That change processes are exciting but sometimes hard to implement for organizations is a known fact. But the change process that I am looking into in this study is beyond hard, as this was change that had to be implemented no matter what. This is the story about the project organization whose sole purpose was to create a permanent organization and then almost over night changed into a permanent, operating organization and with the major differences that entailed. What inspired me to do this research was most and foremost a self-experienced life as a ”project worker” for the same operating field as the case organization. The thrill of always stepping into unfamiliar territory and hardly ever having to do things two times was almost addictive. And it was the individual human aspect of this change that caught my interest for this study. How did they experience this massive change and, did they learn from it and how? And as we are all different as human beings, so was each experience different. After a series of two interviews per informant, conducted two years apart, emerged seven categories from the data analysis that had impacts on their experience, two transition categories and five learning categories. For transition emerged the categories of awareness of change and grief process. For learning emerged framework/ structure, psychological ownership, goal orientation/vision, interpersonal relationships and leadership as categories having an impact on their experiences. I used the results from the data analysis and discussed these with the background of different theoretical perspectives. To cover the vast area of aspects that emerged, I have used theoretical perspectives about project organizations vs. permanent organizations, organizational transitions, learning in organizations, psychological ownership, leadership and vision and goal orientation. My three very different informants had also very different roles in the organization and different private situations, which had an impact on their experienced outcomes of the process. For the category goal orientation/ vision my findings suggested that common for all three of them, however, was a lack of an experienced vision bringing them beyond the launch of the project and into the new permanent organization. With such a vision, transforming from project to permanent organization might have been a smoother process.

<p>As projects play a key role in implementing strategy, organizations of all kinds implement projects. Further, as the importance of the projects grow, management of the same also becomes crucial in terms of monitoring and controlling. However, as non-project based organizations lack distinctive project management approach, their project are controlled and monitored by the inherent management control system. While, several studies have highlighted that different organization control mechanisms are exercised at varying degree, there is a dearth of study done in project context. However, one recent study done by Nieminen and Lehtonen (2008) in a program context focusing only in organizational change revealed three organizational control mechanisms and 23 control tools being exercised as varying degree in four case programs. As several studies in the project management context highlight the need to tailor the approach according to the project types, this study focuses on understanding how the control mechanisms vary across different types of projects executed by non-project based organizations employing the project classification developed by Turner and Cochrane (1993).</p><p>A qualitative study employing semi-structured interview was conducted with eight project managers of respective projects implemented by seven companies from China and Nepal. Based on the feedback given by the concerned project managers, the study revealed distinct organizational control mechanisms dominated distinct project types in rolling out a successful project, even though there was presence of all types of organizational control mechanisms in the sampled projects. Further, the application of the control tools within the control mechanism varied even across projects of similar type.</p>

As projects play a key role in implementing strategy, organizations of all kinds implement projects. Further, as the importance of the projects grow, management of the same also becomes crucial in terms of monitoring and controlling. However, as non-project based organizations lack distinctive project management approach, their project are controlled and monitored by the inherent management control system. While, several studies have highlighted that different organization control mechanisms are exercised at varying degree, there is a dearth of study done in project context. However, one recent study done by Nieminen and Lehtonen (2008) in a program context focusing only in organizational change revealed three organizational control mechanisms and 23 control tools being exercised as varying degree in four case programs. As several studies in the project management context highlight the need to tailor the approach according to the project types, this study focuses on understanding how the control mechanisms vary across different types of projects executed by non-project based organizations employing the project classification developed by Turner and Cochrane (1993). A qualitative study employing semi-structured interview was conducted with eight project managers of respective projects implemented by seven companies from China and Nepal. Based on the feedback given by the concerned project managers, the study revealed distinct organizational control mechanisms dominated distinct project types in rolling out a successful project, even though there was presence of all types of organizational control mechanisms in the sampled projects. Further, the application of the control tools within the control mechanism varied even across projects of similar type.

This study investigates the three different stages of start-ups’ life and brings lights into the impacts of knowledge management practices on the transition processes between these stages. Start-ups are described as newly created enterprises which aim to disrupt the current state of play of the industry with their innovative products or services. During their initial stages,they demonstrate similar characteristics with temporary organizations; however, as they are developed and turn into a permanent organization the similarities start to diminish. Effects of knowledge management practices during start-up’s journey from a temporary organization to a permanent organization were explored with the guidance of the following research question:How does knowledge management influence the transition of a start-up from a temporary to a permanent organization?The term start-up and its organizational practices remain a mystery in the academic literature. Moreover, there are a limited amount of academic studies about the implementation of knowledge management model within entrepreneurial enterprises. Therefore, this thesis aims to contribute to academic studies by exploring in what extent knowledge management activities are practiced and how these practices affect the development of a start-up from a temporary organization to a permanent organization. The theoretical findings are supported by the empirical findings, and a theory is built with the accordance.Grounded theory is chosen as a research methodology for this research paper due to the lack of literature and study in this research area. Thus, first eight unstructured and then five semi-structured interviews are conducted with the chosen start-ups which have successfully finalized their initialtwostages. During the data analysis, open, axial and selective coding methods are used as it is recommended for the grounded theory.The research question is investigated and answered with the guidance of the collected data from the interviews. With the empirical study, the life-cycle of start-ups is explored. Overall, the life of an enterprise consists of three stages: existence, survival and success. Start-ups share many similarities with temporary organizations during their existence and survival phases regarding the characteristics of their teams, projects (tasks) and time limitation. However, they aim to transform into a permanent organization since their goal is to grow and assure their position in the industry. Besides, knowledge management activities, including knowledge acquiring, transformation, storage and creation, have been prioritized by various types of organizations in order to improve their practices and gain a competitive advantage over their rivals. Similarly, implementation of knowledge management activities within a start-up provides many benefits to development and improvement of the enterprise. Accordingly, it improves their organizational practices and enhances their transition process from the temporary organization to a permanent organization.