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Book Description

Description: Megaproject Organization and Performance: The Myth and Political Reality delves into the complex world of organizing megaprojects and investigates the extent to which the performance of these projects could be traced back to their organizational structure. Through multiple case study research, including the London Olympic Park and Heathrow Airport Terminal 2, the authors show how megaprojects are unique in how they are organized. They explore core-periphery relation¬ships between promotors who control strategic choices, and suppliers, the contracted experts who provide the actual resources to get the project done. The impli¬cations of these structural–performance relationships within a robust economy are then compared with railroad and highway development projects in the developing economies of Nigeria, Uganda, and India. This in-depth study brings a complementary perspective to megaproject literature and enables us to reconcile conflicting explanations for the regularity with which megaprojects miss performance targets. With pluralism at the core of the megaproject’s organizational structure, the authors argue that megaprojects work best when accountability is shared and everyone has a stake in the final outcome.

Table of Contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Contents
  5. Executive Summary
  6. Chapter 1: Introduction
    1. Data Collection
    2. References
  7. Chapter 2: Megaprojects: An Evolving Hybrid Meta-Organization
    1. Introduction
    2. Designing Meta-Organizations
    3. Analysis
    4. Developing a Megaproject Meta-Organization
    5. Megaproject Embryo: The Conception of a Meta-Organization
    6. Megaproject Gestation: Parading, or the Hard Way
    7. Megaproject Delivery: Relative Stability in the Core, Explosion in the Periphery
    8. Inviting Resource-Rich Actors in the Environment to Join the Core
    9. Discussion
    10. The Flat, Porous Core
    11. The Closed, Transactional Periphery
    12. Co-Evolution of Organizational Structure and Technical Design
    13. Evolving Toward Fit
    14. Conclusion
    15. References
  8. Chapter 3: The (Under) Performance of Megaprojects: A Meta-Organizational Perspective
    1. Introduction
    2. Meta-Organizations and Megaprojects
    3. Analysis
    4. Embryonic Stage: How a Megaproject Meta-Organization is Conceived
    5. Gestation: Expanding the Megaproject Meta-Organization's Core
    6. Delivery: Expanding and Engaging the Megaproject Meta-Organization's Periphery
    7. Linking Organizational Evolution and Ambiguity in Performance
    8. Discussion
    9. The Permeable Boundaries of the Megaproject Meta-Organization's Core
    10. The Vast but Closed Megaproject Meta-Organization's Periphery
    11. Linking Evolution in Organizational Structure to Ambiguity in Performance
    12. Implications for Practice
    13. Further Research
    14. Conclusion
    15. References
  9. Chapter 4: Pluralism at the Megaproject Front End
    1. Introduction
    2. Background: Strategizing Under Pluralism
    3. Research Design, Sample, and Methods
    4. Analysis
    5. The Polycentric Governance of the Project Front End
    6. Causes of Interorganizational Disputes over Strategic Design Choices
    7. Variance in the Use of Slack Resources
    8. Discussion
    9. Conclusion
    10. References
  10. Chapter 5: Between a Rock and a Hard Place: A Study of Megaprojects in Developing Economies
    1. Introduction
    2. Background: The Planning-Implementation Overlap in Development Processes
    3. Research Design, Sample, and Methods
    4. Data Collection
    5. Methods
    6. Analysis
    7. The Emergence of Pluralistic Developments in a Developing Economy
    8. Improvisation Under Extreme Planning-Implementation Overlap
    9. A Linear, Sequential Approach to Capital-Intensive Developments
    10. Discussion
    11. Between a Rock and a Hard Place
    12. Policy and Practice Implications
    13. Conclusion
    14. References
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