Theory Use in Project Management Research: An Exploratory Content Analysis Approach.

Area of Science:

• Project Management (PM) as an academic discipline.
• Theory application and development in scientific research.

Background:

• Project Management (PM) is a relatively new academic discipline.
• The use of theories is crucial for a discipline's growth, maturity, and influence.
• Existing PM research often lacks a strong theoretical foundation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prevalence and trends of theory use in Project Management (PM) research.
• To identify dominant theories employed in PM studies.
• To understand the extent to which PM develops its own theories versus borrowing from other disciplines.

Main Methods:

• Systematic content analysis of 9,200 PM research articles.
• Articles were published in leading PM journals between 2000 and 2019 (20 years).
• Identification and categorization of unique theories cited in the research.

Main Results:

• A total of 248 unique theories were identified in the analyzed PM research.
• The use of theories in PM research shows an increasing trend over the study period.
• Dominant theories include game theory, fuzzy theory, agency theory, contingency theory, and stakeholder theory.
• PM researchers frequently utilize theories borrowed from psychology, sociology, mathematics, and economics.

Conclusions:

• The Project Management (PM) discipline is actively and increasingly integrating theoretical frameworks into its research.
• While PM is developing its own theoretical base, it heavily relies on established theories from other disciplines.
• This reliance on interdisciplinary theories contributes to the maturity and legitimacy of PM as an academic field.