An Exploration of the Extent to Which Project Management Practices Mediate the Relationship between Project Complexity and Project Outcome

Project management is an organizational construct used to achieve business objectives. The field of project management assumes a positive relationship between the use of project management practices and project outcomes. Research that has examined this relationship suggested that there are additional factors that influence the outcome of a project. This research examined the model that proposes that project management practices mediate the relationship between project complexity and project outcomes. The study used a survey to collect data from project managers about recently completed projects. The questions asked about project complexity, the project management practices used, and the outcome of the project. The Qualtrics national survey panel collected 243 responses, and the data analysis used a hierarchical component partial least squares structural equation model. The survey and structural model used existing instruments and latent variables for project management practice, project complexity, and project outcomes to examine the relationships among the latent variables and constructs. Three structural models examined the relationships among the constructs, and the models yielded mixed support for the mediation hypotheses. The first structural model tested all dimension of project complexity, project management practices, and project outcomes. The results from the model for the first-tier research question does not support mediation. The second and third structural models isolated the latent variables for project complexity to address the second-tier research questions. The second and third structural models support project management practices mediating the relationship between project complexity and project outcomes. The mixed results found in this study suggested that further research was needed to develop project management theory.