How do Project Management Resources Contribute to Project Success? An Empirical Study of Sri Lankan Non-Governmental Organizations

Abstract

Recent studies focus more on understanding and identifying Project Management (PM) resources in the project implementing organisations. The literature underlines the importance of PM resources for improving project performance and supporting projects operating in an uncertain and complex environment. However, the empirical studies on Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are lacking to reveal. This study aims to develop a structural model to see the contribution of PM Resources to project success. In a quantitative survey method, the structured questionnaire is used to collect the data which obtained 447 responses. A Structural Equational Modelling (SEM) technique has been applied to develop the valid model. The setting for this study is Sri Lanka, a country recovering from civil war, natural disasters and economic turmoil and there have been several development projects have been underway by NGOs. Survey study findings confirmed that the three levels of PM resources, team, organisational and collaborative social have significant impacts on overall project success: PM success, project success and NGO success. These findings were used to develop an integrated conceptual model for PM resources and project success in NGOs. Overall, the model provides an academic contribution as a limited amount of research has been made on PM resources and project success from the NGO perspective. Further, it provides practical implications for NGO management to understand and build PM resources to improve successful project delivery by NGOs.