Moderating effects of information access on project management behavior, performance and perceptions

Effective project management relies on the timely exchange of information regarding appropriate resource availability, associated scheduling options, and related costs and benefits. At the same time, such information, or lack thereof, can also impact the behavior of project managers in ways that do not directly focus on work objectives but nevertheless affect performance. The research developed in this paper is primarily focused on demonstrating both direct and moderating effects that information can have on decision makers' actions and perceptions in an environment where multiple projects are pursued simultaneously. In order to study these linkages we designed and executed a controlled experiment designed to simulate aspects common to a multi-party project management environment. Our findings suggest that greater visibility of situational information in this environment impacts project outcomes mainly by affecting a project manager's actions and perceptions regarding both the behavior of others and the priority given to his/her task. The study extends existing information processing theory by developing and examining notions of informed rationality and reciprocity, as well as examining the effect of information on post-task sense making. Insights from the study suggest a set of behavioral issues that should be considered in future information processing and project management research. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.