The role of IT projects within the strategy: How effectively do we use them?

Abstract

It is a general trend that the role of projects is increasingly appreciated in the life of individual organizations. We have come to the point in the last decade where certain organizations use this method for their entire operation, while large companies implement their priority developments only with project management methods. The project management knowledge is becoming progressively essential also in the case of smaller businesses nowadays as they come into contact with projects through their partners or their own experiences. Although the methodology is constantly spreading and growing, so far, there have been just a few scientific results about where IT projects are located in the organization's goal-system and how they are related to the corporate or organizational strategy. Accordingly, the basic goals of the IT projects will be examined in the framework of the current research, and the questions about that, are these goals related to the corporate strategy and how effective are the individual companies using their IT projects?

Full text

JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT AND COMPETITIVENESS (JEMC)
VOL. 14, NO. 2, 2024, 125-134
ISSN 2217-8147 (Online)
©2024 University of Novi Sad, Technical faculty “Mihajlo Pupin” in Zrenjanin, Republic of Serbia
Available online at http://www.tfzr.uns.ac.rs/jemc
THE ROLE OF IT PROJECTS WITHIN THE STRATEGY:
HOW EFFECTIVELY DO WE USE THEM?
DOI: 10.5937/JEMC2402125S UDC: 005.8:004
Original Scientific Paper
Károly SZABÓ1, László SZABÓ2
1Budapest Business University, Faculty of Finance and Accountancy, Buzogány u. 10-12., H-1149 Budapest, Hungary
ORCID: (https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8595-461X)
2Budapest Business University, Faculty of Finance and Accountancy, Buzogány u. 10-12., H-1149 Budapest, Hungary
Corresponding author. E-mail: szabo.laszlo4@uni-bge.hu
ORCID: (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4153-8432)
Paper received: 12.10.2024.; Paper accepted: 23.11.2024.
It is a general trend that the role of projects is increasingly appreciated in the life of individual
organizations. We have come to the point in the last decade where certain organizations use this
method for their entire operation, while large companies implement their priority developments only
with project management methods. The project management knowledge is becoming progressively
essential also in the case of smaller businesses nowadays as they come into contact with projects
through their partners or their own experiences. Although the methodology is constantly spreading
and growing, so far, there have been just a few scientific results about where IT projects are located
in the organization's goal-system and how they are related to the corporate or organizational
strategy. Accordingly, the basic goals of the IT projects will be examined in the framework of the
current research, and the questions about that, are these goals related to the corporate strategy and
how effective are the individual companies using their IT projects?
Keywords: Strategy; Management; IT project; IT project management.
INTRODUCTION
With the development of modern project
management, the planning and execution activities
were put into an organized framework. The
methodology, together with strategic planning, has
undergone an enormous development since the
middle of the 20th century, which development
continues even today. When we examine the role of
the project, we can observe that, while until the
1990s, project management methods were primarily
used by large Anglo-Saxon companies, they have
since spread as an accepted worldwide planning
tool. Nowadays, not only do the partners of the large
Anglo-Saxon companies need to know the method,
but it has also become of a paramount importance
for the most part of the general SME sector ,as
knowing the basic approach helps navigate in the
world of projects . The spread of the approach does
not automatically mean that project management
knowledge has also developed in a given region.
Prior to the research, two main questions were the
focus in this regard. On one hand, despite frequent
mention and use ,relatively little is said about where
the role of IT projects lies in the goal system of a
given organization? (e.g. is it part of the strategy or
a completely separate output?) On the other hand,
an important question is how effectively are
Hungarian businesses using IT projects? (Henrie -
Sousa-Poza, 2005; Levitt, 2011; Reiff & Schlegel,
2022; Thayer & Yourdon, 2000). This research
seeks to answer for the following questions mainly
by analyzing the existing literature and using
qualitative tools. In examining the questions,
special attention will be given to the role of IT
projects and the use of digital tools in companies.
The current research is an initial step in a multi-
stage, long-term study, during which we would like
to learn not only about the effectiveness of project
use, but also to specifically examine the location of
IT projects in the goal system of individual
organizations (Erro-Garcés et al., 2020; Rezigalla,
2020; Sungjin et al., 2020).

K. Szabó and
L. Szabó
The role of it projects within the strategy:
How effectively do we use them?
126 JEMC, VOL. 14, NO. 2, 2024, 125-134
THEORY AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS
After a primary examination of the existing results
and context, it became apparent that previous
research had addressed the relationship between
projects and strategy, but certain questions
regarding IT projects remained unexplored .
Overall, it can be said that existing studies have
relatively few quantifiable results on the topic. For
this reason, it is necessary to explore the existing
literature more thoroughly (Ika et al., 2020). Based
on the results, the following research questions were
defined:
Q1: Where are projects, and within them IT
projects, located in the corporate goal system
and in the strategy in the domestic practice?
Q2: How effective are IT projects among domestic
enterprises? To what extent do they fulfill the
originally set goal? If the implementation of
the project is not completely effective, to what
extent can this be attributed to its misalignment
within the organizational goal system?
RESEARCH METHOD
For the examination of the location and role of IT
projects, the existing literature will be analyzed at
first through a review. The aim of the literature
review is to demonstrate the basic functioning of
corporate strategies and projects, as well as the
possible points of connection between the existing
literature and the current research. After the general
understanding of the context, qualitative sampling
will be used to understand research questions Q1
and Q2. Since the first review of the literature
showed that there are relatively few quantifiable
results in the narrower topic, the aforementioned
qualitative approach was chosen, as this approach
allows us to understand more complex processes
(Denny & Weckesser, 2022). The research tools
were determined by an understanding and adaptive
review of qualitative and quantitative
methodologies (Köhler et al., 2022; Sardana et al.,
2023). After choosing the methodology, the
characteristics of qualitative sampling were
defined, including the sampling framework, place
and method . The semi-structured qualitative
interview was constructed as follows:
− Leading questions, which may also contain
important information
− Questions specific to corporate strategy, which
target general operations, goals and market
characteristics
− Questions related to projects and IT projects,
which examine project operation
− Questions examining the relationship between
strategy and projects, which clarify the location
of the two tools in the corporate goal system
− Questions regarding the specifics of IT projects,
which show how IT projects are different
compared to other tools.
During the qualitative research, at least 10
interviews was aimed to conduct. The sampling
framework was provided by the Zala County
Foundation for Enterprise Promotion. The
following filters were applied to the companies in
the database:
− A minimum of 5 years of project management
experience
− Participation in minimum 3 corporate projects
− At least 1 time lead project manager
− Experience in strategy development and project
planning
− Willingness to participate in research
The interviews will be conducted with the first 10
positive respondents according to the order of
receipt. The planned time frame is 3 months, from
June 1, 2023 to August 31, 2023. The planned
location of the research is at the headquarters of
each enterprise (Chalmers & Cowdell, 2021; Király
& Géring, 2016). The previously formulated
research questions will be analyzed as a case study,
i.e. the paper does not treat the obtained results as
if they point in the direction of generalization, rather
it strives to learn about domestic cause-and-effect
relationships. Accordingly, based on the chosen
research methodology, the paper tries to formulate
filtered statements based on the experience of the
results obtained.
STRATEGIC PLANNING AND PROJECT
MANAGEMENT
In this section, a complex picture of strategy,
projects, and IT projects will be presented based on
the currently known literature, which was obtained
using the previously outlined literature review
method. At first, it is important to clarify the main
definitions, since we will build the operation and
location on this basis. Among the relevant
definitions, the organization is cooperation between
formalized structures for a certain (company) goal
or the functional connection of elements serving to
achieve this goal, and to a significant extent, the set
of human activities that implement these (Bakacsi

K. Szabó and
L. Szabó
The role of it projects within the strategy:
How effectively do we use them?
JEMC, VOL. 14, NO. 2, 2024, 125-134 127
& Takács, 1998). In contrast, strategy also means
the achievement of a goal; according to the
definition: A strategy is a long-term plan of actions
to achieve a certain goal, which is often finished
with the so-called “victory” or the solution to a
problem (Wagner et al., 2014). The third relevant
definition is, of course, the concept of the project,
which can be described as a series of activities
planned and implemented in a given organizational
environment with time, cost, resource and quality
constraints, which achieves specific goals and
allocates resources to achieve these goals
(Vinothina et al., 2012). IT projects are essentially
different from this definition only in that these
projects have some kind of IT output, such as
software or hardware development, data protection,
but it can also include network development, or the
creation of mobile applications (Baka, 2008). If we
look at the individual definitions, we can see that all
three achieve certain goals. At this point, the
question arises as to what distinguishes the three
definitions, especially the strategy and the project,
both of which can be considered as some kind of
action plan. First, it is worth clarifying the role of
the organization and strategy. In this regard, the
approaches of Galbraith (1983) and Mészáros
(2020) provides an answer, according to which
strategy is a kind of modeling of the organizational
goals initially formulated and their expansion in the
long term. If we want to define it in another way,
we could also say that the strategy organizes the
initially formalized organizational goals into a kind
of easily transparent framework. The most
comprehensive interpretation of the relationship
between strategy and project is given by Boyne
(2010), who considers projects not only as separate
entities, but as an integral part of corporate life, so
it is essential that they are defined and implemented
in accordance with corporate goals and strategy.
Thus, today, the project already fulfills a triple role,
such as (Aranyossy, et al., 2015; Azanha et al.,
2017; Hayat et al., 2019; Kinelski, 2020; Perkins et
al., 2018; Szabó et al., 2024; Zhitlukhina et al.,
2018; Srivastava et al., 2017):
− process (to produce a specific result, also with
specific time and cost constraints),
− temporary organization, and
− strategic building block
This interpretation essentially elevates the role of
the project into the strategic goal system. The
relationship between the three concepts is thus
essentially fully covered inthe existing literature. In
addition, it is worth examining the operating
mechanism of each definition. In terms of the
organization, it can be said that a small group of
people formulates a common goal and at first they
start working together in a completely unorganized
manner to achieve or maintain the goal. Over time,
as the goal achievement or maintenance continues
from day to day, week to week, the individual
members begin to organize themselves into a
structure, as this allows them to function more
effectively. In simpler terms, after a certain period
of time, organizational responsibilities are formed,
and the roles of individual members are outlined.
Over time, not only organizational tasks are
formed, but also the compromises that integrate
individual members into the organization. In
essence, it is formulated what the given member can
offer for the organizational goal (human resources,
knowledge, experience or even financial resources,
a network of contacts, etc.) and how the
organization can reward this contributions in return
(e.g. salary, professional development,
appreciation). We can already talk about a concrete,
real organization in this stage of the formalization
(Akbar et al., 2024; Naradda & Sisira, 2020). Of
course, organizational functioning is more complex
factor than this. In this case, we will only describe a
synthesized mechanism that is adequate for the
narrower topic. During the next steps, formalization
may continue and in many cases the leaders of the
organization begin to think in terms of long-term
goals. At this point, there are several possible
outcomes in the life of an organization. Some
organizations remain with their core activities, for
them the long-term goal is primarily to maintain the
activity. Other organizations, in contrast, want to
embark on a growth path, in their case we can talk
about strategic planning. Regarding the growth
path, organizations formulate a well-defined long-
term goal, in other words, a vision, which they want
to implement within a given time, resource, and
responsibility framework. This essentially brings us
to strategic planning, which is nothing more than the
description of this plan. In the simplest terms, it is a
written material that includes a framework for
getting from our current position to the “victory” or
the vision (Kaufmann & Alexander, 2022; Pinto,
2022). In comparison, projects also describe some
kind of action plan, with operating mechanisms
completely similar to strategies. In the case of a
project, there is also a well-defined initial position
and a final project goal. The project is nothing more
than the written action plan of the path connecting
the two. If we nevertheless want to formulate some
difference between the two tools based on the
literature, then, although this is not specifically

K. Szabó and
L. Szabó
The role of it projects within the strategy:
How effectively do we use them?
128 JEMC, VOL. 14, NO. 2, 2024, 125-134
named, we can say based on the overall picture that
the strategy is created to achieve a "more grandiose"
goal, while the project can be described as a "faster-
reacting, mobile" intervention tool (Choi & Ha,
2022; George, et al, 2019; Krupa & Hájek, 2024;
Ordoñez et al., 2019; Panda, 2022; Sreedharan-
Sunder, 2018). In Figure 1., the location of the
strategy and the project in the organization’s goal
system is presented.
Figure 1: The location of the strategy and the project in the organization's goal system
[Source: Own editing]
The figure above essentially summarizes the
combined operation of the three tools. An additional
dimension in planning is the effectiveness of
development and implementation. If we look at the
typical errors and failures of strategic planning and
projects based on the literature, we will not be
surprised. The most typical problems that occur in
practice are fully reflected in the literature. For
example, in the case of strategies, a typical error is
that an organization creates a strategy, which it then
does not use at any level. (It happens quite often at
the SME level.) The other extreme outcome of the
problem of this type is when an organization creates
a strategy and subordinates its entire operation to the
strategy, not paying attention to environmental,
technological, and other changes. In essence, the
organization clings to the implementation of the
strategy, even if the vision will have long since
become a devalued position by the time the
organization achieves it. (It is important to keep in
mind that the strategy serves the interests of the
organization, not the other way around!) The
depreciation of the goal can also occur in the
projects. For example, it is particularly typical for
IT projects that a technological change occurs
during a 5-year project cycle. Underplanning can
also be a further problem at both levels.
Implementation factors were not included in the
strategy or the project, the budget was not estimated
properly, and the allocated time frame is not enough
for implementation. Each of these can cause serious
problems in achieving goals. Based on the literature,
it can be said that projects are part of the
organizational strategy. During implementation, the
literature reports well-defined types of errors.
Accordingly, the research attempts to present
Hungarian practice in the light of the previously
described literature analysis, paying special
attention to IT projects (Alsudiri et al., 2013;
Cervone, 2014; Grundy, 1998; Grundy, 2000;
Iriarte & Sussy 2020; Lee et al., 2006; Morcov et al.
2020; Müller et al., 2019; Papke et al., 2017; San
Cristóbal, 2017; Schwedes, 2017; Srivannaboon et
al., 2006; Tereso et al., 2019).
IT PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION IN
HUNGARY
Within the results, in the qualitative sampling phase,
10 interviews were conducted with corporate
consultants (project and strategy experts) as
planned. A total of 14 positive responses were
received to the request, but overall, after the first 7
interviews, we did not receive any substantial new
information, so due to time management, we ended
the sampling with 10 interviews. The majority of the

K. Szabó and
L. Szabó
The role of it projects within the strategy:
How effectively do we use them?
JEMC, VOL. 14, NO. 2, 2024, 125-134 129
interviews were conducted in the consultant's office,
where only we, as the researcher, and the
interviewee were present. We asked the questions in
the same order for each interview. We used semi-
structured interviews with the same set of questions,
allowing the interviewees to answer according to
their own responsibility and experiences. The
interviewees were not given the questions in
advance. The main details of the sampling are
summarized in Table 1. The duration of each
interview varied, but was typically between 30 and
60 minutes. We interviewed only one consultant at
a time. During the interview, we asked the questions
in order, and recorded the interviewee's answers in
writing and with a voice recorder. Of the responding
managers, two work for micro-sized, two for
medium-sized, and six for large companies.
The first set of questions related to the first research
question explored the goals of projects and IT
projects, as well as the location, for which we
received the following results. In Table 2, the
grouping of projects and IT projects goals are
presented.
Table 1: Qualitative interviews among company consultants
Number
Position
Industry
Location
Date
1.
Owner
SME Consulting, Finance
Szombathely
07/06/23
2.
Microcredit manager
Regional Development, Microcredit
Zalaegerszeg
11/06/23
3.
Project manager
Corporate strategy, construction
Győr
14/06/23
4.
Production Manager
Multinational company, electronics assembly
Veszprém
28/06/23
5.
Logistics Manager
Multinational company, electronics assembly
Szeged
08/07/23
6.
Quality Manager
Multinational company, electronics assembly
Nagykanizsa
15/07/23
7.
Finance Manager
Municipality
Zalaegerszeg
17/07/23
8.
Managing Director
Corporate consulting
Budapest
31/07/23
9.
Consultant
Banking sector
Debrecen
09/08/23
10.
Owner-Manager
General strategic planning
Székesfehérvár
28/08/23
[Source: Own editing]
Table 2: Grouping projects and IT project goals
Number
Position
Operative
Strategic
Other
1.
Owner
x
sssss2.
Microcredit manager
x
x
3.
Project manager
x
4.
Production Manager
x
5.
Logistics Manager
x
x
6.
Quality Manager
x
x
7.
Finance Manager
x
8.
Managing Director
x
9.
Consultant
x
10.
Owner-Manager
x
[Source: Own editing]
As the table shows, the experts without exception
described projects (including IT projects) as a
planning and action tool that achieves operational
goals. Using a practical example, the deployment of
a corporate management software, an IT-type
response to some external constraint, the
introduction of a web-based subsystem, or a
complete transformation at the eBusiness level are
not strategic outputs (not strategic goals in
planning), but essentially a means to achieve a
strategic goal. The question may legitimately arise,
what then can be a strategic goal? In their answers
to question 2, the experts clearly stated that the best
strategies name a desired market position (or, in the
case of other organizations, a different type of
position) as a vision. (During the sampling, we
disregarded the different strategy-making
approaches – schools – and were curious about the
respondents’ planning tools.) Also, using a
practical example, if we started a software
development and software distribution company,
then we can formulate, as a vision, that we want to
be the market-leading software development and
software distribution company in Hungary within
15 years. This is basically a vision that can be
interpreted in a 15-year perspective, is less affected
by inflation, and is a goal with universal value. If we
examine the role of projects, then we implement the
developments that lead to this path and are outside
the core activity using the project method (see

K. Szabó and
L. Szabó
The role of it projects within the strategy:
How effectively do we use them?
130 JEMC, VOL. 14, NO. 2, 2024, 125-134
Figure 1). Staying with the outlined software
developer and software distributor example, if we
have formulated on the path to becoming a market
leader in our country that at some point we must
complete a general or partial transformation at the
eBusiness level (e.g. by the end of the 10th year),
then this activity is a means of achieving the vision,
and from a strategic perspective, it is an operational
goal on which we can build a separate project.
Another important aspect of the interviews with the
experts was whether we could find projects in the
life of the organization that were not part of the
strategy. The answers were divided in this case,
seven out of ten respondents said that the projects
they managed were always part of the strategy,
while three answered that although the majority of
their projects were part of the strategy, they also had
projects that were outside the strategy. Despite this,
the latter three consultants also answered that it
would be a more efficient state if these projects were
also channeled into the organizational strategy.
Based on the overall picture of the answers, since all
10 of the 10 consultants interviewed answered that
projects (especially IT projects) implement
operational goals, and in terms of their location
within the organizational strategy, they can be
interpreted as tools of implementing the target
system. The second highlighted area of the
qualitative sampling was the domestic effectiveness
of the results of IT projects. The answers regarding
the final outcome of IT projects are presented in the
table below. In Table 3, the final outcome of IT
projects in Hungary is presented.
Table 3: Final outcome of IT projects in Hungary
Number
Position
Effective
Average
Below
average
efficiency
1.
Owner
x
2.
Microcredit manager
x
3.
Project manager
x
4.
Production Manager
x
5.
Logistics Manager
x
6.
Quality Manager
x
7.
Finance Manager
x
8.
Managing Director
x
9.
Consultant
x
10.
Owner-Manager
x
[Source: Own editing]
Since the experts typically managed projects with
different outputs and indicator numbers, we
considered the projects “successful“, “average”, or
“below average” based on the overall picture -
considered by them.) Despite the fact that 7 out of
10 respondents answered that the implementation
and results of IT projects are mostly ineffective, the
result obtained is not clear, as when checking the
results, it was clear that the three large corporate
experts considered their IT developments effective,
while the respondent working in the banking sector
(also a large corporate consultant) considered the
results average. In terms of the answers, at this
point, the independence of size is not proven, which
actively affects the entire area, so this question
requires further examination in terms of domestic
conditions. Regarding IT projects, the other
question concerned the causes of development
problems. In this case, all experts answered that
some of the potential problems are primarily related
to the fact that the given project is not properly
aligned with the strategy or the integration with the
strategy is not clear. According to the interviewed
experts, the typical problems in Hungary are usually
the following:
− Inadequate planning (in terms of budget, human
resources, time frame, responsibilities, etc.)
− During the implementation, trendor technology
change occurs (inadequate monitoring of the
environment)
− The technology to be used is not feasible
(adaptation and development problems)
− The technology to be used does not satisfy users,
does not cover the set goals
− Prolonged development time (among other
factors, it can also be a problem if the
competition develops faster over time)
− The system contains redundancy (multiple data
storage)
− The new system does not eliminate the
shortcomings of the old system (lack of
completeness)

K. Szabó and
L. Szabó
The role of it projects within the strategy:
How effectively do we use them?
JEMC, VOL. 14, NO. 2, 2024, 125-134 131
− The organization does not use the introduced,
developed system at all or not effectively
Upon further examination of the responses, it
became apparent that the above-mentioned
problems can occur also at both SME and large
enterprise levels. If we look at the problem types
from the perspective of strategic embedding, then
resource management, environmental analysis, user
knowledge and the effective use of the developed
system are clearly part of the goals and tools that
appear in the strategy. (The project must be in line
with the strategy in these areas.) However, the non-
feasibility of the technology, the prolonged
development time, and the inadequate elimination
of redundancy and the deficiencies of the old system
are mostly project-level errors. These issues can be
linked to the inadequate planning of the project,
based on the answers of the experts. Among the
reasons listed, the most typical one for inadequate
strategic synergy is the underutilization of IT
development, which respondents also described as
the most common problem. Using a specific
example from the SME sector, a given company
introduces an ERP software which is used for
invoicing, while continuing to operate logistics in
an analogous manner (without the software). This is
a very common problem in micro, small and
medium-sized enterprises, but at the corporate level
there are also many examples where certain
elements of a project simply were not utilized. One
of the respondents gave the example of when the
technical department ordered a 3D printer to print
certain parts, but the company continued to order
them from an external source. Considering the
summary of the answers, starting from the fact that
all experts indicated that the problem outlined last is
one of the most typical, and this type of problem
embodies the situation when the final outcome of
projects is not in line with the corporate strategy.
Based on the results obtained, it can be said that
much more emphasis should be placed on strategic
and project planning in the domestic entrepreneurial
sector. Resources should be invested at both the
educational and governmental levels so that these
goals in the domestic entrepreneurial sector are
properly planned, well defined and, most
importantly, transparent to the members of the
organization.
CONCLUSION
During the study, we examined where IT projects
(the application, development, introduction of new
IT solutions related to the strategic goals of the
organization) are located in the strategic goal
system of domestic enterprises, how effective their
implementation is, and in addition to this, we
analysed that to what extent of the potential
problems comes from that factor the project is not
being in line with the strategy. The responses to
research question Q1 clearly confirmed that the vast
majority of projects fulfil operational goals and
should be developed as part of the strategy at the
planning level,and it is important that the two have
to be in line. Among the responses, we found
examples of IT projects outside the strategy
developed under special circumstances, but the
experts clearly indicated that it is much easier to
maintain the results of an IT project when the
project is in line with the organizational strategy (or
it is a part of it). Regarding research question Q2,
we got a mixed picture , although we were able to
uncover a wide range of problem sources where
experts working in the SME sector do not find the
implementation and results of IT projects effective,
respondents from large companies clearly found
their own projects effective, so in the case of IT
projects, the organizational size specifics and the
key factors leading to success require further
examination. In terms of problem sources, the most
typical problem was the inappropriate use of the
final result, which mostly come from the fact that
the final outcome of the project was not in line with
the corporate strategy even at the planning level. If
we wanted to summarize the results, we could say
that we got an initial picture of the domestic project
planning and implementation practice, during
which we also got to know IT projects. In light of
the results, the examination of the main typical
errors of IT projects and the key factors necessary
for success represents the future direction of the
research. Within this, the examination of the
differences in IT project management knowledge,
planning and implementation between the SME and
large enterprise sectors represents an important part.
Within this, it became apparent that these factors are
worth examining in the next step during a possible
large-scale, quantitative sampling. In summary, it
can be said that the study has fulfilled its previously
set goals. For the next step, we will implement
quantitative sampling to deepn our knowledge as
partss of the long-term research plan.
REFERENCES
Akbar, S., Pranajaya, S. A., Nurkadarwati, N., Hoesny,
R., & Mutmainnah, I. (2024). Leadership Dynamics
in The Era of Educational Transformation:
Integrating The Concept of Adaptable Leadership in

K. Szabó and
L. Szabó
The role of it projects within the strategy:
How effectively do we use them?
132 JEMC, VOL. 14, NO. 2, 2024, 125-134
Sustainable Educational Administration.
International Journal of Teaching and Learning,
2(1), 223-235.
Alsudiri, T., Al-Karaghouli, W., & Eldabi, T. (2013).
Alignment of large project management process to
business strategy. A review and conceptual
framework. Journal of Enterprise Information
Management, 26(5), 596-615.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JEIM-07-2013-0050
Aranyossy, M., Blaskovics, B., & Ardzsuna, Á. H.
(2015). Információtechnológiai projektek sikere és
kudarca. Nemzetközi tapasztalatok és hazai kutatási
eredmények. Vezetéstudomány-Budapest
Management Review 46(5), 66-78.
https://doi.org/10.14267/VEZTUD.2015.05.07
Azanha, A., Argoud, A. R. T. T., Camargo Junior, J. B.
D., & Antoniolli, P. D. (2017). Agile project
management with Scrum: A case study of a
Brazilian pharmaceutical company IT project.
International Journal of Managing Projects in
Business, 10(1), 121-142.
https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMPB-06-2016-0054
Baka, A. (2018). IT Projektek menedzselése
nagyvállalati környezetben. Pannon Egyetem.
Veszprém.
Bakacsi, G., & Takács, S. (1998). Honnan-hová? A
nemzeti és szervezeti kultúra változásai a
kilencvenes évek közepének Magyarországán.
Vezetéstudomány, 29(2), 15-22.
Boyne, G. A. (2010). Strategic planning. In Public
service improvement: Theories and evidence, 60-77.
ISBN 978-0-19-954547-6
Cervone, H. F. (2014). Improving strategic planning by
adapting agile methods to the planning process.
Journal of Library Administration, 54(2), 155-168.
https://doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2014.903371
Chalmers, J., & Cowdell, F. (2021). What are
quantitative and qualitative research methods? A
brief introduction. Dermatological nursing, 20(2).
ISSN 1477-3368
Choi, J., & Ha, M. (2022). Validation of project
management information systems for industrial
construction projects. Journal of Asian Architecture
and Building Engineering, 21(5), 2046-2057.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13467581.2021.1941999
Denny, E., & Weckesser, A. (2022). How to do
qualitative research?: qualitative research methods.
Bjog, 129(7), 1166 – 1167.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-0528.17150
Erro-Garcés, A.- Alfaro-Tanco, J. A. (2020). Action
research as a meta-methodology in the management
field. International Journal of Qualitative Methods,
19, 1–11.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406920917489
Galbraith, J. R. (1983). Strategy and organization
planning. Human Resource Management, 63-77.
https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.3930220110
George, B., Richard M. W., & Joost M. (2019). Does
strategic planning improve organizational
performance? A meta‐analysis. Public
Administration Review 79(6), 810-819.
https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13104
Grundy, T. (1998). Strategy implementation and project
management. International Journal of Project
Management, 16(1), 43-50.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0263-7863(97)00016-1
Grundy, T. (2000). Strategic project management and
strategic behaviour. International Journal of Project
Management, 18(2), pp. 93-103;
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0263-7863(98)00076-3
Hayat, F., Rehman, A. U., Arif, K. S., Wahab, K., &
Abbas, M. (2019, July). The influence of agile
methodology (Scrum) on software project
management. In 2019 20th IEEE/ACIS International
Conference on Software Engineering, Artificial
Intelligence, Networking and Parallel/Distributed
Computing (SNPD) (pp. 145-149). IEEE.
Henrie, M., & Sousa-Poza, A. (2005). Project
management: A cultural literary review. Project
Management Journal, 36(2), 5-14.
https://doi.org/10.1177/875697280503600202
Ika, L. A., Söderlund, J., Munro, L. T., & Landoni, P.
(2020). Cross-learning between project management
and international development: Analysis and
research agenda. International Journal of Project
Management, 38(8), 548-558.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2020.10.005
Iriarte, C., & Sussy, B. (2020). IT projects success
factors: a literature review. International Journal of
Information Systems and Project Management 8(2),
49-78. https://doi.org/10.12821/ijispm080203
Kaufmann, C., & Alexander K. (2022). Does project
management matter? The relationship between
project management effort, complexity, and
profitability. International Journal of Project
Management 40(6) 624-633.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2022.05.007
Kinelski, G. (2020). The main factors of successful
project management in the aspect of energy
enterprises’ efficiency in the digital economy
environment. Polityka Energetyczna–Energy Policy
Journal, 23(3), 5-20.
https://doi.org/10.33223/epj/126435
Király, G., & Géring, Zs. (2016). Kvalitatív módszertani
innovációk és a tudományos gyakorlat: szerkesztői
előszó. Prosperitas, 3(2), 5-16.
https://publikaciotar.uni-bge.hu/id/eprint/849
Köhler, T., Smith, A., & Bhakoo, V. (2022). Templates
in qualitative research methods: Origins, limitations,
and new directions. Organizational Research
Methods, 25(2), 183-210.
https://doi.org/10.1177/10944281211060710
Krupa, M., & Hájek, J. (2024). Hybrid project
management models: a systematic literature review.
International Journal of Project Organisation and
Management, 16(2), 233-261.
https://doi.org/10.1504/IJPOM.2024.10056237
Lee, S. H., Peña-Mora, F., & Park, M. (2006). Dynamic
planning and control methodology for strategic and
operational construction project management.

K. Szabó and
L. Szabó
The role of it projects within the strategy:
How effectively do we use them?
JEMC, VOL. 14, NO. 2, 2024, 125-134 133
Automation in construction, 15(1), 84-97.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2005.02.008
Levitt, R. E. (2011). Towards project management 2.0.
Engineering Project Organization Journal, 1(3),
197-210.
https://doi.org/10.1080/21573727.2011.609558
Mészáros, T. (2020). A stratégiaalkotás változásának
mozgatórugói, fejlődési trendjei a XXI. században=
Drivers behind the change of strategy-making, and
its latest trends in the 21st century. Köz-gazdaság,
15(1), 30-42.
https://doi.org/10.14267/RETP2020.01.04
Morcov, S., Liliane P., & Rob J. K. (2020). Definitions,
characteristics and measures of IT project
complexity-a systematic literature review.
International Journal of Information Systems and
Project Management 8(2), 5-21.
https://doi.org/10.12821/ijispm080201
Müller, R., Drouin, N., & Sankaran, S. (2019).
Modeling organizational project management.
Project Management Journal, 50(4), 499-513.
https://doi.org/10.1177/8756972819847876
Naradda G., & Sisira K., (2020.) A review of global
challenges and survival strategies of small and
medium enterprises (SMEs). Economies 8(4), p. 79.
https://doi.org/10.3390/economies8040079
Ordoñez, R. E. C., Vanhoucke, M., Coelho, J., Anholon,
R., & Novaski, O. (2019). A study of the critical
chain project management method applied to a
multiproject system. Project Management Journal,
50(3), 322-334.
https://doi.org/10.1177/87569728198322
Panda, D. K. (2022). Impact of organizational culture on
strategic planning. Management Decision, 60(5),
1349-1368. https://doi.org/10.1108/md-10-2020-
1375
Papke-Shields, K. E., & Boyer-Wright, K. M. (2017).
Strategic planning characteristics applied to project
management. International Journal of Project
Management, 35(2), 169-179.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2016.10.015
Perkins, D., Jugdev, K., & Mathur, G. (2018).
Characteristics of project management assets and
project management process outcomes: an
exploratory factor analysis. International Journal of
Information Technology Project Management
(IJITPM), 9(1), 59-77.
https://doi.org/10.4018/IJITPM.2018010104
Pinto, J. K. (2022). Coming to terms with project
success: Current perspectives and future challenges.
International Journal of Project Management 40(7)
831-834.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2022.09.001
Reiff, J., & Schlegel, D. (2022). Hybrid project
management–a systematic literature review.
International Journal of Information Systems and
Project Management, 10(2), 45-63.
https://doi.org/10.12821/ijispm100203
Rezigalla, A. A. (2020). Observational study designs:
Synopsis for selecting an appropriate study design.
Cureus 12(1) https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.6692
San Cristóbal, J. R. (2017). Complexity in project
management. Procedia Computer Science, 121, 762-
766. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2017.11.098
Sardana, N., Shekoohi, S., Cornett, E. M., & Kaye, A.
D. (2023). Qualitative and quantitative research
methods. Substance Use and Addiction Research,
65-69. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-98814-
8.00008-1
Schwedes, O., Riedel, V., & Dziekan, K. (2017). Project
planning vs. strategic planning: Promoting a
different perspective for sustainable transport policy
in European R&D projects. Case Studies on
Transport Policy, 5(1), 31-37.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cstp.2016.08.006
Sreedharan V, R., & Sunder M, V. (2018). A novel
approach to lean six sigma project management: a
conceptual framework and empirical application.
Production Planning & Control, 29(11), 895-907.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09537287.2018.1492042
Srivannaboon, S., & Milosevic, D. Z. (2006). A two-
way influence between business strategy and project
management. International Journal of Project
Management, 24(6), 493-505.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2006.03.006
Srivastava, A., Bhardwaj, S., & Saraswat, S. (2017,
May). SCRUM model for agile methodology. In
2017 International Conference on Computing,
Communication and Automation (ICCCA) (pp. 864-
869). IEEE.
Sungjin, K., Chang, S., & Castro-Lacouture, D. (2020).
Dynamic modeling for analyzing impacts of skilled
labor shortage on construction project management.
Journal of Management in Engineering, 36(1) 80-
94. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-
5479.0000720
Szabó, K., Szabó, L., & Kása, R. (2024). Examination
of Logistics Simulation Demand Related to
Enterprises: Focusing on a Hungarian County.
Logistics, 8(1), 7.
https://doi.org/10.3390/logistics8010007
Tereso, A., Ribeiro, P., Fernandes, G., Loureiro, I., &
Ferreira, M. (2019). Project management practices in
private organizations. Project Management Journal,
50(1), 6-22.
https://doi.org/10.1177/8756972818810966
Thayer, R. H., & Yourdon, E. (2000). Software
Engineering Project Management. 2nd Ed., Wiley-
IEEE Computer Society Press ISBN 0-8186-8000-8
Vinothina, V. V., Sridaran, R., & Ganapathi, P. (2012).
A survey on resource allocation strategies in cloud
computing. International Journal of Advanced
Computer Science and Applications, 3(6).
https://doi.org/10.14569/IJACSA.2012.030616
Wagner Mainardes, E., Ferreira, J. J., & Raposo, M. L.
(2014). Strategy and strategic management
concepts: are they recognised by management

K. Szabó and
L. Szabó
The role of it projects within the strategy:
How effectively do we use them?
134 JEMC, VOL. 14, NO. 2, 2024, 125-134
students?. Technická univerzita v Liberci. ISSN
2336-5604
Zhitlukhina, O. G., Babak, L. N., Rakutko, S. Y.,
Selezneva, E. Y., Denisevich, E. I., Berezhnova, E.
I., & Mikhalyova, O. L. (2018). Specificity of the
relationship between project management and
organizational culture. Journal of Entrepreneurship
Education, 21(3), 1-9.
https://sdbindex.com/documents/00000164/00000-
84515.pdf
ULOGA IT PROJEKATA U STRATEGIJI: KOLIKO IH EFIKASNO
KORISTIMO?
Uloga projekata u funkcionisanju organizacija značajno je porasla tokom protekle decenije. Danas
pojedine organizacije koriste ovu metodu za celokupno poslovanje, dok velike kompanije svoje
prioritetne razvojne aktivnosti sprovode isključivo putem metoda upravljanja projektima. Znanje iz
oblasti upravljanja projektima postaje sve značajnije i za mala preduzeća, koja dolaze u kontakt sa
projektima putem svojih partnera ili kroz sopstvena iskustva. Iako se metodologija upravljanja
projektima sve više širi i razvija, još uvek postoji malo naučnih rezultata o tome gde se IT projekti
nalaze u sistemu ciljeva organizacije i kako su povezani sa korporativnom ili organizacionom
strategijom. U skladu s tim, osnovni ciljevi IT projekata biće ispitani u okviru ovog istraživanja, kao
i pitanja o tome da li su ti ciljevi povezani sa strategijom kompanije i koliko efikasno pojedinačne
kompanije koriste svoje IT projekte.
Ključne reči: Strategija; Menadžment; IT projekat; Upravljanje IT projektima.