How technology affects project management : A study within Swedish municipalities

Abstract: Background  Technology can be of great support for project managers when managing projects, but most empirical research on technological effects in project management has focused on the private sector which have led to that public sector project management is viewed as one of the largest gaps in project management literature.    Purpose  Investigate and describe the main challenges of Swedish municipal project managers’ work with project management and to what extent they incorporate technology in their work. Method  A qualitative research was conducted with an abductive approach. Semi structured interviews was conducted with seven Swedish municipal project managers. Findings The project managers themselves displayed a positive attitude towards technological adaption but the organization as a whole was more reluctant. Many of the described challenges concerned the organizational structure and that the decision paths were too long and slow. This was partially seen as a consequence of municipalities being politically governed organizations. Conclusion The municipalities need to develop tactics for how they should work with technological adaptation in order to stay competitive and keep up with societal trends. The municipalities could also facilitate many of the challenges experienced by project managers if they increased their focus on communication and established new and more efficient communication methods- and channels.