Triggers for a flexible approach to project management within UK financial services

Hyper-competition, the presence of unpredictability, increased complexity and a rapid pace of change are some of the reasons why the UK financial sector has been labelled as a “turbulent field” [e Cunha MP, da Cunha JV, Kamoche K. Organizational improvisation: what, when, how and why. Int J Manage Rev 1999; 1: 299–341]. It is becoming increasingly common to manage these organizations, and in particular strategic change, through projects and programmes. However, there is evidence that in the financial sector it is not always possible to follow a tight approach to project management. The issues relevant to this study are related to the hypothesis that in certain circumstances project managers seek a flexible approach to project management, and within this approach the use of improvisational behaviours is commonly accepted: a number of circumstances (“triggers”) which might generate such behaviours have been selected and analysed.