(PMO) in Saudi Arabia

249 Pages·2013·2.36 MB·English

Influence of Socio-Cultural and Technological
Factors on the Adoption of the Project
Management Office (PMO) in Saudi Arabia:
An Innovation Diffusion Perspective

Abdulaziz Ibrahim Alghadeer
B.CIS, M.PM.

Griffith School of Engineering
Science, Environment, Engineering and Technology
Griffith University

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy

July 2012
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Declaration
This work has not been previously submitted for a degree or diploma in any university.
To the best of my knowledge and belief, this thesis contains no material previously
published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis
itself.

________________________
Abdulaziz Ibrahim Alghadeer
July 2012
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Acknowledgements
I wish to express my special appreciation to Professor Sherif Mohamed, for being such
a supportive supervisor. Without his inspiration, generous support and encouragement,
this work would never have come to fruition. From the first day he has provided me
with invaluable knowledge and suggestions, and I have been very fortunate to have
him as my supervisor.

Many thanks are due to the staff members at Griffith School of Engineering for their
kind help and administrative support. I also wish to thank my PhD colleagues for
giving me a memorable and enjoyable experience. I am also grateful to Griffith
University for providing a good learning environment and research support.

Special appreciation is extended to the Project Management Institution-Arabian Gulf
Chapter for their support during the data collection phase. I also appreciate the
generous help of all those respondents who participated in my survey.

My deep gratitude and appreciation go out to my parents, my brothers and my
wonderful sister. Their support and constant encouragement gave me the strength and
determination that helped me during my PhD journey. My gratitude also goes out to
my lovely family for their generous and warmest support.

Finally, this study is dedicated to my mother and father for their efforts and love.
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Abstract
Innovation is regarded as one of the key drivers of national economic growth. It is
defined as the adoption of a system, policy, program, device, process, product or
service that is new to the adopting organisation. A must-have core competency for the
adopting organisation is the ability to manage the innovation-adoption process (e.g.
awareness of the innovation, attitude formation, intention to adopt, rate of adoption,
evaluation, implementation, etc.).

The link between innovativeness and projects undertaken is intimate, therefore,
integrated advanced project management is recommended to address challenges faced
by project management in improving organisations’ performance. Many organisations
plan to adopt or have already adopted the Project Management Office (PMO) which is
perceived as an organisational innovation because it is an effort to adopt new project
management practices.

Previous studies have indicated that the successful adoption of innovations often needs
an effective diffusion process. This thesis argues that a combination of contextual
factors (e.g. social, cultural, technological and organisational) and various innovation
characteristics has the potential to influence the organisation’s intention to adopt
innovation.

Drawing upon the Diffusion of Innovation theory, and a stream of research that has
focused on national culture, organisational climate, and technology and innovation
management, the thesis introduces a conceptual model featuring seven unique
constructs–each construct represents a single theoretical variable of interest. The thesis
hypothesises upon how socio-cultural and technological factors (two constructs at the
country level), organisational climate for innovation (single construct at the
organisation level), and innovation characteristics (three constructs capturing perceived
relative advantages, compatibility and complexity) influence the intention-to-adopt
decision (single construct).

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The developed model and associated hypotheses were empirically tested using data
collected from a large-scale survey of 223 Saudi public and private project-based
organisations; these organisations had either adopted, or intended to adopt, the Project
Management Office (PMO). To obtain a broad representation of respondents, and to
minimise bias, the survey did not target any specific industry.

The survey items were based on a comprehensive review of the seminal literature.
Additionally, items and operationlisations tested by previous researchers were used as
much as possible. The thesis utilised a series of multivariate statistical techniques:
Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and
Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). EFA and CFA were initially carried out to
uncover the robust model structures. Next, SEM was performed to assess and refine the
conceptual model by evaluating the hypothesised relationships between the constructs.
Regression Analysis (RA) was also employed to examine the strength of the
relationship among the factors underpinning the constructs.

The empirical analysis reveals a number of statistically significant linkages between
the constructs suggesting that: 1) Socio-cultural and technological factors positively
influence organisational climate for innovation; 2) Perceived PMO Relative
Advantages and Compatibility are positively related to organisational climate for
innovation, whereas, perceived Complexity appears to be negatively related to the
organisational climate for innovation: and 3) Both PMO Relative Advantages and
Compatibility are the most influential constructs among the three PMO constructs,
impacting on the intention to adopt the PMO.

The results of this study indicate that national factors have significant impacts on
organisational climate for innovation. In particular, a participative culture and
availability of technology have the most influence among the factors over
organisational climate for innovation. The study also provides insight into how
organisational climate for innovation can facilitate diffusion. This study posited those
managerial and operational support climates that best foster organisational innovation
diffusion. The results indicate that the more organisations provide a proper managerial
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and operational climate for creativity and innovation, the more the diffusion process is
accelerated. The foregoing result underlines the importance of creating a climate that
helps to ensure that ideas can be effectively nurtured. The present study’s findings
suggest that research should continue to investigate other factors that affect the
innovation diffusion process.

The study also provides empirical evidence that organisational climate for innovation
has an influence on innovation characteristics. A managerial support climate in
particular has an influence on the relative advantages and compatibility of an
organisational innovation. In addition, the study explored the most dynamic innovation
characteristics. It found that innovation advantages and compatibility have influenced
the intention to implement an organisational innovation. The findings also provide
further support that relative advantages and compatibility have the most power among
organisational innovation characteristics.

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Table of Contents
DECLARATION I
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS III
ABSTRACT V
TABLE OF CONTENTS VIII
LIST OF TABLES XI
LIST OF FIGURES XIII
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS XIV
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY 1
1.2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 5
1.3 RESEARCH SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS 6
1.4 METHODOLOGY OVERVIEW 6
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 7
1.6 THESIS LAYOUT 9
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 13
2.1 INNOVATION 13
2.1.1 Conception of Innovation 13
2.1.2 Innovation and Projects 16
2.1.3 Creativity and Projects 18
2.2 ORGANISATIONAL INNOVATION 20
2.2.1 The PMO as an Organisational Innovation 21
2.2.2 The PMO’s Value 23
2.2.3 Organisational Innovation Adoption 25
2.3 FACTORS AFFECTING ORGANISATIONAL INNOVATION ADOPTION 27
2.3.1 Diffusion of Innovation Theory 29
2.3.2 Organisational Climate for Innovation 31
2.3.3 Socio-Cultural and Technological Factors 42
2.4 CHAPTER SUMMARY 55
CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 57
3.1 RESEARCH QUESTION AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 57
3.2 HYPOTHESES DEVELOPMENT 58
3.2.1 Factors Affecting Organisational Innovation Adoption 59
3.3 PHILOSOPHICAL ASSUMPTIONS AND RESEARCH APPROACH 62
3.4 RESEARCH DESIGN 63
3.4.1 Details of the Study 64
3.4.2 Sample and Sampling Method 65
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