The Contingencies of Project Management: A Factor Analytic Approach to Complexity and Novelty

Contingency theory is one of the major theoretical perspectives in management research. Contingency theory argues that there is ‘no one best way.’ Superior performance results from matching managerial actions with internal organizational characteristics and external environments. This is contrary to much AEC research where there has been an attempt to identify ‘the way’ to manage a project. This article proposes that the adoption of a contingency theory perspective holds significant promise for AEC research. It focuses on internal project characteristics and argues that the project management activities need to match the novelty and complexity of the project if superior performance is to be achieved. A measurement model that captures project novelty and complexity is introduced. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses are employed to explicate the model. Novelty and complexity are shown to be multifaceted constructs that define tangible characteristics of the project. The measurement model for novelty is seen to be much more robust than that developed for technical complexity.