Sustainability matters have gained momentum in the last years, given the warning reports from the official institutions and academic journals, calling for a rapid change towards sustainability for the companies' outcomes and processes. Given that projects are in their nature defined as agents of change, companies can leverage them to address sustainability practices and objectives. In the last years it has been present a trend called projectification that consists in a large diffusion of projects inside companies. Recently a new school of thought has been introduced that finally combines sustainability practices with the project management discipline, known as Sustainable Project Management. This phenomenon is still in its infancy, and it has been growing attention on it only in the last few years. The thesis initially critically examines these concepts, analyzing the present literature and focuses on the motivation profile of the project managers (PMs), recognizing the relevance of their behavior for the success of the sustainability practice. To investigate this crucial aspect, it has been conducted a single case study on the PMs of the PMO Pooling of A2A, a major Italian company of the energy sector where I am currently working as an intern. Differently from the current literature base, that fails to provide a clear and valid theoretical background this study considered the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as a model to describe the motivation profiles of each PM. The methodology adopted is the Q-methodology, useful to gain insight of the subjective opinions of individuals. The results achieved after the interview and the data analysis discovered four relevant and independent clusters, coherent with four motivation types described in the SDT. This work intends to identify and address the lack of interest in the programs and actions to trigger each cluster of PMs identified, so it is proposed a discussion about it. The thesis proceeds with the solution proposed in the office where I am employed, the PM Sustainability Program. Findings of the work have relevant practical implications, as they provide insights on which elements should be prioritized and targeted to promote pro-environmental outcomes, and concludes with insights, policy implications, limitations, and future research directions.
Negli ultimi anni, le tematiche legate alla sostenibilità hanno acquisito crescente rilevanza, grazie ai rapporti delle istituzioni ufficiali e alle riviste accademiche che sollecitano un rapido cambiamento verso la sostenibilità nei risultati e nei processi aziendali. I progetti, per loro natura, sono definiti come agenti di cambiamento e le aziende possono sfruttarli per implementare pratiche e obiettivi sostenibili. Recentemente è emerso il fenomeno della "projectification," caratterizzato dalla diffusione estesa dei progetti all'interno delle aziende. Inoltre, una nuova scuola di pensiero ha combinato le pratiche di sostenibilità con la disciplina del project management, nota come Sustainable Project Management, la quale ha attirato attenzione solo negli ultimi anni. Questa tesi esamina criticamente tali concetti, analizzando la letteratura esistente e focalizzandosi sul profilo motivazionale dei project manager (PM), riconoscendo l'importanza del loro comportamento per il successo delle pratiche di sostenibilità. Per investigare questo aspetto cruciale, è stato condotto uno studio di caso sui PM del PMO Pooling di A2A, una grande azienda italiana del settore energetico presso cui lavoro attualmente come stagista. A differenza della letteratura attuale, che spesso manca di fornire un quadro teorico chiaro e valido, questo studio ha utilizzato la Self-Determination Theory (SDT) come modello per descrivere i profili motivazionali di ciascun PM. La metodologia adottata è la Q-methodology, utile per ottenere una visione delle opinioni soggettive degli individui. I risultati ottenuti dalle interviste e dall'analisi dei dati hanno individuato quattro cluster rilevanti e indipendenti, coerenti con i quattro tipi di motivazione descritti nella SDT. Questo lavoro intende identificare e affrontare la mancanza di interesse nei programmi e nelle azioni per attivare ciascun cluster di PM individuato, proponendo una discussione al riguardo. La tesi prosegue presentando la soluzione proposta nell'ufficio in cui sono impiegato, il Programma di Sostenibilità per PM. I risultati di questo lavoro hanno rilevanti implicazioni pratiche, fornendo indicazioni su quali elementi dovrebbero essere prioritari e mirati per promuovere risultati sostenibili. La tesi si conclude con la discussione delle limitazioni e delle direzioni per future ricerche.
Exploring stimulus patterns of project managers towards sustainable practices. A2A S.p.A. single case study, based on Self-Determination Theory
CALVI, GABRIELE
2023/2024
Abstract
Sustainability matters have gained momentum in the last years, given the warning reports from the official institutions and academic journals, calling for a rapid change towards sustainability for the companies' outcomes and processes. Given that projects are in their nature defined as agents of change, companies can leverage them to address sustainability practices and objectives. In the last years it has been present a trend called projectification that consists in a large diffusion of projects inside companies. Recently a new school of thought has been introduced that finally combines sustainability practices with the project management discipline, known as Sustainable Project Management. This phenomenon is still in its infancy, and it has been growing attention on it only in the last few years. The thesis initially critically examines these concepts, analyzing the present literature and focuses on the motivation profile of the project managers (PMs), recognizing the relevance of their behavior for the success of the sustainability practice. To investigate this crucial aspect, it has been conducted a single case study on the PMs of the PMO Pooling of A2A, a major Italian company of the energy sector where I am currently working as an intern. Differently from the current literature base, that fails to provide a clear and valid theoretical background this study considered the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as a model to describe the motivation profiles of each PM. The methodology adopted is the Q-methodology, useful to gain insight of the subjective opinions of individuals. The results achieved after the interview and the data analysis discovered four relevant and independent clusters, coherent with four motivation types described in the SDT. This work intends to identify and address the lack of interest in the programs and actions to trigger each cluster of PMs identified, so it is proposed a discussion about it. The thesis proceeds with the solution proposed in the office where I am employed, the PM Sustainability Program. Findings of the work have relevant practical implications, as they provide insights on which elements should be prioritized and targeted to promote pro-environmental outcomes, and concludes with insights, policy implications, limitations, and future research directions.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/223116