Internal changes and project management structures within enterprises

Among the types of project management structure distinguished in the literature, the project structure appears to be the most appropriate for carrying out internal change projects within enterprises, which are rather broad in scope—i.e., when various departments, or a significant number of people in the enterprise, are affected. Few enterprises use this structure, however. The objective of this article is to contribute to a better understanding of this phenomenon. Three recent internal change projects in large enterprises, where the project structure was hardly used, are studied (the transformation of a factory into focused factories, the institution of a succession program, the implementation of a new process control system in a new plant). This study reveals that the problem is both real and serious, and that it has nothing to do with any particular flaw in the structure, but rather with the culture of the enterprise and the pressures towards conformity that exist there.