This study shifts attention from project-based firms (PBFs) to project network organizations (PNOs) as increasingly important inter-organizational contexts of project collaboration. As a result of organizational specialization, PNOs have emerged as generic organizational forms combining the coordination capacity of PBFs with access to network resources. PNOs connect legally independent, yet often operationally interdependent individuals and organizations in strategically coordinated sets of core project teams and flexible partner pools that sustain beyond singular projects. Based on an empirical review of PNOs in film, event organizing, construction, complex product and system development, research, open innovation and international development, core features, antecedents and differentiating properties of PNOs are identified. Structural differences are related to project variety and connectivity, degree of specialization and geographic concentration of resources. Findings extend our understanding of inter-organizational project coordination across fields, and the interplay of PBFs, networks and project entrepreneurship.

Project entrepreneurs often rely on network relationships to initiate and coordinate projects in dynamic project businesses. Over time, they typically build and maintain so-called project network organizations (PNOs) - longer-term sets of strategically coordinated project-based relationships that sustain beyond particular projects. Based on examples in film, research and other project businesses, this chapter examines in detail how PNOs operate by comparing three network perspectives - networks as relational structures, networks as governance forms and networks as organizational systems. Each perspective is applied to look at three core interrelated features of PNOs: their strategic coordination, the formation of core project teams, and the formation of flexible partner pools. This chapter invites a more differentiated understanding of networks as contexts of project organizing and beyond. This is of relevance to students, scholars and practitioners of project-based organizing.

Although certainly of a much older (or even ancient) origin, during the last two decades or so project networks have become an established object of management and organization research in general and project management studies in particular. This Thoughtlet argues for a practice-based research of project networks that in the past has been dominated by structural approaches.

The delivery of construction projects requires a coalition of individuals and organizations that each brings a set of skills and knowledge to the network with the intent to develop solutions that provide value for the client. These coalitions of individuals and organizations are dependent on each member of the team sharing a vision that the success of the team is the top priority during the execution of the project. However, rapidly changing internal and external forces are continually challenging construction networks as they ...

An absence of trust among partners can magnify the risk in a complex project by increasing behavioural uncertainty. Partnership trust can effectively substitute for control, reducing variability of outcomes and increasing value-adding strategic collaboration. It is introduced as strategic countermeasures against risks associated with project complexity that can only be achieved with commitment from all partners. This research conceptualises partnership trust on four dimensions and investigates the roles of dedicated investment and information sharing in partnership trust–commitment. The complexity of trust management is further highlighted in an exploration of the importance of the exchange relationship environment.