Institutional development and sustainability: Approaches for public sector project organizations

Institutional variables are important in explaining the success or failure of a project, especially in terms of sustainable outcomes. Specific measures are thus needed to develop institutional capacities in projects and this paper aims to explain the appropriate relationships in the context of project organizations. A framework for institutional development purposes is initially outlined that takes into account all exogenous and endogenous factors related to project management, and which guides the selection of intervention models in respect of improving performance. One sector of this framework, namely the influence of societal parameters on institutional behaviour, is recognized as being conceptually weak. Thus the field study undertaken in this work aimed to provide a better understanding of this area. A conceptual framework, arising from the behaviour recorded on the part of project managers, incorporates the institutional parameters of relatedness, dependence, commitment and the underlying authority structure. Further, the concept of adaptive authority is introduced to provide a more comprehensive diagnostic tool for institutional development in project organizations.