Strategic Alignment, Uncertainties, and Realignment of Project Portfolios

doi:10.1017/9781009322737.011

Chapter 8 - Strategic Alignment, Uncertainties, and Realignment of Project Portfolios

from Part II - Deviating from Plans

Published online by Cambridge University Press: aN Invalid Date NaN

Miia Martinsuo and

Siiri Tuominen

Edited by

Lavagnon A. Ika and

Jeffrey K. Pinto

Show author details

Lavagnon A. Ika: Affiliation:
University of Ottawa
Jeffrey K. Pinto: Affiliation:
Pennsylvania State University

Book contents

Get access

Summary

Uncertainty in projects and their context causes various needs for changes to projects and, consequently, to the entire project portfolio. While organizations attempt to build their project portfolios in alignment with strategy, such uncertainties may require constant uncertainty monitoring and repeated strategic realignment, so that the project portfolio would serve the strategic interests of the organization over time. This chapter characterizes the pursuit of strategic alignment in project portfolio management, maps the various sources of uncertainty that may jeopardize this alignment, and reports how organizations manage uncertainties that have accumulated to a full-blown chaos, through actions of realignment. We use examples and findings from five firms’ project portfolio management, to illustrate uncertainty sources and strategic realignment. The findings show that project behavior is both a source of uncertainty and a potential mechanism for activating and promoting strategic realignment.

Keywords

project portfolio strategic alignment uncertainty reconfiguration

Information

Type: Chapter
Information: Cambridge Handbook of Project Behavior , pp. 130 - 143

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009322737.011 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2025

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Anttila, R. (2021). Strategiakytkentä sekä epävarmuuden hallinta suuryritysten innovaatioprojektisalkuissa (Strategic linkage and uncertainty management in the innovation project portfolios of large companies). Master’s thesis, Tampere University. https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202110287960.Google Scholar

Archer, N., and Ghasemzadeh, F. (1999). An integrated framework for project portfolio selection. International Journal of Project Management, 17(4), 207–216.10.1016/S0263-7863(98)00032-5CrossRef Google Scholar

Blichfeldt, B. S., and Eskerod, P. (2008). Project portfolio management: There’s more to it than what management enacts. International Journal of Project Management, 26(4), 357–365.10.1016/j.ijproman.2007.06.004CrossRef Google Scholar

Chapman, C., and Ward, S. (1997). Project risk management. Wiley.Google Scholar

Christiansen, J. K., and Varnes, C. (2008). From models to practice: Decision making at portfolio meetings. International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management, 25(1), 87–101.CrossRef Google Scholar

Clegg, S., Killen, C. P., Biesenthal, C., and Shankaran, S. (2018). Practices, projects and portfolios: Current research trends and new directions. International Journal of Project Management, 36, 762–772.10.1016/j.ijproman.2018.03.008CrossRef Google Scholar

Cooper, R. G., Edgett, S. J., and Kleinschmidt, E. J. (1997). Portfolio management in new product development: Lessons from the leaders – I. Research Technology Management, 40(5), pp. 16–28.10.1080/08956308.1997.11671152CrossRef Google Scholar

Cooper, R., Edgett, S., and Kleinschmidt, E. (2001). Portfolio management for new products, 2nd ed. Basic Books.Google Scholar

De Meyer, A., Loch, C. H., and Pich, M. T. (2002). Managing project uncertainty: From variation to chaos. MIT Sloan Management Review, 43(2), 60–67.Google Scholar

Dye, L., and Pennypacker, J. (eds.) (1999). Project portfolio management. Selecting and prioritizing projects for competitive advantage. Center for Business Practices.Google Scholar

Elonen, S., and Artto, K. (2003). Problems in managing internal development projects in multi-project environments. International Journal of Project Management, 21(6), 395–402.10.1016/S0263-7863(02)00097-2CrossRef Google Scholar

Engwall, M. (2003). No project is an island: Linking projects to history and context. Research Policy, 32(5), 789–808.10.1016/S0048-7333(02)00088-4CrossRef Google Scholar

Globocnik, F., Häufler, B. P., and Salomo, S. (2022). Organizational antecedents to bootlegging and consequences for the newness of the innovation portfolio. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 39, 717–745.10.1111/jpim.12626CrossRef Google Scholar

Hoffmann, D., Ahlemann, F., and Reining, S. (2020). Reconciling alignment, efficiency, and agility in IT project portfolio management: Recommendations based on a revelatory case study. International Journal of Project Management, 38, 124–136.10.1016/j.ijproman.2020.01.004CrossRef Google Scholar

Ika, L. A., Love, P. E., and Pinto, J. K. (2020). Moving beyond the planning fallacy: The emergence of a new principle of project behavior. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 67(2), 221–230.Google Scholar

Jerbrant, A., and Karrbom Gustavsson, T. (2013). Managing project portfolios: Balancing flexibility and structure by improvising. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 6(1), 152–172.10.1108/17538371311291071CrossRef Google Scholar

Kester, L., Griffin, A., Hultink, E. J., and Lauche, K. (2011). Exploring portfolio decision-making processes. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 28(5), 641–661.10.1111/j.1540-5885.2011.00832.xCrossRef Google Scholar

Kester, L., Hultink, E. J., and Lauche, K. (2009). Portfolio decision-making genres: A case study. Journal of Engineering and Technology Management, 26(4), 327–341.10.1016/j.jengtecman.2009.10.006CrossRef Google Scholar

Kester, L., Hultink, E. J., and Griffin, A. (2014). An empirical investigation of the antecedents and outcomes of NPD portfolio success. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 31(6), 1199–1213.10.1111/jpim.12183CrossRef Google Scholar

Kock, A., and Gemünden, H. G. (2016). Antecedents to decision-making quality and agility in innovation portfolio management. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 33(6), 670–686.10.1111/jpim.12336CrossRef Google Scholar

Kock, A., Heising, W., and Gemünden, H. G. (2016). A contingency approach on the impact of front-end success on project portfolio success. Project Management Journal, 47(2), 115–129.10.1002/pmj.21575CrossRef Google Scholar

Kopmann, J., Kock, A., Killen, C. P., and Gemünden, H. G. (2017). The role of project portfolio management in fostering both deliberate and emergent strategy. International Journal of Project Management, 35, 557–570.10.1016/j.ijproman.2017.02.011CrossRef Google Scholar

Korhonen, T., Laine, T., and Martinsuo, M., (2014). Management control of project portfolio uncertainty: A managerial role perspective. Project Management Journal, 45(1), 21–37.10.1002/pmj.21390CrossRef Google Scholar

Loch, C. (2000). Tailoring product development to strategy: Case of a European technology manufacturer. European Management Journal, 18(3), 246–258.10.1016/S0263-2373(00)00007-4CrossRef Google Scholar

Martinsuo, M. (2013). Project portfolio management in practice and in context. International Journal of Project Management, 31(6), 794–803.10.1016/j.ijproman.2012.10.013CrossRef Google Scholar

Martinsuo, M., and Anttila, R. (2022). Practices of strategic alignment in and across innovation project portfolios. Paper presented at EURAM European Academy of Management Conference, June, 15–17, Winterthur, Switzerland.Google Scholar

Martinsuo, M., and Geraldi, J. (2020). The management of project portfolios: Relationships of project portfolios with their contexts. International Journal of Project Management, 38(7), 441–453.10.1016/j.ijproman.2020.02.002CrossRef Google Scholar

Martinsuo, M., Korhonen, T., and Laine, T. (2014). Identifying, framing and managing uncertainties in project portfolios. International Journal of Project Management, 32(5), 732–746.10.1016/j.ijproman.2014.01.014CrossRef Google Scholar

Martinsuo, M., and Lehtonen, P. (2007). Role of single-project management in achieving portfolio management efficiency. International Journal of Project Management, 25(1), 56–65.10.1016/j.ijproman.2006.04.002CrossRef Google Scholar

Martinsuo, M., and Tuominen, S. (2021). Reconfiguring the innovation project portfolio: Responding to strategic uncertainties in a dynamic context. Paper presented at the 28th IPDMC Innovation and Product Development Management Conference, June 6–8, Milan, Italy.Google Scholar

Midler, C. (2013). Implementing a low-end disruption strategy through multiproject lineage management: the Logan case. Project Management Journal, 44(5), 24–35.CrossRef Google Scholar

Petit, Y. (2012). Project portfolios in dynamic environments: Organizing for uncertainty. International Journal of Project Management, 30(5), 539–553.10.1016/j.ijproman.2011.11.007CrossRef Google Scholar

Petit, Y., and Hobbs, B. (2010). Project portfolios in dynamic environments: Sources of uncertainty and sensing mechanisms. Project Management Journal, 41(4), 46–58.10.1002/pmj.20201CrossRef Google Scholar

Pich, M. T., Loch, C. H., and De Meyer, A. (2002). On uncertainty, ambiguity, and complexity in project management. Management Science, 48(8), 1008–1023.10.1287/mnsc.48.8.1008.163CrossRef Google Scholar

Röth, T., Spieth, P., and Lange, D. (2019). Managerial political behavior in innovation portfolio management: A sensegiving and sensebreaking process. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 36(5), 534–559.10.1111/jpim.12501CrossRef Google Scholar

Stettina, C. J., and Hörz, J. (2015). Agile portfolio management: An empirical perspective on the practice in use. International Journal of Project Management, 33, 140–152.10.1016/j.ijproman.2014.03.008CrossRef Google Scholar

Teece, D. J. (2007). Explicating dynamic capabilities: the nature and microfoundations of (sustainable) enterprise performance. Strategic Management Journal, 28, 1319–1350.10.1002/smj.640CrossRef Google Scholar

Teller, J., and Kock, A. (2013). An empirical investigation on how portfolio risk management influences project portfolio success. International Journal of Project Management, 31, 817–829.10.1016/j.ijproman.2012.11.012CrossRef Google Scholar

Teller, J., Kock, A., and Gemünden, H. G. (2014). Risk management in project portfolios is more than managing project risks: A contingency perspective on risk management. Project Management Journal, 45(4), 67–80.10.1002/pmj.21431CrossRef Google Scholar

Teller, J., Unger, B. N., Kock, A., and Gemünden, H. G. (2012). Formalization of project portfolio management: The moderating role of project portfolio complexity. International Journal of Project Management, 30(5), 596–607.10.1016/j.ijproman.2012.01.020CrossRef Google Scholar

Tuominen, S. (2020). Continuous reconfiguration: Managing innovation project portfolio uncertainty. Master’s thesis, Tampere University. https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202012118764.Google Scholar

Unterhitzenberger, C. (2021). Editorial. Special issue on project behavior. Project Management Journal, 52(6), 527–530.CrossRef Google Scholar

Vedel, J. B., and Geraldi, J. (2020). A ‘stranger’ in the making of strategy: A process perspective of project portfolio management in a pharmaceutical firm. International Journal of Project Management, 38, 454–463.10.1016/j.ijproman.2020.03.003CrossRef Google Scholar

Voss, M., and Kock, A. (2013). Impact of relationship value on project portfolio success: Investigating the moderating effects of portfolio characteristics and external turbulence. International Journal of Project Management, 31(6), 847–861.10.1016/j.ijproman.2012.11.005CrossRef Google Scholar

Ward, S., and Chapman, C. (2003). Transforming project risk management into project uncertainty management. International Journal of Project Management, 21(2), 97–105.10.1016/S0263-7863(01)00080-1CrossRef Google Scholar

Accessibility standard: WCAG 2.0 A

Why this information is here

This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.

Accessibility Information

The PDF of this book conforms to version 2.0 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), ensuring core accessibility principles are addressed and meets the basic (A) level of WCAG compliance, addressing essential accessibility barriers.

Content Navigation

Table of contents navigation
Allows you to navigate directly to chapters, sections, or non‐text items through a linked table of contents, reducing the need for extensive scrolling.

Index navigation
Provides an interactive index, letting you go straight to where a term or subject appears in the text without manual searching.

Reading Order & Textual Equivalents

Single logical reading order
You will encounter all content (including footnotes, captions, etc.) in a clear, sequential flow, making it easier to follow with assistive tools like screen readers.

Short alternative textual descriptions
You get concise descriptions (for images, charts, or media clips), ensuring you do not miss crucial information when visual or audio elements are not accessible.

Full alternative textual descriptions
You get more than just short alt text: you have comprehensive text equivalents, transcripts, captions, or audio descriptions for substantial non‐text content, which is especially helpful for complex visuals or multimedia.

Visualised data also available as non-graphical data
You can access graphs or charts in a text or tabular format, so you are not excluded if you cannot process visual displays.

Visual Accessibility

Use of colour is not sole means of conveying information
You will still understand key ideas or prompts without relying solely on colour, which is especially helpful if you have colour vision deficiencies.

Use of high contrast between text and background colour
You benefit from high‐contrast text, which improves legibility if you have low vision or if you are reading in less‐than‐ideal lighting conditions.