The impact of organisational energy dimensions on project success

Abstract

Effective project management is crucial to the successful performance of countries and organisations. In light of the recent multi-million rand project failures within South Africa including the failure to deliver the Medupi power station, the E-toll project and most recently the inability of government to roleÐout a R580million broadband project in Limpopo, it has become more evident than ever that project management and its success factors and success criteria require additional focus. Organisational energy is a particular project success factor that is not well understood. The research project examined the relationship between organisational energy, its latent variables, and project success. A deeper understanding of this relationship will give organisations and government the ability to re-energise their projects and create a fertile ground for success. To test the hypotheses, structural equation modelling and regression analysis were performed. ParticipantsÕ were surveyed using the Productive Energy Measure (PEM) and Project Success Questionaire (PSQ) measurement instruments. A significant relationship between the affective and behavioural dimension and project success was discovered, while no significant relationship was discovered between the cognitive dimension and project success. This was in contradiction to research conducted by the founders of the organisational energy, who observed a relationship between all three latent variables and organisational success. To improve project success organisations and governments should place emphasis on affective and behavioural energy within project environments.