A Theoretical Framework for Aligning Project Management with Business Strategy

This study addresses two aspects of a topic under-researched in the strategic management literature: the alignment of project management and business strategy. Two areas of this alignment were studied: (1) The reciprocal influence between project management and business strategy, which we call the nature of the project management/business strategy alignment; and (2) the process used to align project management and business strategy. Then an empirically based theoretical framework, which highlights the impact of business strategy on project management—and the impact of project management on business strategy—as well as the mechanisms used to strengthen these alignments, was developed. This study expands on the previous, mostly anecdotal work, by using a rigorous theoretical approach to develop the proposed framework. This framework is contingent upon the type of business strategy—simple to understand and use—developed through numerous projects that are typology-free and not restricted to any particular business strategy typology, through projects that are empirically based on real-world data.