Call for Contributors for  Case Studies in Project Management

Context

Projects are increasingly present in our daily life; however, they tend to be more and more complex. Research carried out in European countries estimates that around a third of the Gross Domestic Product of these countries is created in projects (Schoper et al., 2018). The global trend has led researchers to propose a new term: "projectification of the society," where projects increasingly dominate different societal and industry fields (Lundin et al., 2015). 

Project management is one of the fastest-growing fields in academia (Padalkar & Gopinath, 2018). Even if project management was only born as a discipline 60 years ago, researchers have deeply focused on understanding how projects are managed and how they impact industries, organizations, individuals, and society. Universities have also included project management content in their current programs or have developed specialized undergraduate and graduate programs in project management. This trend is not only observed in North America or Europe but also in universities in emergent regions, such as Asia, Latin-American, and Africa, where universities are developing programs and certificates to train future project managers. 

In the 1980s, the Project Management Institute (PMI) created a certification program for universities' project management programs to sustain universities and teaching excellence. In 2001, PMI created the Global Accreditation Center (GAC) as an independent academic accreditation body to formalize accreditation for the project, program, portfolio management, and related programs at the bachelor's, postgraduate and doctoral degree levels. Nowadays, there are more than 170 programs around the world that have PMI GAC accreditation and collaborate all together to improve project management teaching. Other associations, such as International Project Management Association (IPMA) and Association for Project Management (APM), collaborate with universities to improve how project management is taught and close the gap between theory and practice. 

Objective

Our book aims to sustain project management learning by offering detailed case studies illustrating how projects, programs, and portfolios are managed in practice. Having relevant and timely case studies for teaching and professional development purposes from an international, multi-industry perspective will meet a clear need in the market. This book is a collaborative work considering the participation of project manager researchers and professors around the world that want to describe specific project management cases.

We intend to include detailed case studies from different regions and different industries, including three different types of cases (Ellet, 2018):

• Decision scenario: a case where the reader should make a critical decision or undertake an action based on a deeper understanding of a project, program, portfolio, or individual/organization responsible for a project.
• Evaluation scenario: a case where the reader identifies and analyzes a specific situation by illustrating the pros and cons; here, it could be a project practice, strategy, or approach.
• Problem diagnosis scenario: a case where a significant situation in a project, program, or portfolio needs a simple explanation. Sometimes, the problem diagnosis scenario includes a decision.

Target audience

The main market segment is the academic community (professors, researchers, and students) from universities that teach project management and related programs. They can then use the case study to illustrate specific topics in project management. Our secondary audiences are project management professionals who look to improve their knowledge and competencies by reading case studies in project management.

Tentative topics

This book will be structured following the PMI Talent triangle® for project management, including three specific areas of expertise: 

1. Ways of working (technical project management) - management of projects/programs/portfolios to meet needs within constraints regarding professional standards and frameworks
2. Power skills (professional behavior) - ethical and culturally aware stakeholder engagement, communication, leadership, and teamwork
3. Business acumen (strategic awareness) - contextual awareness and knowledge of strategic and operational drivers required to inform decisions and deliver sustained competitive advantage

Case studies could cover tools, techniques, and skills used in project management, program management, portfolio management, organizational change management, benefits realization management (value creation), and organizational project management.

Case study structure

Each case study will be structured in two main sections:

1. Detailed case study description and questions - This section will be included in the book to present a detailed description of the case (i.e., project context, purpose, objectives, stakeholders, constraints, among others) and a detailed description of the scenario that should be analyzed to make a decision or solve a problem. The scenario description will be written in a storytelling format. Finally, this section will include three to five questions for the reader and a list of references (more than eight) for further reading to guide the case study analysis. Length: 6,000 to 7,000 words.
2. Pedagogical notes - This section will be included in a website. This section will help the reader (here, professors) to understand the concept and obtain knowledge to analyze and solve the case. It includes a conceptual description of the specific practice or concept the authors want to present in the case studies and guidance to answer the case study questions. Length: 1,000 to 2,000 words.

Submission procedure

Academics and practitioners are invited to submit, on or before 1 August 2023, a case study proposal of 1,000 to 2,000 words clearly explaining the practice and/or concept described in the case, the type of case study, and the case description. Authors will be notified by 1 September 2023 about the status of their proposals and sent chapter guidelines. Complete chapters are expected to be submitted by 1 November 2023.

All submitted chapters will be reviewed on a double-blind review basis. Contributors may also be requested to serve as reviewers for this project.

Contributors' agreement

There are no submission or acceptance fees for manuscripts submitted to this book publication. All manuscripts are accepted based on a double-blind peer-review editorial process.

The contributor's agreement is contractual between contributors and the book's editor. Please find here the related information: Information for Contributors. 

The Publisher agrees to make one complimentary digital copy of the Work available to each contributing author, along with a PDF of their chapter contribution. Purchase copies are available with an author discount of 50 percent off the published price.

Important dates

• 1 August 2023: Proposal Submission Deadline
• 1 September 2023: Notification of Acceptance
• 1 November 2023: Full Chapter Submission
• 15 December 2023: Review Results Returned
• 1 February 2024: Final Chapter Submission

Documents should be submitted to: [email protected]

Editors

• Alejandro Romero-Torres, Professor at the School of Business, Université du Québec à Montreal and GAC Chair. Email: [email protected]
• Shankar Sankaran, Professor at the School of Building Environment, University of Technology, Sydney, and GAC Director. Email: [email protected]
• Joseph Griffin, Teaching Professor in Project Management, Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, College of Professional Studies, Northeastern University, and GAC Director. Email: [email protected]

Email questions to Alejandro Romero-Torres. Email: [email protected]