of physical interactions and meetings have affected them negatively. They explain that
they are very social people, that they gain energy from meeting people in person, it is less fun
meeting digitally and they also find it harder to build relationships and gain trust when only
meeting virtually. This does tie in to what Söderlund and Bredin (2006) say about trust and
that it leads to stress, lower amounts of trust lead to higher levels of stress, and higher levels
of stress lead to lower work satisfaction in many cases. Additionally, Hällgren and Söderholm
(2011), put a lot of emphasis on people and how they act in their work. They explain that
praxis is for example meetings and simple talk between employees. Practice refers to cultures
and norms, while practitioners are the people executing the project. Their work can be used to
explain why the respondents feel the way they do concerning the lack of physical meetings.
Due to the digitalization, the praxis for the respondents have changed, while the meetings
have increased, the content of the meetings have transformed. As has been explained by
respondents E1 and E3 amongst others, there is a larger focus on the agenda and work, and
less focus on simple talk such as their well-being and things happening outside of work. Their
practices have also changed, the respondents were used to a very social culture and where
meeting physically was the norm/standard. This is also why the digitalization and lack of
physical meetings have been perceived as negative, it is not something they are used to and
there is also a loss of small talk between employees. As stated by Whittington (2006) practice
is routinized behavior and now, because of COVID-19, the participants of Swedish Scaleup
have had to change their routinized behavior, their norms and this is difficult for the
participants. What also can explain the perception of work satisfaction/stress amongst the
respondents is their own structuring of their work. One that is structured as a person, making
sure to plan for breaks between meetings might feel less stressed than one that does not plan
their working day in the same way.
Hällgren and Söderholm (2011) also state that the project-as-practice approach looks into the
smaller mundane activities performed by practitioners. This could be the explanation as to
why the lack of physical meetings does not seem to be of high concern or something to ease,
seeing that they do still get the job done, even though their work satisfaction is lowered.
As can be seen, the levels of stress and work satisfaction are not only affected by the
organizational changes, but also the starting point for the changes, the unexpectedness of the
changes, the phase in which the changes occur, levels of collaboration and trust among the
38
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
participants, lack of social contact and physical meetings as well as how the employees plan
their work plays a big part in the employees’ well-being and overall work satisfaction.
6.5 Implications
Even though the internal and the external change have affected the project in different ways,
the fact that the changes happened during a short amount of time did not have any severe
effects in the project when it comes to conducting work. Despite the fact that the changes
have been affecting the working processes, they have not forced the project to end its
operations, and the participants have to most parts been able to adapt the way they conduct
their work and the activities they execute. It also, with a few exceptions, does not really
matter what kind of change it is that occurs. What does matter is if the change is disruptive
when it comes to the praxis and practice (Hällgren & Söderholm, 2011) for example if
meetings or presentations are cancelled, if simple talk between employees becomes
unavailable or if the operational procedures, cultures or norms are disrupted within the
project. This is what causes the negative feelings surrounding change that the participants
have spoken about, the more disruptive the change is to their normal praxis or practice the
more negatively the change will be perceived. The change in head management did not really
disrupt their working processes, it improved them. Whereas COVID-19 did disrupt the
working processes and is therefore more negatively perceived. What also affects this is, as
mentioned previously, the pre-conditions for the change which should also be taken into
consideration.
Regarding the exceptions mentioned above, if the internal force would have been economic of
its kind, the outcome of the project would be different. An economic force should have a
greater effect on the project. For example, had there been a bigger financial crisis the EU
might have withdrawn their funding and the project would have to shut down. Additionally,
had the pandemic had a bigger financial effect on these start-up and scale-up companies they
might have gone bankrupt, and the project might have been unable to proceed. Also, if the
death rate/toll would have been higher in connection to COVID-19, it could have affected the
project in a more negative way seeing that the project participants might not be alive to
conduct their activities. So even though it is mentioned that the type of change does not really
matter, there are of course some, more or less likely exceptions.
39
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
7. Conclusion In this chapter the conclusions will be presented based on the analysis. Limitations and future research will be presented following the conclusions.
To conclude, the working processes and structures have transformed due to the changes. The
fact that the changes occurred simultaneously or in close connection did not affect the project
to a large extent. What can be concluded is that the nature of the change and its severity is
what will interrupt the workflow. The internal force, the change in head management, has led
to a better structured project. The new manager has clarified the communication between the
partners as well as the goals. They have also made it easier to understand the project as a
whole. The external force of COVID-19 has forced the project to move its operations from
working in an office environment to a digital work setting. This has led to more continuous
communication within the project as well as it has increased the amount of shorter follow-up
meetings.
To answer the first research question: How has the working processes/structure transformed
due to internal and external changes? The internal change of the new management turned out
to be very positive. It has transformed the processes and structures with clearer roles of who is
to do what as well as which people comprised working with specific assignments.
Communication which is key for both collaboration and trust has clearly been improved and
increased work satisfaction. The employees feel more confident asking questions and
receiving feedback from the new manager who tries to guide them towards the objectives of
the project. This turns out to be a win-win situation where structure is clarified and
differences in objectives can be discussed and addressed. This means that the internal force of
change has improved, not interrupted the working activities.
The external change has forced a virtual work setting. Even if the project is still functional,
simple tasks such as asking the person normally sitting right next to you in the office, needs to
be booked into a meeting or sent an email. Tools and materials available at the office might
not exist in the homes of employees, this makes the working processes harder to perform. It
has to the larger parts been perceived negatively since humans are social creatures by nature.
However, digitalization has increased effectiveness by reducing valuable time spent on travel
and other activities. Time is money and a non-renewable resource, especially in temporary
organizations which are indeed limited by this resource. What can also be concluded is that
40
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
the pre-conditions for the changes play a major part in how they will be perceived by
employees.
To answer the second research question: How do these changes affect the collaboration and
work satisfaction, seeing that such extensive changes, which take place simultaneously or in
close connection, can be very demanding? For a project like Swedish Scaleups where
collaboration is of utmost importance, it has affected how they work together towards their
common objectives. Building trust and relationships have clearly become harder in virtual
settings. However, the new manager distinctly increased the collaboration between the
partners, which shows that the personal attributes of a manager are of highest relevance for
trust and collaboration. Operating larger-scaled complex projects with several partners having
their own operations in addition to a project with different characteristics will never become
an easy task. There is a huge need for distinct structure, strong leadership and collaboration to
be able to operate at the highest possible potential.
It can be concluded that the digitalization has weakened the work satisfaction within the
project, the study shows that the respondents find it less fun to be unable to have physical
meetings and only communicate virtually. What can also be concluded is that it is very
personal how much people will be affected by these changes, many of the respondents have
increased stress levels and lowered work satisfaction. Even though the communication has
increased, the fact that the communication is no longer occurring through physical meetings,
has led to some difficulties being discovered. Digital communication is harder to use for
building relationships, network building and gaining trust.
Therefore, this thesis has contributed to an improved perception of complex, collaborative
projects, for which two major changes occur, in close connection to each other, one internal
change and one external change. In contrast to earlier studies in the field, this thesis has
generated new insights from a different viewpoint on projects and organizational change. By
discovering that it does not matter that several changes occur simultaneously, rather what the
changes affect, this study adds to the literature on the subject.
7.1 Limitation
The world is currently positioned in a very unstable and uncertain time. Everyone is unsure of
what will happen after COVID-19 is handled and if the changes implemented by nations and
businesses will be successful. Concerning Swedish Scaleups, they are still fully operating
41
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
which means that further research conducted after the project has ended would give a full
view of the changes and how the project adapted to these internal and external forces. The
financial aspects of this case study could potentially be of high interest for this research.
However, this thesis is limited to events of change, how they have been managed and
important concepts for successfully operating a complex project undergoing both a large
internal shift in leadership and adapting to the changing environment of the COVID-19
pandemic. Which is why the financial aspect of this research has been excluded for the
limitation of scope, purpose and time.
7.2 Future research For future research, conducting a case study in the same project from a leadership perspective
would increase the understanding of the leadership change, the challenges they faced as well
as how they solved certain problems which arose unbeknownst to the ten project leaders and
their employees. What also would be interesting for future research is to do a comparison
between a project and a regular organization undergoing extensive changes under a short time
and analyze the differences, if problems and uncertainties were handled in a similar way, as
well as which part was the most successful. If projects are more flexible compared to regular
organizations and more efficiently adapts to such extensive changes. Lastly, as mentioned in
the limitations, to study this project from a financial perspective would be of interest since it
is EU funded. Further research on EU funded projects and their impact on the economy would
contribute with an interesting aspect, seeing that there are a lot of financial resources at stake
that have been paid for by EU citizens.
42
Fanny Aronsson | Axelia Huusko | Viktor Wansulin
Reference List
A Abdomerovic, M. (2002). Project process interactions. International Journal of Project Management., 20(4). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0263-7863(01)00014-X Anderson, D. K., & Merna, T. (2003). Project management strategy - project management represented as a process based set of management domains and the consequences for a project management strategy. International Journal of Project Management, 21(6), 387-393. Retrieved from http://ep.bib.mdh.se/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/docview/211239648?accountid=12245 Andersen, E.S., Grude, K.V., Haug, T., Turner, J.R. (1987) Goal directed project management. Kogan Page/Coopers & Lybrand, London. Asad Mir, F., & Pinnington, A. (2014). Exploring the value of project management: Linking Project Management Performance and Project Success. International Journal Of Project Management, 32(2), 202-217. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2013.05.012 B Battaglia, M., Zhou, S., & Frey, M. (2019). Linking inside and outside: “identity” in crisis situations. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 33(4), 457-472. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ep.bib.mdh.se/10.1108/JOCM-05-2018-0134 Bate, P., Khan, R., & Pye, A. (2000). Towards a culturally sensitive approach to organization structuring: Where organization design meets organization development. Organization Science, 11(2), 197-211. Retrieved from http://ep.bib.mdh.se/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/docview/213833770?accountid=12245 Barker, I., V., Patterson, J.,Paul W., & Mueller, G. C. (2001). Organizational causes and strategic consequences of the extent of top management team replacement during turnaround attempts. Journal of Management Studies, 38(2), 235-270. Retrieved from http://ep.bib.mdh.se/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/docview/39030419?accountid=12245 Boddy, C. R. (2017). Psychopathic leadership A case study of a corporate psychopath CEO: JBE. Journal of Business Ethics, 145(1), 141-156. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ep.bib.mdh.se/10.1007/s10551-015-2908-6
Boeker, W. (1997). Executive migration and strategic change: The effect of top manager movement on product-market entry. Administrative Science Quarterly, 42(2), 213-236. Retrieved from http://ep.bib.mdh.se/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/docview/203941382?accountid=12245 Bond-Barnard, T., Fletcher, L., & Steyn, H. (2018). Linking trust and collaboration in project teams to project management success. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 11(2), 432-457. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ep.bib.mdh.se/10.1108/IJMPB-06-2017-0068 Bordia, P., Hobman, E., Jones, E. et al. Uncertainty During Organizational Change: Types, Consequences, and Management Strategies. Journal of Business and Psychology 18, 507–532 (2004). https://doi-org.ep.bib.mdh.se/10.1023/B:JOBU.0000028449.99127.f7 Bryman, A., & Bell, E. (2015). Business Research Methods. Oxford University Press, 4, p. 13 - 465. Bryson, J. M., & Bromiley, P. (1993). Critical factors affecting the planning and implementation of major projects. Strategic Management Journal, 14(5), 319. Retrieved from http://ep.bib.mdh.se/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/docview/224689095?accountid=12245 Burnes, B. (2004). Kurt lewin and the planned approach to change: A re-appraisal. The Journal of Management Studies, 41(6), 977-1002. Retrieved from http://ep.bib.mdh.se/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/docview/194225758?accountid=12245 C Caloghirou, Y., Tsakanikas, A. & Vonortas, N.S. University-Industry Cooperation in the Context of the European Framework Programmes. The Journal of Technology Transfer 26, 153–161 (2001). https://doi-org.ep.bib.mdh.se/10.1023/A:1013025615518 Cleland, D., & Kerzner, H. (1985). A project management dictionary of terms Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York. Cleland, D.I., & King, W.R. (1983). Systems analysis and project management McGraw-Hill, New York.
Cummings, S., Bridgman, T., & Brown, K. G. (2016). Unfreezing change as three steps: Rethinking Kurt Lewin’s legacy for change management. Human Relations, 69(1), 33-60. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ep.bib.mdh.se/10.1177/0018726715577707 D Daft, R. L., Sormunen, J., & Parks, D. (1988). CHIEF EXECUTIVE SCANNING, ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS, AND COMPANY PERFORMANCE: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY. Strategic Management Journal (1986-1998), 9(2), 123. Retrieved from http://ep.bib.mdh.se/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/docview/231112947?accountid=12245 Dean, W., Jr, & Sharfman, M. P. (1993). Procedural rationality in the strategic decision-making process. The Journal of Management Studies, 30(4), 587. Retrieved from http://ep.bib.mdh.se/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/docview/194220178?accountid=12245 Deeprose, D. (2002). Project management (1st ed., pp. 2-3). John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. Diab-Bahman, R., & Al-Enzi, A. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on conventional work settings. The International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 40(9), 909-927. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ep.bib.mdh.se/10.1108/IJSSP-07-2020-0262 Dominguez, C. C., Galán-González, J. L., & Barroso, C. (2015). Patterns of strategic change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 28(3), 411-431. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ep.bib.mdh.se/10.1108/JOCM-05-2014-0097 E Eisenhardt, K. M., & Zbaracki, M. J. (1992). STRATEGIC DECISION MAKING. Strategic Management Journal (1986-1998), 13, 17. Retrieved from http://ep.bib.mdh.se/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/docview/231068698?accountid=12245 Engwall, M. (2003). No project is an island: Linking projects to history and context. Research Policy, 32(5), 789-808. Retrieved from http://ep.bib.mdh.se/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/docview/223245038?accountid=12245 European Commission. (2020) From start-up to scale-up in Sweden-Projects. ec.europa.eu Retrieved 16 December 2020, from https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/projects/sweden/from-start-up-to-scale-up-in-sweden
F Folkhälsomyndigheten. (2020). Frågor och svar om covid-19 (coronavirus) — Folkhälsomyndigheten. Folkhalsomyndigheten.se. Retrieved 16 December 2020, from https://www.folkhalsomyndigheten.se/smittskydd-beredskap/utbrott/aktuella-utbrott/covid-19/fragor-och-svar/. G Gareis, R. (2010). Changes of organizations by projects. International Journal of Project Management., 28(4). https://doi.org/info:doi/ Gemunden, H. G. (1985). Coping with inter-organizational conflicts: Efficient interaction strategies for buyer and seller organization. Journal of Business Research, 13(5), 405. Retrieved from http://ep.bib.mdh.se/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/docview/196321433?accountid=12245 Gordon, S. S., Stewart,Wayne H.,,Jr, Sweo, R., & Luker, W. A. (2000). Convergence versus strategic reorientation: The antecedents of fast-paced organizational change. Journal of Management, 26(5), 911-945. Retrieved from http://ep.bib.mdh.se/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/docview/197136771?accountid=12245 Gulati, R. (1999). Network location and learning: The influence of network resources and firm capabilities on alliance formation. Strategic Management Journal, 20(5), 397. Retrieved from http://ep.bib.mdh.se/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/docview/225005879?accountid=12245
H Hagedoorn, J., Link, A., & Vonortas, N. (2000). Research partnerships. Research Policy, 29 (4–5),5 67–586. https://www-sciencedirect-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/science/article/pii/S0048733399000906 Hanisch, B., & Wald, A. (2014). Effects of complexity on the success of temporary organizations: Relationship quality and transparency as substitutes for formal coordination mechanisms. Scandinavian Journal Of Management, 30(2), 197-213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scaman.2013.08.005 Hayward, M. L. A., & Shimizu, K. (2006). De-commitment to losing strategic action: Evidence from the divestiture of poorly performing acquisitions. Strategic Management Journal, 27(6), 541-557. Retrieved from http://ep.bib.mdh.se/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/docview/225016530?accountid=12245
Hornstein, H. A. (2015). The integration of project management and organizational change management is now a necessity. International Journal of Project Management, 33(2), 291. Retrieved from http://ep.bib.mdh.se/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/docview/1637641049?accountid=12245 Hudson, L. A., & Ozanne, J. L. (1988). Alternative ways of seeking knowledge in consumer research. Journal of Consumer Research, 14, 508-521. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/209132 Hällgren, M., & Söderholm, A. (2011). Projects-as-Practice: New Approach, New Insights. The Oxford Handbook of Project Management. 500-518. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199563142.003.0022 Hällgren, M., & Wilson, T. L. (2008). The nature and management of crises in construction projects: Projects-as-practice observations. International Journal of Project Management, 26(8), 830. Retrieved from http://ep.bib.mdh.se/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/docview/211123459?accountid=12245 I J Jacobs, G., Arjen, v. W., & Christe-Zeyse, J. (2013). A theoretical framework of organizational change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 26(5), 772-792. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ep.bib.mdh.se/10.1108/JOCM-09-2012-0137
Jalali Sohi, A. (2018). Flexibility in project management Towards improving project performance. TU Delft Integral Design And Management. https://doi.org/10.4233/uuid:e2890c30-2bc2-4865-ad11-7b65ed38145e Jarzabkowski, P., & Paul Spee, A. (2009). Strategy-as-practice: A review and future directions for the field. International Journal of Management Reviews, 11(1), 69-95. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ep.bib.mdh.se/10.1111/j.1468-2370.2008.00250.x Jarzabkowski, P. (2003). Strategic practices: An activity theory perspective on continuity and change. The Journal of Management Studies, 40(1), 23-55. Retrieved from http://ep.bib.mdh.se/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/docview/194221445?accountid=12245
Katz, M. (1986). An Analysis of Cooperative Research and Development. The RAND Journal of Economics, 17(4), 527-543. Retrieved November 15, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2555479 Král, P., & Králová, V. (2016). Approaches to changing organizational structure: The effect of drivers and communication. Journal of Business Research, 69(11), 5169. Retrieved from http://ep.bib.mdh.se/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/docview/1822372165?accountid=12245 L Langley, A. N. N., Smallman, C., Tsoukas, H., & Van de Ven, A. H. (2013). Process studies of change in organization and management: Unveiling temporality, activity, and flow. Academy of management journal, 56(1), 1-13. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23414342?seq=1 Langley, A. (1999). Strategies for Theorizing from Process Data. Academy Of Management Review, 24(4), 691-710. doi: 10.5465/amr.1999.2553248 https://www.jstor.org/stable/259349?origin=crossref&seq=1 Lehmann, V. (2010). Connecting changes to projects using a historical perspective: Towards some new canvases for researchers. International Journal of Project Management., 28(4). Lehn, K., & Zhao, M. (2006). CEO Turnover after Acquisitions: Are Bad Bidders Fired? The Journal of Finance, 61(4), 1759-1811. Retrieved November 23, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3874727 Lant, T. K., Milliken, F. J., & Batra, B. (1992). THE ROLE OF MANAGERIAL LEARNING AND INTERPRETATION IN STRATEGIC PERSISTENCE AND REORIENTATION: AN EMPIRICAL EXPLORATION. Strategic Management Journal (1986-1998), 13(8), 585. Retrieved from http://ep.bib.mdh.se/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/docview/231156728?accountid=12245 Lynham, S. A. (2002). The general method of theory-building research in applied disciplines. Advances in developing human resources, 4(3. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/1523422302043002 M Maharaj, S., & Kleczkowski, A. (2012). Controlling epidemic spread by social distancing: Do it well or not at all. BMC Public Health, 12(679). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-12-679
Marchi, S., & Sarcina, R. (2011). Temporariness in appreciative reflection: Managing participatory and appreciative, action and reflection projects through temporary organisations. Reflective Practice, 12(2), 159. Retrieved from http://ep.bib.mdh.se/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/docview/872852893?accountid=12245 Mellert, L. D., Scherbaum, C., Oliveira, J., & Wilke, B. (2015). Examining the relationship between organizational change and financial loss. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 28(1), 59-71. doi :http://dx.doi.org.ep.bib.mdh.se/10.1108/JOCM-11-2013-0236 Mezias, J., Grinyer, P., & Guth, W. D. (2001). Changing collective cognition: A process model for strategic change. Long Range Planning, 34(1), 71-95. Retrieved from http://ep.bib.mdh.se/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/docview/236634037?accountid=12245 Miller, D. (1993). Some organizational consequences of CEO succession. Academy of Management Journal, 36(3), 644. Retrieved from http://ep.bib.mdh.se/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/docview/199836046?accountid=12245 Mintzberg, H., & Westley, F. (1992). Cycles of Organizational Change. Strategic Management Journal, 13, 39-59. Retrieved December 15, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2486365 Murk, P. J., & Walls, J. L. (1999). The planning wheel: Dealing with decisions...and the internal and external forces. Economic Development Review, 16(2), 39-45. Retrieved from http://ep.bib.mdh.se/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/docview/230131584?accountid=12245 N Nepelski, D., & Piroli, G. (2018). Organizational diversity and innovation potential of EU-funded research projects. Journal of Technology Transfer, 43(3), 615-639. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ep.bib.mdh.se/10.1007/s10961-017-9624-6 Nery Vanessa de Fátima, Sanches, F. K., & Neiva, E. R. (2019). Attributes of the organizational change and its influence on attitudes toward organizational change and well-being at work: A longitudinal study. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 55(4), 477-496. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ep.bib.mdh.se/10.1177/0021886319848125 O P
Packendorff, J., & Lindgren, M. (2014). Projectification and its consequences: Narrow and broad conceptualisations. South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences, 17(1), 7-21. Retrieved from http://ep.bib.mdh.se/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/scholarly-journals/projectification-consequences-narrow-broad/docview/1519633745/se-2?accountid=12245 Papadakis, V. M., Lioukas, S., & Chambers, D. (1998). Strategic decision-making processes: The role of management and context. Strategic Management Journal, 19(2), 115-147. Retrieved from http://ep.bib.mdh.se/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/docview/225006452?accountid=12245 Q R Rafferty, A., & Grifn, M. (2006). Perceptions of organizational change: A stress and coping perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 11541162. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ep.bib.mdh.se/10.1037/0021-9010.91.5.1154 S Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2012). Research methods for business students. (6th ed). Pearson education. Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2019). Research methods for business students. (8th ed). Pearson education. Seidl, D., & Whittington, R. (2020). How Crisis Reveals the Structures of Practices. Journal Of Management Studies. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12650 Shin, B. (1977). Organizational Change and Its External Environment in Relation to Selected Organizational Levels. Management International Review, 17(3), 45-50. Retrieved November 16, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40227335 Simon, M. R., Bixler, G. D., Doudican, B., & Dzwończyk, R. (2012). Engineering service-learning - importance of appropriate collaboration with international partners. International Journal for Service Learning in Engineering, 7(1), 28. Retrieved from http://ep.bib.mdh.se/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/docview/1413257114?accountid=12245 Simons, R. (1994). HOW NEW TOP MANAGERS USE CONTROL SYSTEMS AS LEVERS OF STRATEGIC RENEWAL. Strategic Management Journal (1986-1998), 15(3), 169. Retrieved from
http://ep.bib.mdh.se/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/docview/231074709?accountid=12245 Singh, A., & Shoura, M. M. (2006). A life cycle evaluation of change in an engineering organization: A case study. International Journal of Project Management, 24(4), 337-348. Retrieved from http://ep.bib.mdh.se/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/docview/211161527?accountid=12245 Skulmoski, G. J., & Hartman, F. T. (2010). Information Systems Project Manager Soft Competencies: A Project-Phase Investigation. Project Management Journal, 41(1), 61–80. https://doi.org/10.1002/pmj.20146 Söderlund, J., & Bredin, K. (2006). HRM IN PROJECT-INTENSIVE FIRMS: CHANGES AND CHALLENGES. Human Resource Management, 45(2), 249-265. Retrieved from http://ep.bib.mdh.se/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/docview/222114946?accountid=12245 Sopow, E. (2020). Aligning workplace wellness with global change: an integrated model. Journal of Organizational Change Management. 33(5), 909–923. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-11-2019-0334 Swedish Scaleups. (2020). Program: Scaleup - Swedish Scaleups. Swedish Scaleups. Retrieved 7 November 2020, from https://swedishscaleups.se/om-swedish-scaleups/program-scaleup/ T Thompson, J., Zalds, M., & Scott, W. (2003). Organizations in action (5th ed.). Transaction Publishers. Turner, J. (2009). "Handbook of project-based management. The McGraw-Hill Companies. Turner, J., & Müller, R. (2003). On the nature of the project as a temporary organization. International Journal Of Project Management, 21(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0263-7863(02)00020-0 Tyler, T. R. (2003). Trust within organisations. Personnel Review, 32(5), 556-568,541,673. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ep.bib.mdh.se/10.1108/00483480310488333 U V
Vaaland, T. I. (2004). Improving project collaboration: Start with the conflicts. International Journal of Project Management, 22(6), 447-454. Retrieved from http://ep.bib.mdh.se/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/docview/211160544?accountid=12245 Van de Ven, A. H., & Huber, G. P. 1990. Longitudinal field research methods for studying processes of organiza- tional change. Organization Science, 1: 213-219. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1.3.213 Vuorinen, L., & Martinsuo, M. M. (2019). Lifecycle view of managing different changes in projects. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 12(1), 120-143. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ep.bib.mdh.se/10.1108/IJMPB-11-2017-0135 W Westphal, J. D., & Fredickson, J. W. (2001). Who directs strategic change? director experience, the selection of new CEOs, and change in corporate strategy. Strategic Management Journal, 22(12), 1113-1137. Retrieved from http://ep.bib.mdh.se/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ep.bib.mdh.se/docview/225010805?accountid=12245 Whittington, R. (2006). Completing the practice turn in strategy research. Organization Studies, 27(5), 613-634. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ep.bib.mdh.se/10.1177/0170840606064101 WHO. (2020). WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard. Covid19.who.int. Retrieved 7 November 2020, from https://covid19.who.int/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwit_8BRCoARIsAIx3Rj722uJ4okBEs8pvQU-8QzoaSOQi2POePtN1vES73_4zFpQX-dgX4OIaAohGEALw_wcB. X Y Yin, R.K. (2013). Case study research: design and methods. SAGE Publications, London, 5, p. 205-225. Z