Enhancing value capture by managing risks of value slippage in and across projects

• Published in: International journal of project management Vol. 37; no. 5; pp. 767 - 783
• Main Authors: Bos-de Vos, Marina, Volker, Leentje, Wamelink, Hans
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01-07-2019
• Subjects: Architectural firms; Portfolio management; Project business; Value capture; Value slippage; Project business; Value capture; Architectural firms; Portfolio management; Value slippage
• ISSN: 0263-7863; 1873-4634
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2018.12.007

Project-based firms have to capture value from the projects in which they engage. This can be challenging as firms need to reconcile project goals and organizational goals while attempting to avoid the slippage of value to other actors. Drawing on interviews with architects and clients, this research reveals how architectural firms used the strategies of postponing financial revenues in a project, compensating for loss of financial revenues across projects and rejecting a project to accept or mitigate the slippage of financial value, and to avoid the potential slippage of professional value in projects. With these strategies firms attempt to enhance their overall benefits. The study contributes to the literature on project business by showing how a more nuanced conceptualization of value slippage is particularly helpful to theoretically explain and practically manage the value capture of project-based firms through both single project and project portfolio decisions.
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•Architectural firms use postponing, compensating and rejecting strategies to enhance value capture in and across projects•These strategies revolve around responses to financial and professional value slippage•Financial value slippage may be beneficial, while professional value slippage may be detrimental to project-based firms•Value slippage represents a useful concept for better understanding value capture by project-based firms•Existing theories on value capture must be extended to account for the dynamics in project-based value capture