Abstract
AbstractThis body of work is a collection of four journal papers, a monograph report and two conference chapters published between 2011 and 20161. Collectively, these publications
explore topics associated with project portfolio management (PPM) and their application to practice both for individuals and organisations.
This research is motivated by the limitations of dominant deterministic models in PPM, which often overlook the social, contextual, and emergent nature of portfolio practices observed in real organisational settings.
In this thesis I propose a novel model of practice for PPM that encapsulates six key elements: practices, praxis, practitioner, profession, process, and performance. In this framework,
practice in project portfolio management focuses on practitioners (human actors and their actions and interactions), practices (the social, symbolic and material tools and activities through which projects are done) and praxis (the actions which projects accomplish)
(Jarzabkowski & Spee, 2009) as well as professions (associations, and aggregate actors) (Whittington, 2007). Actors follow processes (Burger, White, & Yearworth, 2019) and are required to achieve a level of performance (Shove, Pantzar, & Watson, 2012) that is sustained over time.
The 6Ps framework was developed to fill a critical gap in the literature by offering a practice- based lens that captures the nuanced, relational, and contextual realities of how portfolios are enacted and managed in practice—something existing models fail to explain. This study contributes a novel practice-theoretical framework—the 6Ps of PPM—that reconceptualises portfolios not as linear, rational systems, but as dynamic, socially embedded practices, offering new insights for both academic inquiry and practitioner decision-making.
In this thesis I examine multiple works that I have previously published. These are organised into three themes:
• Theme 1: Project Portfolio Management Configuration and Positioning
• Theme 2: Competency of Project Portfolio Managers
• Theme 3: Organisational Portfolio Management Maturity
A variety of research methodologies are used in these papers, including case studies, statistical analysis, with some papers being conceptual in nature, as detailed in Table 4.
I analyse the papers in each of these themes through the proposed framework and in doing so highlight how these papers have made a contribution to practice theory in PPM. My proposed contribution of this thesis is both the 6P framework contained in this paper, as well as the publications mentioned herein.
| Date of Award | 13 Jun 2025 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
|
| Supervisor | Nigel Williams (Supervisor) & Huijing Chen (Supervisor) |