A General Framework for Gauging the Performance of Initiatives to Enhance Organizational Value
针对项目失败率高的悖论，本文基于实地研究提出一个扩展的项目绩效框架，从项目管理、项目所有权和项目投资三个层面评估项目价值，帮助决策者更合理地判断项目绩效和投资决策。
The project management literature argues that most projects fail, and yet, paradoxically, increasing numbers of proposals for new initiatives attract funds. In order to resolve an apparent ‘investment‐in‐failure’ paradox, this paper questions the methodology used in the literature to judge project performance and to decide on funding new projects. Using results from a field study, the authors describe a project performance framework that both expands and extends traditional approaches. They argue that the conventional test of project performance is not only fundamentally flawed, but also irrelevant to decision‐makers. In response, drawing on ‘principal–agent’, ‘regret’ and ‘contingency’ theories, the authors propose a new methodology to assess projects based on the concept of ‘worth’. According to this approach, performance is judged at three separate levels: project management, project ownership and project investment. These three tests allow distinct judgements to be made about the respective performances of the project manager, the project owner and the investment represented by the original funding decision. To the extent that financial crises are associated with project failure, such a framework may prove useful, because it would support better investment decision‐making.