Stephen A. (Steve) Leybourne

Boston University | BU · Metropolitan College

This paper considers the links between knowledge management, improvisational working and project management, highlighting their confluence in a number of key dimensions and focusing on the way new knowledge is generated, shared, and applied within the project domain. The opportunities for improved management in contexts of ubiquitous novelty, ambig...

This paper addresses two important current trends in PM research: the first relating to the changing emphasis of project-based research output, and the second relating to the development of a theory of project management. The first aspect is driven by evidence of a move from process-based research towards the interactions between people and project...

In this article, we recognize the ambidextrous nature of organizations, and use this concept to analyze the changing nature of the understood project management paradigm. Specifically, the ambidextrous nature of the modern organization explores and leverages both exploitation of existing processes, frameworks, and structures, and the exploration of...

This article considers specific elements of the project management of high-value deliverables in an under-researched sector. Specifically, it looks at ways in which change is accommodated in complex projects where scope, delivery, and cost are relatively inflexible. An emerging literature considers improvisational working within project-based work,...

This paper considers organisational improvisation, and in particular, adaptation as a specific component of improvisational work (Miner et al., 2001), and how it may assist in resolving or assisting with some of the challenges surrounding recent shifts in our understanding of project-based management. Examples focus on the use of adaptation to cope...

p>This case study was developed from an actual scenario by Dr. Steve Leybourne of Boston University. The case documents the historical evolution of an organization, and has been used successfully in courses dealing with organizational and cultural change, and the utilization of ‘soft skills’ in project-based management. This is a short case, ideal...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to bring together two seemingly disparate bodies of literature – ambidexterity (the ability both to exploit and explore) and mindfulness – to take a fresh perspective on the management of uncertainty. The authors differentiate between “rule-based” and “mindfulness-based” reliability and explore project risk resp...

Earlier research (Leybourne, 2007; Robinson and Griffiths, 2005; Stensaker et al., 2002) has identified that assisting employees to cope with change can be beneficial in ensuring that change initiatives are more effective. This paper considers two frameworks from outside the 'traditional' change literature that can assist in coping with change and...

This paper explores the relationships and interactions between organisational improvisational activity and differing modes of improvisational expertise utilised by musicians from a range of musical genres. The evolving literature on organisational improvisation has been considered, together with parallel or reinforcing lessons drawn from the orches...

This paper considers the evolving nature of project management (PM) and offers a comparison with the evolving nature of management generally. Specifically, we identify a number of management trends that are drawn from a paper that documents a proposed ‘Management 2.0’ model, and we compare those trends to the way in which PM is maturing to embrace...

A paper presented at the IRNOP Conference Oslo, Norway 17 th – 19 th June 2013 Abstract In many industrial sectors project-based management is currently undergoing a shift away from a rigid, formalized process and towards an evolving model that relies significantly more on the skills, creativity, and experience of a talented team supervised by a pr...

The evolution of the internet and collaboration tools have made it possible to enhance the range of online education, and make it universally accessible and eminently affordable. Around 2000, the faculty at Boston University's Metropolitan College proposed an online master's degree in project management, using the emerging learning management syste...

This paper will outline the principles and components of improvised work, and consider how they can be used to assist in the effective resolution of ambiguity and complexity in projects. The premise of the paper is that there has been an acknowledged shift within Project Management away from the traditional ‘plan-then execute’ paradigm, towards an...

Earlier research (Stensaker et al, 2002; Robinson & Griffiths, 2005; Leybourne, 2007) has identified that assisting employees to cope with change can be beneficial in ensuring that change initiatives are more effective. This paper considers two frameworks from outside the ‘traditional’ change literature that can assist in coping with change and tha...

The pressure to conquer communications complexity is intense for project managers of medium to large projects. In emerging situations of increasing complexity and ambiguity, it is acknowledged is that up to ninety percent of the work of a project manager involves communications, and that poor communication increases the risk of project failure. Wi...

This paper seeks to examine an accelerating phenomenon in the field of project management, namely, the assertion that a shift is occurring in our understanding of the important elements or constructs that influence the evolution of project management as an academic discipline. Management by projects is growing in importance to practitioners, but is...

Life science and biomedical technology start ups are a major focus for the establishment of innovation and knowledge-based economies. This article describes themes and practices in the monitoring of private company investments by life science-oriented venture capital firms and the possible relevance to this of project management concepts and techni...

Although many small firms are purchased as going concerns, these businesses are rarely researched as a separate subgroup. Little is therefore known about (a) the skills and competences required to run these businesses; (b) the support and learning sources used by small business purchasers (SBPs); and (c) whether there is a need for additional train...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine two aspects of the increasing body of research in the field of project management, namely improvisational working and agile project management (APM). Design/methodology/approach This is a comparative paper, considering the extant literature on improvisational working within projects and APM. The pape...

This paper considers certain aspects of a four-year program of research, and addresses the changing cultural requirements to support the rise of improvisational working practices within the UK financial services sector. Specifically, it reports on some of the outcomes of a study encompassing over 100 hours of interviews, together with a variety of...

This paper considers specific elements of the project management of high value deliverables in an under-researched sector. In particular, it looks at the ways in which change is accommodated in complex projects where scope, delivery, and cost are relatively inflexible. There is an emerging literature that considers improvisational working (Leybour...

This paper seeks to examine two aspects of the increasing body of research in the field of project management, which is accepted as a: “young discipline” academically (Jugdev, 2004: 15), especially compared with the traditional areas of economics, strategy, and organisational theory. It is however a discipline where considerable research activity i...

This paper considers the evolving literature on Organizational Improvisation, considering a number of different perspectives relating to its use and acceptance within a typology of modern management styles. Cunha et al.'s (1999) work is identified as a starting point, and particular attention is given to the gradual integration of improvisational w...

This paper investigates the use of improvisation within the project-managed implementation of strategic change in the UK financial services sector. It contains a brief review of the literature relating to the concepts surrounding organisational improvisation, and considers the emerging literature, organizing it in terms of how it relates to project...

Improvisation consists of a combination of intuition, creativity, and bricolage. Intuitions are rapid, affectively charged, holistic judgements arrived at without the apparent intrusion of rational thought. Improvisation and intuition represent two important and related aspects of management in general and of the management of projects in particula...

This paper considers certain aspects of a four year programme of research, and addresses the changing cultural requirements to support the rise of improvisational working practices within the UK financial services sector. Specifically, it reports on some of the outcomes of a study encompassing over 100 hours of interviews, together with a variety o...

The management of change projects is accommodating a rise in improvisational working practices. A number of lessons are offered that assist in the stimulation of effective improvisational practices when implanting strategic change within organisations. Specific problems surround the tensions created when simultaneously controlling project team memb...

Organisational improvisation is increasingly seen as a useful management skill, particularly in dynamic or turbulent business sectors, and there is growing evidence of its benefit in the management and implementation of change. The data here are collected within one such situation; the project management of change in the UK financial services secto...