Owner capabilities in social infrastructure projects : towards an expansion of the dynamic capabilities’ framework

Purpose: The project organising literature has increasingly paid attention to the dynamic capabilities required for the development of projects. The current research aims to expand the dynamic capabilities framework by including owner capabilities required throughout the whole project life cycle. Design/methodology/approach: The research uses an interpretive qualitative research approach. Nineteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with the key actors of a social infrastructure project. Findings: The findings suggest that the expansion of the dynamic capabilities framework to include owner capabilities required throughout a project life cycle could positively impact the success of a project. “Transformational capabilities” are recommended to enable the owner to overcome challenges and lead the evolution towards project organisations that are capable of transforming its outputs into beneficial use. Originality/value: Existing research on dynamic capabilities does not address the particular challenges of social infrastructure projects such as housing. The current research fills this gap by exposing the challenges experienced by owners in the development of certain capabilities and their impact on the performance of a project.