Selling Project Management to Senior Executives: Framing the Moves that Matter

CHAPTER 1

Study Background

Organizational theory has much to contribute to the development of project management research. In particular, two important organizational concepts are “wicked problems” (Lyles 1987) and “knowing-doing gaps” (Pfeffer and Sutton 2000). The term wicked problem applies to disconcerting issues that are challenging, frustrating, and difficult to pin down and solve. The knowing-doing gap, as described by Pfeffer and Sutton (2000), refers to having the knowledge of what needs to be done, but frequently failing to act or behaving inconsistently with that knowledge. The presence of a knowing-doing gap at the highest levels of organizational management can be seen when senior executives successfully explain what their company ...