<p>Project networks are gaining importance for many project based organizations nowadays. Project based organizations carry non-routine and complex tasks by temporarily employing various specialists, allow more flexibility and are ideally suited for managing complexity and dynamic external environment. For managing a project based organization it is not only essential to have good know-how about the tasks involved but also to have good knowledge of potential project members and project partners. This leads to an increased interdependency among projects and focuses on the importance of project networks. In order to initiate a project a PBO mobilizes its network to bring potential project participants together.</p><p>Film making represents the pure form of project based organization since companies in this industry are formed in order to pursue specific project outcomes and are dismantled once project is completed. Organizations in the movie industry are highly dependent on project networks mobilization to carry out their project tasks. Since the mechanism of such mobilization process still remains unclear the main focus of this research is on how networks are mobilized in project based organization such as film making during the pre-production stage to carry out a specific project.</p><p>For the purposes of the research primary data was obtained as a result of semi-structured interviews with ten people involved in the film industry in Sweden. A mixture of specific and open-ended questions allowed receiving practical insight of film initiation process and narrating industry participants’ experiences on network mobilization for a film project.</p><p>During the study several factors were revealed that contribute to network mobilization process during the pre-production stage of film making as well as main activities of film making pre-production stage were discovered. The model was develop that combines the factors and pre-production stage activities to see which factors drive network mobilization for realizing each activity in this stage. The developed model permitted to analyze in details each factor and to reveal the degree of its influence on the pre-production stage in general. Results of the study show that network mobilization process is explained by several discovered factors and almost all of them help to mobilize the network to carry out each of the four activities in the pre-production stage to making a film.</p><p>The study concludes that since the identified factors contribute to network mobilization for realization of almost all of the activities in the pre-production stage of a movie project then they contribute to general network mobilization process in the preproduction stage for carrying out a movie project. The discovered factors facilitate the network mobilization process and help producers to attach potential participants to their projects.</p>

Project networks are gaining importance for many project based organizations nowadays. Project based organizations carry non-routine and complex tasks by temporarily employing various specialists, allow more flexibility and are ideally suited for managing complexity and dynamic external environment. For managing a project based organization it is not only essential to have good know-how about the tasks involved but also to have good knowledge of potential project members and project partners. This leads to an increased interdependency among projects and focuses on the importance of project networks. In order to initiate a project a PBO mobilizes its network to bring potential project participants together. Film making represents the pure form of project based organization since companies in this industry are formed in order to pursue specific project outcomes and are dismantled once project is completed. Organizations in the movie industry are highly dependent on project networks mobilization to carry out their project tasks. Since the mechanism of such mobilization process still remains unclear the main focus of this research is on how networks are mobilized in project based organization such as film making during the pre-production stage to carry out a specific project. For the purposes of the research primary data was obtained as a result of semi-structured interviews with ten people involved in the film industry in Sweden. A mixture of specific and open-ended questions allowed receiving practical insight of film initiation process and narrating industry participants’ experiences on network mobilization for a film project. During the study several factors were revealed that contribute to network mobilization process during the pre-production stage of film making as well as main activities of film making pre-production stage were discovered. The model was develop that combines the factors and pre-production stage activities to see which factors drive network mobilization for realizing each activity in this stage. The developed model permitted to analyze in details each factor and to reveal the degree of its influence on the pre-production stage in general. Results of the study show that network mobilization process is explained by several discovered factors and almost all of them help to mobilize the network to carry out each of the four activities in the pre-production stage to making a film. The study concludes that since the identified factors contribute to network mobilization for realization of almost all of the activities in the pre-production stage of a movie project then they contribute to general network mobilization process in the preproduction stage for carrying out a movie project. The discovered factors facilitate the network mobilization process and help producers to attach potential participants to their projects.

Project management has become a key component for improving organizational performance and is applied in many business areas and industries. Resource-constrained stochastic project networks are quite common. Managing such projects to maximize resource utilization and reduce project duration simultaneously is difficult. Resource loading, assignment rules, and priorities significantly affect project performance, especially in shared-resource, multi-project environments. This thesis provides an approach for using discrete-event simulation to analyze the behavior and performance of project networks that use resource pools. A method to translate project networks into simulation models is developed. The translator is used to convert and evaluate a benchmark test set of resource constrained stochastic project networks. The effect of factors like project network complexity, resource availability and allocation strategies on project performance is analyzed using a completely randomized design with factorial arrangement of the aforementioned factors. The conversion process and results from the analysis are discussed.

Globalization impacts the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry; customers in the AEC industry are seeking lower costs, faster construction schedules and higher quality services. In order to keep up with the changing demand and to stay competitive in the global AEC industry, firms are forming joint ventures and outsourcing design and services work.  As a result, these new trends in the AEC industry require the collaboration of widely dispersed and diverse project workers and companies.  Accordingly, it becomes increasingly important to understand the impact of diversity on performance.  In this sense, the initial aim of this study was to find empirical evidence on how differences in national culture and language may affect performance in Global Project Networks (GPNs).  According to the results of the first experiment comparing the performance of multi-cultural versus mono-cultural simulated project networks over time, I found cultural and linguistic diversity to have a negative impact on initial performance. However, culturally and linguistically diverse project networks studied achieved better adaptation performance that has long term advantages. Even though GPNs have long term performance benefits, bringing the widely dispersed project participants together is costly.  Therefore, firms are seeking ways to employ collaboration technologies to bring together the project participants.  Little research exists to examine how to increase the efficiency of GPNs that collaborate using technologies such as virtual workspaces to perform design work.  In order to examine collaboration in GPNs utilizing virtual workspaces, I conducted two experiments.  In the first study, I investigated the formation and the maintenance of Transactive Memory Systems (TMSs) and cohesive subgroups as a proxy for performance in two facilitated and two non-facilitated global virtual project networks.  I found a negative impact on collaboration effectiveness when process facilitators engaged in content facilitation in virtual project networks, which restricts the establishment of TMSs. The findings of the first study revealed inappropriate ways of facilitating GPNs collaborating in virtual workspaces, which motivated the second study.  In the second experiment, I observed two global and two domestic virtual project networks that were appropriately facilitated.  I examined the interactions between network members in order to identify whether significant differences between the collaboration approaches of global and domestic virtual project networks exist. Facilitators were utilized more frequently in global networks, particularly in the early stages of collaboration. Boundary spanning visualization technologies within the virtual workspace were also utilized more frequently by the global network members; however, this was due more to the spatial richness of the task than the maturity of the collaboration. The overall findings have significant implications in improving the effectiveness of global project network collaborations in virtual workspaces. / Ph. D.

Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2016-09-21T13:27:50Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Lauren Homrich Aita_.pdf: 3238471 bytes, checksum: bcfd6d5d4a3a884ab5d3c5fa2d58a08d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-21T13:27:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Lauren Homrich Aita_.pdf: 3238471 bytes, checksum: bcfd6d5d4a3a884ab5d3c5fa2d58a08d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-29 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / UNISINOS - Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos / Esta dissertação tem como tema a Inovação Social em Living Labs, deflagrada na interface entre a constituição de novas sociabilidades e os modos de produção de valor a partir de contribuições do Design Estratégico. A discussão das práticas projetuais foi feita à luz dos conceitos ecossistêmicos da sociedade em rede e do metaprojeto como cultura de projeto. Além da revisão bibliográfica, também foi realizada uma pesquisa aplicada de inspiração etnográfica, com abordagem qualitativa e com objetivo exploratório junto a dois Living Labs: o TransLAB e o Laboratório Mercur de Inovação Social. Como resultado, foram apresentados fatores de mobilização em redes de projeto para Inovação Social, assim como foram descritas estratégias e instrumentos projetuais utilizados para promoção de trabalho colaborativo. Em ambos contextos pesquisados, o Living Lab pôde ser compreendido como um Espaço Hub que habilita a articulação de redes projetuais que buscam gerar sistemas-produto-serviço socialmente inovadores ou novos modelos de negócio. À luz do Design Estratégico, a pesquisa também identificou a potencialidade de Living Labs serem apropriados como Cenários Vivos, em que se cria um deslocamento para ampliar possibilidades criativas e as pessoas experimentam outras lógicas organizacionais, provocando reflexões e ativando sua ação estratégica para uma transição sustentável com a criação de novos modos de relação e de coprodução de valor. Por fim, foram indicadas diretrizes para promoção de processos inclusivos na articulação de redes projetuais para a Inovação Social no contexto de Living Labs. / This dissertation is subject to Social Innovation in Living Labs, triggered at the interface between the creation of new sociability and value of production methods from contributions of Strategic Design. The discussion of projective practices was made in light of ecosystem concepts of network society and the meta-project and project culture. Besides the theory review was also conducted an ethnographic inspiration applied research with a qualitative approach and exploratory objective within two Living Labs: the TransLAB and Mercur Laboratory of Social Innovation. As a result, mobilization factors in network design for social innovation were presented, as strategies and projective instruments used for collaborative work promotion were described. In both contexts studied, the Living Lab could be understood as a Hub Space that enables the articulation of projective networks that seek to generate socially innovative product-service-systems or new business models. In the light of the Strategic Design, the survey also identified the Living Labs capability to be recognized as Living Scenarios in which is possible to create an offset to expand creative possibilities, and people experience other organizational logics, causing reflections and activating its strategic action for a transition sustainable with the creation of new relations and co-production value. Finally, guidelines were recommended for promotion of inclusive processes in the articulation of projective networks for Social Innovation in the context of Living Labs.

Submitted by JOSIANE SANTOS DE OLIVEIRA (josianeso) on 2018-04-04T16:30:16Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Antonio Carlos de Souza Lima Filho_.pdf: 4933775 bytes, checksum: c211decf6df09e824fd235e46e64e55d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-04-04T16:30:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Antonio Carlos de Souza Lima Filho_.pdf: 4933775 bytes, checksum: c211decf6df09e824fd235e46e64e55d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-12-18 / Nenhuma / O mercado desafia organizações a se manterem atuando de forma rentável e sustentável. Modelos validados de gestão, estratégia e de negócios estão sendo colocados à prova pela economia contemporânea. A colaboração e a conexão em rede podem auxiliar a inovação de processos corporativos mediados pela tecnologia. Assim, integrar esses conhecimentos parece ser a nova ordem de sobrevivência organizacional. Mas, junto a tais oportunidades, alinha-se um conhecimento capaz de orientar essas novas demandas sociais e empresariais: o design estratégico. Este estudo apresenta como uma empresa que não opera em rede poderá se beneficiar da inovação mediada pela tecnologia para inovar em seus processos. Para isso foram selecionados, extraídos, categorizados e recategorizados processos de empresas globais que operam em rede sob a condução metaprojetual. Em seguida, apresenta-se a empresa focalizada e, a partir disso, são aplicadas diversas ferramentas do design estratégico. Como resultado, são elaborados cenários construídos sob o viés do design estratégico, articulados a partir da construção metaprojetual das empresas analisadas. / The market challenges organizations to remain working profitably and sustainably. Validated models of management, business and strategy are being put into test by the contemporary economy. Collaboration and networking can help the innovation of business processes mediated by technology. So, integrating knowledge seems to be the new order of organizational survival. In addition, these opportunities, aligns knowledge to guide these new social and business demands: the strategic design. This study shows how can a company that does not operate in the network benefit from the innovation mediated by technology processes.Global business processes that operate in a network under metaproject leadership were selected, extracted categorized and recategorized. Then this company and its several strategic design tools are presented. As a result, elaborated scenarios were built by strategic articulated design bias from the metaprojetual construction of the companies analyzed.

Abstract Large engineering projects are executed by a network of heterogeneous organisations. In order to be effective, risk management in large engineering projects needs to take the perspective of the entire project network instead of focusing on risk management practices of single actors. Contextual factors such as complexity of the project network and the challenging institutional environment pose additional challenges to risk management. The purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of the sources of risks in engineering project networks and the role of risk sources in determining risk management practices. The perspective of information processing theory is used. The role of equivocality and uncertainty as organisations’ rationales for processing information is examined to gain new insights into the selection of appropriate risk management practices. Literature introduces relational contracting as a response to the need for collaboration in project networks. In this study collaborative risk management practices in the workshop-type meeting and in the project alliance were studied. A qualitative research method was employed to study the nature of risk sources, the role of risk sources in determining risk management practices and collaborative risk management practices. The results of this study enhance the understanding of the nature of risks in engineering project networks. The current project risk management literature proposes that contextual factors related to technology, organising projects and environment increase uncertainty in projects. This study shows that it is relevant to categorise risk sources based on their contingency factors related to uncertainty (lack of information) and to equivocality (the existence of multiple interpretations). It is shown how risk sources impact the selection of project risk management practices. Collaborative risk management practices of workshop-type meeting and project alliance are depicted. Project-based companies and organisations executing investment projects can benefit from the results of this study. This study can guide managers when developing practices to enhance risk management. This study shows how informal risk management practices should be considered in addition to the traditional formal risk management practices, particularly in cases when projects confront situations of equivocality. / Tiivistelmä Suuria projekteja toteutetaan heterogeenisten organisaatioiden muodostaman projektiverkoston avulla. Projektiverkoston tehokkaaseen riskienhallintaan tarvitaan koko verkoston näkökulma yhden organisaation näkökulman sijaan. Tilannetekijät kuten projektiverkoston monimuotoisuus ja projektin haasteellinen ympäristö asettavat lisää haasteita riskienhallinnalle. Tämän väitöskirjan tavoitteena on lisätä ymmärrystä siitä, mitkä ovat riskien lähteitä projekteissa ja kuinka riskien lähteet vaikuttavat riskienhallintamenetelmien valintaan. Väitöskirjassa on käytetty teoreettisena viitekehyksenä informaation prosessoinnin näkökulmaa. Erityisesti on tutkittu monimerkityksisyyden ja epävarmuuden roolia organisaatioiden perusteena käsitellä informaatiota. Kirjallisuudessa on esitetty luottamukseen perustuva sopiminen vastauksena projektiverkostojen yhteistoiminnallisuuden tarpeelle. Väitöskirjassa on tutkittu yhteistoiminnallisina riskienhallintamuotoina työpajatyyppistä työskentelyä sekä projektiallianssia. Tutkimuksessa on tapaustutkimuksen avulla selvitetty projektien riskien lähteitä, riskien lähteiden roolia riskienhallintamenetelmiä määritettäessä, sekä yhteistoiminnallisia riskienhallintakeinoja. Tutkimuksen löydökset lisäävät ymmärrystä projektien riskien lähteistä. Nykyinen projektin riskienhallintakirjallisuus esittää, että projektien tilannetekijät, jotka liittyvät teknologiaan, projektien organisointiin ja ympäristöön kasvattavat epävarmuutta. Tämä tutkimus osoittaa, että on tärkeää jaotella projektien riskit tilannetekijöittäin. Jaottelu tulee tehdä sen mukaan onko vallitseva tilannetekijä epävarmuus eli tiedon puute vai monimerkityksisyys eli tilanne, jossa on paljon keskenään ristiriitaista tietoa. Tässä tutkimuksessa osoitetaan kuinka riskien lähteet vaikuttavat projektiverkoston riskienhallintamenetelmien valintaan. Lisäksi kuvataan yhteistoiminnallisia riskienhallintamenetelmiä projekteissa. Projektitoimintaa harjoittavat yritykset sekä investointiprojekteja tekevät organisaatiot voivat hyödyntää tämän tutkimuksen tuloksia. Tutkimuksen tulokset ohjaavat riskienhallintamenetelmien muokkaamista erilaiset tilannetekijät huomioon ottaen. Tämä tutkimus osoittaa, kuinka epämuodollisia riskienhallintamenetelmiä tulisi suosia perinteisten muodollisten menetelmien ohessa erityisesti tilanteissa, joissa monimerkityksisyys on vallitseva tilannetekijä.