The number of project-based organizations is increasing every year; this increase indicates the need to understand the complexities and ascertain the best ways of managing them. In these organizations, where the multi-project complex environment is dominant, one of the main challenges is dealing with project interdependencies. Interdependency relationships among the projects can be better understood and managed if appropriate tools and techniques are used efficiently. Thus, the ultimate goal of this study is to investigate and evaluate the best methods practiced by project-based organizations to effectively manage the interdependencies among the projects and suggest a new approach to view and understand those relationships better. A number of past researches have emphasized that effective project interdependency management results in an increase of the project and portfolio success. This research examines and explainsthe impacts of knowledge creation and knowledge transfer on interdependency management and vice-versa, by reviewing the existing literature and collecting data through multi-method qualitative study. In addition, the role of visual interdependency management and visual knowledge management tools are analyzed and compared, with the purpose of filling the gaps in the currently available literature, and investigating their moderating effects on interdependency management. Previous studies have found supporting evidence for the impacts of project interdependency management, knowledge creation and knowledge transfer on project success and organizational performance. However, there is no research targeted on how project interdependencies interact with knowledge creation and knowledge transfer. In order to investigate these interactions four project-based organizations from IT, multinational event management and consulting areas are involved in the semi-structured interviews. Additionally, as a part of qualitative study, questionnaires were undertaken to get access to valuable insights into the project and portfolio managers’ experience in dealing with interdependencies among the projects in the selected cases. The study is explanatory, cross- sectional in nature and takes a mixed approach to theory. The findings showed the presence of mutual impacts between knowledge creation, knowledge transfer processes and project interdependencies. The results revealed that the visual knowledge management tools, which are employed for the knowledge management, are beneficial in terms of project interdependency management as well. The visual interdependency management tools that are separately discussed in the existing literature, were found to be suitable for the knowledge management practices. Thus, it was found reasonable to integrate the visual interdependency management tools into the knowledge management area. As a result, these tools altogether serve to the efficient project interdependency management and lead to more successful project outcomes, which affect the organization’s performance as well.

In the contemporary business environment multiple projects are a common way of organising work and they are usually implemented and managed as a portfolio of projects. It is widely recognised that effective project portfolio management delivers a range of strategic benefits and significantly contributes to overall organisational success. However, project portfolio management is acknowledged by both theory and practice to be a highly challenging task which is even amplified by the presence of project interdependencies. Managing project interdependencies is found to be an area of weakness for contemporary portfolio management, which so far remains under investigated but emergent field within general portfolio management theory. Therefore this study presents an empirical investigation that aims to uncover why and how organisations from the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry manage project interdependencies. In order to answer why organisations manage project interdependencies the study examines the benefits of project interdependency management, the negative effects of failed project interdependency management and the related challenges. In order to investigate how project interdependencies are managed this study focuses on the hard and soft practices that portfolio practitioners use. The study is based on cross-case analysis of two case organisations operating within the ICT industry in Italy. The ICT is chosen as an excellent ground for studying project interdependency management since it is of significant importance for the contemporary world’s economy where project and portfolio management is practiced intensively. Qualitative data is collected via semi-structure interviews. The key findings apply to both case organisations demonstrating their similar reasons and manner of managing project interdependencies. The research findings show that there are various types of project interdependencies in the project portfolios that practitioners need to account for and that effective management of these interdependencies delivers significant benefits contributing to the portfolio success, while failed interdependency management distorts the portfolio success. The study indicates potential challenges that project interdependency management may encounter and confirms that comprehensive consideration of project interdependencies is a rather complex task within a project portfolio management. In order to manage issues arising from interdependent projects and leverage related benefits, organisations implement the following hard practices: web application platforms and tracking tools; and soft practices: formal and informal PM meetings, creation of a cooperative culture, leadership, negotiation and convincing and sacred cow. These practices are examined along with their benefits, limitations and context of their application. Although both hard and soft practices are found to be important in the case organisations, the preference is given to soft ones, mainly because of the benefits that soft practices offer over hard ones and the fact that the indicated hard practices allow only identification of project interdependencies, but do not provide managerial solutions per se. Therefore similar organisations operating within ICT industry may find it useful to devote attention to soft practices as they are found to be a prevailing mechanism for managing project interdependencies. The combination of hard and soft practices can also be seen beneficial for realisation of effective project interdependency management.

This study investigates the relationship between the three levels of dynamic capabilities and the two most prominent project interdependencies, by comparing the practises of an organisation in a single case study.  An understanding of organisational change capacity in terms of dynamic capabilities (DC) is widely accepted in academic literature. Likewise, project management literature agrees that multiple projects that serve to implement change may interact amongst one another resulting in increased or decreased benefits compared to individual project execution. The study explores the so far neglected gap between these two areas.  This study follows an inductive path of a single case study, as the authors investigate the case of the transformation of service of Police Scotland. This organisation is unique, as it exhibits a far above average use of project (inter-) dependency management, specifically created for this situation of change. Semi-structured interviews of ten organisational members with different perspectives, roles, and experiences was employed to gain a full understanding of this complex situation and answer questions as to the “how” and “why”.  This study revealed that there exists a connection. It has found practises, which the organisation specifically employs to combine interdependency management and dynamic capabilities. The study also found there to be a distinct pattern that links knowledge interdependencies to first and partially to third level DC, and resource interdependencies to second and third level DC. This investigation also contributes to the understanding of the resource and knowledge based view of the organisation, by expanding the criticism of the former and establishing the use of the latter.