The Oxford Handbook of Project Management

The Oxford Handbook of Project Management presents and discusses leading ideas in the management of projects. Positioning project management as a domain much broader and more strategic than simply 'execution management', this Handbook draws on the insights of over 40 scholars to chart the development of the subject over the last 50 years or more as an area of increasing practical and academic interest. It suggests we could be entering an emerging 'third wave' of analysis and interpretation following its early technical and operational beginnings and the subsequent shift to a focus on projects and their management.

Topics dealt with include: the historical evolution of the subject; its theoretical base; professionalism; business and societal context; strategy; organization; governance; innovation; overruns; risk; information management; procurement; relationships and trust; knowledge management; practice and teams. This handbook is of particular relevance to those interested in the research issues underlying project management.

Peter W.G. Morris is Professor and Head of the School of Construction and Project Management at University College London (UCL). He is the author of over 110 papers and several books on the management of projects. A previous Chairman of the Association for Project Management, he was awarded the Project Management Institute's 2005 Research Achievement Award, IPMA's 2009 Research Award, and APM's 2008 Sir Monty Finniston Life-Time Achievement Award.


Jeffrey K. Pinto holds the Andrew Morrow and Elizabeth Lee Black Chair in the Management of Technology at Penn State University. He is the author or editor of 23 books and over 120 scientific papers. Dr. Pinto is a two-time recipient of the Distinguished Contribution Award from the Project Management Institute (1997, 2001) for outstanding service to the project management profession. He received PMI's Research Achievement Award in 2009.


Jonas Soderlund is Professor at BI Norwegian School of Management and responsible for its executive education within the area of project management. He is a founding member of the KITE Research Group (Knowledge Integration and Innovation in Transnational Enterprise) based at Linkoping University. He has researched and published widely on the management and organization of projects and project-based firms and the evolution of project competence.