The contingent effects of organisational control on project delivery capabilities
This study investigates the effects of organizational control modes (behaviour control, output control and input control on an organisation’s capability to deliver projects. We surveyed senior managers in Australian construction contractors and IT services organisations. Through comparing the effects of control modes in the two industries, we attempt to develop a contingent model on the effects of control modes on Project Delivery Capability (PDC) in the construction and IT services industries. Its contribution is to (1) provide empirical evidence of systematic differences in PDC in contexts of high and low Output Measurability and Task Programmability; (2) demonstrate that contextually appropriate choice of Control Mode improves PDC. When integrated with Risk Management Theory, Organizational Control Theory could provide a robust framework for predicting the relationships among Control Modes, contextual variables and PDC. Based on the preliminary findings, we propose that IT services companies would improve their PDC by initially focusing on developing their capability in applying Output Control and developing project managers’ capabilities, and then by re-engineering the project context to increase the level of Task Programmability and Output Measurability.