An empirical investigation of the relationship between intellectual capital and project success
| Published date | 11 July 2016 |
| Date | 11 July 2016 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-01-2016-0004 |
| Pages | 471-483 |
| Author | Meliha Handzic,Nermina Durmic,Adnan Kraljic,Tarik Kraljic |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Knowledge management |
An empirical investigation of the
relationship between intellectual
capital and project success
Meliha Handzic, Nermina Durmic, Adnan Kraljic and Tarik Kraljic
International Burch University, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the relationship between project-specific
intellectual capital (IC) and project success in the context of information technology (IT) projects.
Design/methodology/approach –Using data collected from surveys of 603 IT professionals across
a variety of projects, the authors constructed a structural (structural equation model) model in AMOS
to examine the relationships between three dimensions of project-specific IC (project team, project
customer and project process) and project success.
Findings –The empirical results support the proposition that IC has a positive impact on project
success, and thus may be a good indicator of future projects’performance. More importantly,
the authors found out an important mediating role of a project’s structural capital (process) in
exploiting its human (team) and relational (customer) capital for realising project success.
Research limitations/implications –Interpretation of current results should be considered in light
of the following methodological limitations: convenient rather than systematic sampling, use of
previously untested measures and prevailing European subjects.
Practical implications –These results suggest that project-based organisations need to invest
heavily in their project workforce talent and then translate it into superior project practices in order to
produce successful IT projects. They also need to maintain close relationships with their project
customers and involve them during the entire project process.
Originality/value –The current empirical evidence extends the understanding of the role of IC in
improving project success and thus helps project-based organisations create and maintain competitive
advantage in emerging economies.
Keywords Project management, Surveys, Knowledge management, Intellectual capital,
Empirical study, Project success
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Modern knowledge-intensive and innovative firms are usually organised around
projects. This is particularly evident in the information technology (IT) sector.
Unfortunately, project management (PM) literature often reports that these projects are
not delivered on time, within budget and/or scope. In the context of IT, the rate of failed
projects is as high as 70 per cent (King, 2003; Frese and Sauter, 2003). One of the
potential reasons given for such a high project failure rate is that organisations do not
possess and/or do not engage their knowledge assets in more beneficial ways to
enhance the success rate of these projects (Yeong and Lim, 2010).
Recognising that project success is a knowledge-related issue, some recent literature
(e.g. Handzic and Durmic, 2015) addressing PM included discussions of intellectual
capital (IC) and knowledge management (KM). In general, from the knowledge-based
view, the ability to leverage the required knowledge plays a critical role in competitive
performance in the new economy (Drucker, 1993; Grant, 1996). Therefore, project-based
organisations are facing two challenges: identifying what kind of project-related
knowledge assets they have and need to improve the rate of project success, and
Journal of Intellectual Capital
Vol. 17 No. 3, 2016
pp. 471-483
©Emerald Group Publis hing Limited
1469-1930
DOI 10.1108/JIC-01-2016-0004
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/1469-1930.htm
471
Relationship
between IC
and project
success
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