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Introduction
According to [45] Shenhar and Dvir (2007), project management (PM) is one of the growing disciplines in organisations today. However, many projects still fail and many projects do not accomplish their business results. They argued that this presents a unique opportunity for improvement through research activities. A great amount of debate has been ranging about the soundness of the PM theoretical foundation and theories ([36] Packendorff, 1995; [47] Soderlund, 2004a; [30] Morris, 2002). [47] Soderlund (2004a) traces the two main theoretical traditions in PM research to those with intellectual roots in: the engineering science and applied mathematics (planning techniques and methods of PM) and others from the social sciences (organisational and behavioural aspects of project organisations). From the theoretical viewpoint [36] Packendorff (1995) categorised PM into three sides/types: the planning side; the human side (control, structure and leadership); and the performance side (goal-fulfilment and evaluation). [31] Morris (2010) argues for the need to focus on the study of projects as purposeful organisations and the role of management in their creation and delivery. PM therefore seems to be a research field with the potential for bringing different disciplines to focus on a focal phenomenon of study, that is, projects ([47] Soderlund, 2004a).
The normal sequence in carrying out research work in PM is to define problems and learn surrounding facts that can result in a better understanding of targeted problems. A researcher can devise her or his own workable methods as far as a reasonable, logical and convincing explanation can be given to support this approach. It is the responsibility of a researcher to choose a model or a strategy that both fits the problem to be solved and/or fits other research objectives, and that will produce reliable results ([3] Bell, 1999). [55] Walker (1997) provides six criteria for a well-developed research project: novelty of the subject, state-of-art knowledge, identification of gaps in current knowledge, a grasp of research techniques and their limitations, well-communicated results and the internationalization of the work for wider credibility.
In general, a research design consists of five interrelated aspects: what is the aim or purpose, what theory informs the study, what research questions are to be posed, what method is employed in the collection of the data and what is...