Top Management Support and Project Performance : An Empirical Study of Public Sector Projects

The performance of public sector projects is comparatively low. Top management support is one of the critical success factors that adversely affect performance of projects in organizations. A large number of studies have been conducted on top management support as a single dimensional construct in the field of engineering management and project management. However, a very few studies have explored top management support as a multi-dimensional construct. The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between multiple dimensions of top management support and project performance. This quantitative study employed random sampling techniques on cross sectional data collected through an online survey from public sector projects. The respondents were the project managers and project directors working on public sector projects in Pakistan. Explanatory and confirmatory factor analyses were employed to test the validity of the construct. For testing of research hypotheses, correlation and regression analyses were conducted. Findings indicate that all dimensions of top management support have significant positive influence on project performance in the public sector of Pakistan. The study provides implications for academicians and practitioners in policy formulation, to gain apt support from top management and improve project performance. The study provides directions for future research