To which extent do projects explore the opportunity space? : A study of conceptual appraisals and the choice of conceptual solutions

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore a selection of projects to understand how conceptual appraisals and choice of concepts are handled, and to which extent the conceptual opportunity space is exploited. Design/methodology/approach – The study is essentially case based, and rooted in a number of in-depth studies of single-project cases. Its study combines information from document studies with interview data, and culminates in normative recommendations. Findings – The study found that the projects do indeed not exploit the opportunity space to a very large extent. The lessons from the present study is that the final choice is determined more by decision makers than the analysts, and will often be the result of policy and preferences more than objective reasoning. Which again suggests that the efforts as analysts will often be in vain. Research limitations/implications – These findings could influence theoretical models outlining project establishment and decision processes. Practical implications – The study has identified many shortcomings in public sector processes that could be utilized to alter such processes. Originality/value – The study is original in that it focusses on the concept development phase of projects, rather than the traditional execution phase, and has studied decision processes.