Project manager‐project (PM‐P) fit and project success

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the importance of a fit between project managers' (PMs) personalities and the “personalities” of their projects, for project success; taking a psychological rather than a project management perspective. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 289 Israeli PMs responded to a specially designed questionnaire that classified projects along three dimensions: Novelty, Complexity and Technological Uncertainty, analyses PM's personality traits that were identified as relevant to these dimensions and assessed the projects' success. It was hypothesized that the greater the PM‐P fit, the greater the projects' success. Findings – Results supported the hypothesis: PMs whose personality profile was close to the ideal PM profile for a particular project type were more successful in impact on the customers, benefit to the organization and overall success. Research limitations/implications – A cross‐sectional design and a self report measure. Practical implications – The findings can be translated into recommendations for improving the fit between PMs and the projects assigned to them to increase project success. Originality/value – The study extends Person‐Organization (P‐O) fit theory to the case of projects, viewing projects as temporary organizations. It also introduces to project management the psychological perspective on PM‐P fit and demonstrates its relevance.