The Long Road to Benefits Management

This article reports on a four- year action research study, where the aims were to study benefits management at a detailed, practical level and to evaluate the benefits management practices applied. Synthesizing the insights from the study shows that the approach is dependent on the context and that the action research process was a challenging endeavor, but also that the project was successful with respect to improving performance. We provide a structured evaluation of the practiced process to uncover weaknesses and improve future interventions by suggesting an integrative management model with three layers: instrumental, practical, and reflective.