This podcast synthesizes the core arguments from the essay "Theorizing Temporary Organizing to Foster True Cross Fertilization," authored by Maude Brunet, Catriona Burke, Mohsin Malik, and Jörg Sydow. The central thesis is a call for stronger, more creative theorizing within project studies to achieve a "true cross-fertilization" with related disciplines, particularly organization studies. Currently, the exchange is predominantly a one-way flow, with organization theory enriching project studies.

The authors propose that advancing theory occurs on a spectrum, ranging from top-down approaches that leverage established reference theories to bottom-up approaches that develop "home-grown" theories from empirical phenomena. To illustrate this spectrum, the essay presents two distinct examples:

1. Top-Down Approach: The application of Practice-Driven Institutionalism (PDI) from organization theory to understand how macro-level institutional pressures are enacted through micro-level, everyday practices within temporary organizing contexts.

2. Bottom-Up Approach: A phenomenon-driven examination of crisis response, specifically how temporary organizations emerged, evolved, and stabilized during the COVID-19 pandemic, generating novel insights into emergent organizing.

By focusing on "temporary organizing" as a processual and practice-based phenomenon, rather than just a structural form, a common ground is established for a more robust, two-way dialogue between disciplines. This approach not only strengthens project studies as an academic field but also promises to generate insights with theoretical and practical implications for broader management and organization scholarship.

Source: Brunet, Maude, et al. "Theorizing temporary organizing to foster true cross fertilization: Focus on projects, processes and practices." International Journal of Project Management (2025): 102753. Complimentary copy on

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S026378632500078X

This podcast synthesizes findings from a research study on the impact of Digital Leadership Capability (DLC) on the environmental performance of organizations. Drawing on Resource Orchestration Theory (ROT), the study investigates the mediating roles of Digital Technology Alignment (DTA) and Digital Innovation. Based on survey data from 183 Australian healthcare organizations, the research empirically demonstrates that DLC positively influences environmental performance through both direct and indirect pathways.

The core findings indicate that DTA and digital innovation are critical enhancing mechanisms. DTA, the fit between new and existing technologies, and digital innovation, the creation of new digital solutions, both independently and serially mediate the relationship between DLC and environmental performance. This establishes a clear sequence: effective digital leadership fosters technological alignment, which in turn enables digital innovation, ultimately leading to improved environmental outcomes. The study challenges the view that technology alone drives sustainability, highlighting instead that orchestrated leadership, alignment, and innovation are essential for translating digital potential into tangible environmental benefits.

Source: Chavez, Roberto, Mohsin Malik, and Amir Andargoli. "Digital Leadership Capability and Environmental Performance: The Role of Digital Technology Alignment and Digital Innovation." Business Strategy and the Environment (2025). Complementary download avauilable at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author/9AUMSW5APBSDSQF9NZDB?target=10.1002/bse.70353

This podcast discusses the evolving concept of project governance, highlighting its ambiguity and varied definitions across the literature. Both sources examine distinct research streams: one viewing project governance as external to a specific project and another as internal. They reveal that while project governance literature draws significantly from established project research, it also extensively incorporates transaction cost economics. The texts underscore the fragmented nature of project governance discourse, emphasising a lack of a universally accepted definition and a tendency to conflate it with project management. Ultimately, they advocate for bridging the gap between academic and professional literature to foster a more coherent understanding and advance the field of project governance.

Source: Musawir, A., Abd-Karim, S., Mohd-Danuri, M. (2020) Project governance and its role in enabling organizational strategy implementation: A systematic literature review, International Journal of Project Management 38 (2020)1–16 & Ahola, T, Ruuska, I, Artto, K & Kujala, J 2014, 'What is project governance and what are its origins?', International Journal of Project Management, vol. 32, no. 8, pp. 1321-1332,