Page | 1
Professional identity change of project
managers due to digitalization
Dongelmans (A.E.) Aron S3944433
a.e.dongelmans@student.rug.nl Supervisor: Dr. C. Reezigt
May 2020 Word count: 5537
Faculty of Economics and Business Pre-master BA Change Management
Page | 2
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss, explore and empirically analyse the effect of increasing digitalization on project managers in the professional services sector, more specifically how it effects their professional identity. It aims to answer the question of how the role of a project manager has changed due to digitalization.
Design/method/approach – The paper is based on a qualitative empirical study approach.
Interviewing was deemed most appropriate in order to gain in-depth information. These interviews were conducted with project managers from various organizations inside the professional services sector with the availability of a greater pool (N = 15) of project managers from various other sectors. Then, the interviews were transcribed, coded, analysed and interpreted by the researcher.
Findings – Digitalization has had an impact on the work of project management, with the role of digital innovations being mostly a positive and helpful one. Digital tools can substitute certain
relations project managers have with others; however, preference still goes out to face-to-face contact, as that is the true ‘playing field’ were project management thrives. Whereas a project manager
identified as someone who ‘steers work, from a backstage position, in the right direction’ having to focus solely on that which was important, nowadays it seems the identity is changing toward that of ‘a spider in a cluttered web that he or she is always connected with.’ having to keep up to date, during on- and off times, with the ubiquitous nature of modern work at a more radical pace than ever before. Originality/value – This paper draws conclusions on how the professional identity of project
managers is changing because of digitalization. With this gained insight, we can help predict what the role of a project manager entails in the future as we move ever-onward in the digital age.
Keywords – Professional identity change, Digitalization, Project management, Professional services, Empirical, Qualitative analysis, Interviews, Coding.
Page | 3
1. Introduction and problem statement
This research paper underlines the changes in one’s professional identity as a consequence of digitalization, with a focus on project managers. Digitalization has been identified as one of the major trends changing society and business (Afonasova, Panfilova, Galichkina & Ślusarczyk, 2019; Mammadli & Klivak, 2020; Parviainen, Kääriäinen, Tihinen & Teppola, 2017). Ritter & Pedersen (2020) define digitalization as “the increasing use of digital technologies for connecting people, systems, companies, products and services.” Much research has already been done on how this affects the work of, in particular, white-collar workers (Kling & Dunlop, 1993; Walsham, 1998). Of those workers, a substantial group are managers who have seen most of their tasks changing to some degree over the past years. These professionals are affected by changes in the overall market such as a continually increasing globalization and digitalization (Wittkop, Zulauf & Wagner, 2018). According to Walsham (1998), this change significantly influences the work they perform on a daily basis and thus the way it shapes their professional identity. Professional identity is best defined as how professionals see themselves with regard to the work they perform, with whom they perform it and in what manner (Reay, Goodrick, Waldorff & Casebeer, 2017). Do
Page | 4
Social scientist have struggled with coming up with a clear explanation of how digitalization changes the professional identity (Dubosson, Fragnière, & Rochat, 2019; Farrington & Alizadeh, 2017). There have been numerous calls for future research in identity change (Barbour & Lammers, 2015) as a result of proliferation of digital innovations (Sousa & Wilks, 2018). Henceforth, the research problem will be referred to as professional identity
change of project managers due to digitalization. Examining the nature of professional
identity (how identity is formed and influenced) may help to clarify the changes resulting from digitalization. Thus, our research has been established as:
What is the influence of digitalization on professional identity of project managers?
Furthermore, the general research question has been divided into three sub-questions with the aim of developing a comprehensive idea about professional identity and digitalization:
1. What is the role of digital innovations in project management? 2. In what way has digital innovations changed the work of project managers?
3. To what degree do project managers experience identity change?
Page | 5
2. Literature review
In this section, we first elaborate on the literature dealing with the digitalization of work and, more specifically, its impact on project management. After which we explore the literature on how professional identity undergoes changes.
3.1 Digitalization and impact on project management work
Over the past years, project management has undergone vast changes. With the rise of
different approaches such as Lean, Agile and Six Sigma project managers have multiple ways of tackling a project (Cesarotti, Gubinelli & Introna, 2019). These approaches rode on the back of a greater whole, namely: digitalization. It is well understood that digitalization changes work (Bughin et al., 2016). What we do not fully understand is what digitalization’s impact is on the professional identity of those undergoing the change (Barbour & Lammers, 2015; McKevitt, Carbery & Lyons, 2017, p. 1678; Sousa & Wilks, 2018). A proliferation of digital tools now has the ability to transform data and manage information to assist or completely replace cognitive tasks (Terwiesch & Ganz, 2009; Waschull, Bokhorst,
Molleman, & Wortmann, 2020). For example, Walker & Lloyd-Walker (2019, p. 251) found that a contemporary tool for project management is the use of virtual teams (e.g.,
Page | 6
project managers. In the following subparagraph, we review the literature on identity change, specifically in the professional sector.
3.2 Professional identity change
As Walsham (1998) points out, as a result of continuing digitalization, professionals perceive a shift from personal relationships and face-to-face contact to more impersonal, computerized work. On the basis of both a micro and macro analysis, their paper suggests that changes in self-identity may lead to existential anxiety, deterioration of the self-image and a high degree of personal meaninglessness. The angle this article takes is that it analyses changes in the work of white-collar workers, stating, “Managers … have tried to maintain aspects of their
role as members of local communities and their personal relations with customers, although with great difficulty.” (Walsham, 1998). Since this article is over twenty years old, it may be
relevant to review how the identity of professionals is still currently changing. Another more recent study also confirms that professional identity will change depending on levels of socialization (Wittman, 2019). By creating or maintaining personal relationships, a
professional is able to shape his identity. The conceptual framework used in his research aims to summarize potential impacts of identity changes for individuals and their organizations by showing three different levels of acceptance: role crafting (accepting identity changes), neutral identification (disconnecting from changes) and disidentification (distancing form changes). These levels give us an idea of the different outcomes identity change may have.
Page | 7
professional identity (Eilam & Shamir, 2005). This literature contributes to our research problem in the way of it presenting a relation between change and professional identity. Both papers studied professional identity change as a consequence of organizational change, with a broad perspective on the entire professional service sector. The aim of our research is to narrow down that sector, focusing solely on project managers and how digitalization affects their identity. As was mentioned earlier in the first chapter, this group is chosen because digitalization has affected this particular profession to a large degree and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future; it will be relevant to reveal what this does to the identity of project managers.
3. Research design
Our research setting is as follows: we interviewed project managers inside the professional services sector with many years of experience of working with larger-scale projects. This specific group of project managers naturally has more experience with digitalization and how it influences their work. This selection was made in order to gain a better view on how digitalization has influenced their work over the years. In the following paragraphs we go in more detail. Because of the research’s strict time schedule (see p. 10), a sample of five project managers has been interviewed. However, this sample is part of a greater pool respondents (N = 15) that was made available to us thanks to the cooperation of other researchers whom performed similar research in the same period. For an overview of the specific characteristics of the interviewees, such as years in work experience and their project environment, we refer to appendix A. Notably, the period in which this research was
conducted, the COVID-19 virus was widespread, which may have affected results
Page | 8
results chapter. In the following, it is explained how data was collected, analysed and why certain methods were chosen.
We used the following research method; qualitative research based on interviews, which is suitable because we wanted to know how and what influences identity change (open-ended) which aligns with a qualitative-nascent method of research (Edmondson & McManus 2007). In the professional-service-industry, specific branches were targeted; these are large-scale ICT-firms, banking insurance and professional sales. These three branches were targeted because they employ a high level of senior project managers whom have experience with digitalization in larger-scale projects. Five respondents with at a minimum 10 years of experience in project management were found to have sufficient knowledge regarding digitalization. We discovered these respondents using the social media platform for
professionals: LinkedIn, which endorsed the above-mentioned criteria. Data obtained from these sources was combined to build up a data set suitable for qualitative analysis.
The interviews have held been in a semi-structured manner, which allowed us to ask the respondents flexible questions and pry for deeper information. An example question is: ‘Has
digitalization influenced your work relations?’ We further elaborated upon this broad
question using more specific questions, such as whether the respondent was satisfied with the level of social relations and if this affects his job performance. This question yielded a variety of information on how the interviewee experiences social relations in his job as a project manager and aims to link it with digitalization. The actual interview questions can be found in the appendix B.
Page | 9
used, as this is one of the most efficient and reliable software tools for processing interview data. Example codes used in this program are changing work, ICT-components, relation with
others, work performance, substitution of tasks, working-method, meaning of work and IT as driver of change. For example, when our respondents experienced digitalization negatively,
then codes such as ‘less personal contact with co-workers, clients’ and ‘constantly receiving
irrelevant messages’ were assigned to that category. This is called inductive coding (i.e.
codes that were extracted from the interviews themselves). By categorizing these codes into themes such as identity change, it became clear which terms used by our respondents belong to which category, thus we structured the data (appendix C). For a full list of used codes, we refer to appendix D. This process allowed the researcher to shape the data into results and conclusions, which can be found in the next chapter.
To improve the reliability of the gathered data, we made use of an interview protocol. This ensures that every question was asked of every respondent. Because of the literature study, we were able to clearly define the concepts used in our data collection method, such as identity and digitalization. These and other variables were based on previous peer-reviewed research, allowing us to appropriately present these to our respondents and by doing so minimizing ambiguity and confusion. Since we are working with other researchers, avoiding research bias also had priority. We took measures to prevent his bias by coding the interviews independently and only afterwards sharing our analyses to make comparisons.
Page | 10
Table 1 Time schedule
Time Tasks February 2020 March 2020 April 2020 May 2020 June 2020
- Discuss proposal with supervisor and obtain approval. - Write introduction chapter, examine databases and prepare theory chapter. Revise where necessary. Find potential interviewees.
- Start data collection and analysis.
- Analysis and hand in first draft of research paper for discussion.
- Revise all chapters based on discussion and write conclusions. Hand in final research paper. 4. Results
This chapter covers the results on professional identity change and digitalization, found by the analysis of the interviews. Firstly, a clear distinction between respondents became apparent. In our total pool of interviewees, it is notable that one half is more technical-oriented and the other more service-technical-oriented. On the technical-side of project management, we find respondents who occupy such positions as machine builder and automation
technician. These are mostly found in the industrial production sector. On the other hand, the service-oriented side of project management consists of respondents who are working in consultancy, banking and ICT. Both of these aspects of project management were analysed.
In the following section, digitalization and its impact on project management is discussed using quotes to underline important findings. Digitalization has changed many things; project management is not excluded, according to a project manager currently working at an IT consultancy:
“Where it used to be very extensive [physical] documents, and all kinds of stage-gates and large all-encompassing reports, nowadays you see that all this takes
place online.” – R09 (Respondent 09)
This statement aligns with that of another project manager working at a university college:
Page | 11
these quotes show that digitalization changed how both project managers perform their work. A statement made by a project manager working in a consultancy firm reinforces the previous quotes: “When I go back many years, when I started out as a project manager in Utrecht,
there was only a single computer on the entire department floor.” – R02. In short,
digitalization has had an impact on the work of project management.
In order to understand the role of digital innovations in project management, data was collected on whether these were perceived as positive or negative. Digital innovations are those tools that help us do our work with more efficiency than without them. From this definition, it can only be positive, but it is sometimes also experienced as a negative: “… the
digital contact sometimes gets out of hand, messages here, messages there, and you just have to keep track of everything [otherwise you risk getting out of the loop]” – R07 is affirmed by
a project manager in the field of ICT security. He states that the over-communication that comes with digitalization can be overkill. However, other respondents counter with being able to: “Switch quickly [between people, tasks, etc.]” – R06 and “Easily access files from
anywhere” – R03 and “Collaborate seamlessly with international teams” – R05. thanks to
digitalization. From this, it seems that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. The role of digital innovations can be summarized as helpful tools that assist with performing tasks, and where possible, replacing low-cognitive-demand tasks, giving more time to execute critical work. This last point became apparent in the following statement: “… [The work] can be
carried out more quickly and there are fewer problems in the execution of [the work] because you don’t have to worry so much anymore about the smaller things.” – R07. The role of
digital innovations is a mostly positive and helpful one.
self-Page | 12
image a project manager has is that of a ‘helmsman’ – R07 or ‘facilitator’ – R08 or ‘the man
behind the screens’ – R01 and ‘the man that puts things into motion’ – R11. All of these roles
have been mentioned by our respondents meaning that, in summary, a project manager is someone who steers a project in the right direction. They cannot decisively state that this specific role has changed vastly over the years however, the meaningfulness some project managers’ experience in their work has: “your own individual input becomes blurry, as
collaboration is everywhere”. – R14 This respondent feels that his own input has less import
nowadays because he works in teams with heightened surveillance. Digital tools have allowed for increased control, causing project manager to sacrifice independency. An ICT project manager empowers the previous statement with his own:
“The impact you've had in the past [feels like it was] a lot higher than it is now, and that has mainly to do with the pace of the work. Whereas before you [took months to] tackle a [single] problem … now it's all a lot quicker, which is nice on the one hand, but on the other hand you also miss a bit of that satisfaction.” – R08
The first quote shows that over-collaboration negatively impacts work meaningfulness and the second one too shows that the rapid pace at which project management is performed negates work meaningfulness. Both are results of digitalization because the proliferation of digital tools allows for easier collaboration and faster working, meaning that projects are rounded off at a faster pace. Another part of identity is how project managers relate with others. Based on our literature review, digital tools allow for complete take-over of certain communication tasks, however, the statement: “The playing field is [and always will be]
between people, not between numbers, computers and diagrams, even if they play an important role, you will never, for example, convince a computer to agree to something, it will only execute its job.” – R10 contradicts this. With this, a project manager working at a
Page | 13
transparent about decisions, involving team members in the decision-making process and being sincerely interested in the growth of each team member are all ways to gain the trust of your team.” – R09. In short, digital tools can amplify how project managers relate with
others; however, preference still goes out to face-to-face contact as that is the ‘true playing
field’ – R11 were project management thrives.
A project manager has certain traits and responsibilities as a part of his professional identity. When asked if these have changed due to digitalization, the following was said: “[A project
manager] has certain skills that cannot be completely replaced by a computer system. If so, that skill would no longer be necessary and you would not see any maintenance or training in it.” – R08 by a project manager who also is CEO of his own company in training and
development. He elaborates on this statement with: “As a project manager you plan, you
budget, but you are also the oil that makes things run smoothly.” – R08 meaning that this
figurative ‘oil’ is that skill which cannot be influenced or replaced by digitalization.
Different project managers mention multiple times that this social ‘oil’ that makes co-workers and partners perform their duties smoothly as a critical skill, and most importantly one that does not change due to digitalization: “… but often a project is something of an afterthought,
something in the background, that eventually becomes something very beautiful. But until then, members are often disinterested and you will have to charm them to get everything ready for the planning and budgets. This is where the social ‘oil’ comes to the fore. People knowledge. And how to deal with them.” – R06 with which this project manager tries to imply
that as long as people are involved, no matter how sophisticated the digital systems become, getting members on board will always be a people-skill.
Page | 14
“I believe that digitization has certainly changed the life of a professional. You're online or always visible somewhere and you're also always 'on'. I used to work as a project manager and leave the [work] at the office at 5 p.m., nowadays you're
always on so there's a lot more pressure throughout your entire day.” – R09
This shows us that always being in a state of work is one of the consequences of
digitalization. This university-college project manager aims to tell us whereas before you left your job at the office, now you take it home with you. Another respondent in the field of ICT consultancy follows up on this quote with his own:
“I find the overkill of information, that [colleagues or clients] constantly have to share everything, that certainly affects the work-relationship, because if [colleagues or clients] wouldn't be able to do that, they would be able to prioritize
much more: "is it worth calling that person and keeping them informed on every little detail?” – R12
From these quotes, it becomes apparent that the work of a project manager has become more intensive. Whereas a project manager had the identity of someone that ‘works behind the
screens’ – R06 having to focus only on that which was important, nowadays it seems the
identity is changing toward that of ‘a spider in a cluttered web that he or she is always
connected with.’ – R14. Having to keep up to date, during on and off times, at a more radical pace than ever before with the ubiquitous nature of modern work.
Earlier we mentioned that the COVID-19 virus might have influenced results of our research. After analysing the data, it was indeed mentioned several times by our respondents. Reliance on digital tools has increased dramatically, as evidenced by: “[To continue work] we'll make
video calls like this [Interviewee refers to the manner of interviewing]. Right now, [during the COVID-19 crisis], we are exclusively working on projects via Skype or MS Teams.” – R15. Using this digital toolset allows a project manager to continue his work from home;
Page | 15
face-to-face conversations. This has just diminished, people want to tackle one problem quickly and move on to the next, without building a solid, tight circle like we used to.” – R09
with which he implies that exclusively working digital is detriment to building trust. It seems that the crisis forces a contemporary shift in the identity of a project manager. Most projects are cancelled or delayed, and those that do go on are run with a crew that never meets. The project manager becomes someone who solely performs his duties without any social leverage that he used to have. The following quote summarizes this:
“… face-to-face, especially now, is going further and further into the background, and the screen is taking over this task. We can only do our core-duties with a
minimal amount of contact moments.” – R04
5. Discussion
In this paper, we demonstrate the significant effects that digitalization has on project
managers` work within organizations. Whereas previous literature shows us that the work of project management is changing due to digitalization (Terwiesch & Ganz, 2009; Waschull, Bokhorst, Molleman, & Wortmann, 2020), our analysis prioritizes the changing professional identity as a whole instead of the changing work. We analysed the role of digital innovations and its relation with identity-aspects such as the self-image, relations with others,
responsibilities, traits and roles, with the purpose of gaining a better understanding of digitalization influence on the professional identity. Hence, the research question formed:
What is the influence of digitalization on professional identity of project managers? Below
we shortly discuss each sub-question, after which we compared the corresponding findings with the literature. Then, the various implications and limitations were discussed, closing off with a note on further research.
The main research question was divided into three sub-questions, of which the first: ‘What is
the role of digital innovations in project management?’ Digitalization has had an impact on
Page | 16
and helpful one - a trend documented more broadly in the literature (Bughin et al., 2016; Mammadli & Klivak, 2020). The second sub-question was: ‘In what way has digital
innovations changed the work of project managers?’ We found that digital tools can act as a
substitute for certain relations with colleagues and clients, however, preference still goes out to face-to-face contact as that is the true ‘playing field’ were project management thrives. As for the third sub-question: ‘To what degree do project managers experience identity change?’ Whereas a project manager identified as someone who ‘steers work, from a backstage
position, in the right direction’ having to focus solely on that which was important, nowadays
it seems the identity is changing towards that of ‘a spider in a cluttered web that he or she is
always connected with’. This new style of doing project management may be thought of as
the new professional identity, shaped by digitalization. Our research shows that the specific identity of project managers has indeed changed due to digitalization. These findings align with research from Walsham (1998) and that of Wittman (2019) whom also found that the identity of professionals is changing due to digitalization.
Our results align with that of Walsham’s (1998) because he too found that personal relations and face-to-face contact were shifting to computerized work. Our findings are an addition to his research because it also shows that project managers in 2020 are resisting this
Page | 17
project managers due to digitalization, resulting in a lower degree of work meaningfulness. These consistencies were expected as digitalization continues to take an ever-larger role in the project management industry and that of society as a whole (Bughin et al., 2016).
These conclusions hold various implications for project managers. So far, digitalization has led to ever-present tools and assets that are intended to be helpful, however, our study shows a lower degree of work meaningfulness as digital tools take over (see results chapter), which could lead to a demotivated worker. The implication here is that the worker becomes less and less relevant as sophisticated systems replace his work. Maintaining a fair balance between worker autonomy and depth of digitalization is key to ensuring adequate levels of work meaningfulness (Dubosson et al., 2019).
Page | 18
The current study has several limitations that merit further research. First, our research was conducted during the COVID-19 crisis, which caused companies worldwide to shut their doors and force workers to work from home. This became possible using all sorts of tools that digitalization has allowed for. Our findings regarding digitalization may therefore give an extreme viewpoint with respondents stating that their work has literally become digital. Therefore, when the crisis passes and our research is repeated, respondents who are back in their normal routine at the office could give different opinions, meaning that our results are less generalizable to the norm. In terms of identity change, most respondent showed that their ‘normal’ work routine was reduced to just performing their core-duties, which may also be why the meaningfulness in their work was experienced to be lower. In addition, work meaningfulness is a relative concept, meaning that it is person-bound and therefore difficult to determine generalizability, as it can vary greatly. Second, our research explicitly zooms in on identity change of project managers, which might make it unrepresentative of identity change in other white-collar professions. The way an ICT consultant, account manager or banking agent performs his work is unique and our findings regarding project management do not constitute a representative sample of those other professions. Third, the field of project management is wide. Respondents were selected based on broad criteria, which yielded a variety of project managers working in different areas such as automation, service and government. In case of repeated research, with the same sampling method, different fields and viewpoints may come up.
Page | 19
where work is executed for a large part by digital systems, such as industrial facilities, it may be interesting to analyse the identity of those monitoring the systems there (Djankov & Saliola, 2019).We also concede that our knowledge on identity work remains limited, and requires further research. Finally, amidst the COVID-19 crisis, we inadvertently shed light on the professional identity of those workers whom were forced to work from a home-based environment. More research is possible regarding a working-from-home situation linked to identity. Even before the crisis, working-from-home was a trend (Lippe & Lippényi, 2020) but its effects on satisfaction, meaningfulness, and other elements of identity have not been researched completely (de Vos et al., 2018; Rupietta & Beckmann, 2018)
Page | 20
References
Afonasova, M. A., Panfilova, E. E., Galichkina, M. A., & Ślusarczyk, B. (2019). Digitalization in Economy and Innovation: The Effect on Social and Economic Processes. POLISH JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, 11.
Barbour, J. B., & Lammers, J. C. (2015). Measuring professional identity: A review of the literature and a multilevel confirmatory factor analysis of professional identity constructs. Journal of Professions and Organization, 2(1), 38–60. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpo/jou009
Bughin, J., Lund, S., & Remes, J. (2016). Rethinking Work in the Digital Age. McKinsey Quarterly, 4.
Cesarotti, V., Gubinelli, S., & Introna, V. (2019). The evolution of Project Management (PM): How Agile, Lean and Six Sigma are changing PM. 30.
de Vos, D., Meijers, E., & van Ham, M. (2018). Working from home and the willingness to accept a longer commute. Annals of Regional Science, 61(2), 375–398.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00168-018-0873-6
Djankov, S., & Saliola, F. (2019). The Changing Nature of Work. Journal of International Affairs, 72(1), 57–73.
Dubosson, M., Fragnière, E., & Rochat, D. (2019). Perceived risks regarding the impact of
digitalization on the future of work Towards a gap between the concerns of academics and workers’ attitudes? European Review of Service Economics and Management Revue, 1(7), 17–43.
Eilam, G., & Shamir, B. (2005). Organizational Change and Self-Concept Threats: A Theoretical Perspective and a Case Study. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 41(4), 399–421. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021886305280865
Farrington, T., & Alizadeh, A. (2017). On the Impact of Digitalization on R&D: R&D practitioners reflect on the range and type of digitalization’s likely effects on R&D management. Research-Technology Management, 60(5), 24–30.
https://doi.org/10.1080/08956308.2017.1348130
Gini, A. (1998). Work, Identity and Self: How We Are Formed by The Work We Do. 8. Hsieh, H.-F., & Shannon, S. E. (2005). Three Approaches to Qualitative Content Analysis.
Qualitative Health Research, 15(9), 1277–1288. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732305276687 Kling, R., & Dunlop, C. (1993). Controversies about computerization and the character of white collar
worklife. The Information Society, 9(1), 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1080/01972243.1993.9960128
Lippe, T. van der, & Lippényi, Z. (2020). Co-workers working from home and individual and team performance. New Technology, Work and Employment, 35(1), 60–79.
Page | 21
Mammadli, E., & Klivak, V. (2020). Measuring the effect of the Digitalization. FEBA, 119. McKevitt, D., Carbery, R., & Lyons, A. (2017). A profession but not a career? Work identity and
career satisfaction in project management. International Journal of Project Management, 35(8), 1673–1682. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2017.07.010
Parviainen, P., Kääriäinen, J., Tihinen, M., & Teppola, S. (2017). Tackling the digitalization
challenge: How to benefit from digitalization in practice. International Journal of Information Systems and Project Management, 5(1), 63–77. https://doi.org/10.12821/ijispm050104
Reay, T., Goodrick, E., Waldorff, S. B., & Casebeer, A. (2017). Getting Leopards to Change Their Spots: Co-Creating a New Professional Role Identity. Academy of Management Journal, 60(3), 1043–1070. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2014.0802
Ritter, T., & Pedersen, C. L. (2020). Digitization capability and the digitalization of business models in business-to-business firms: Past, present, and future. Industrial Marketing Management, 86, 180–190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2019.11.019
Rupietta, K., & Beckmann, M. (2018). Working from Home: What is the Effect on Employees’ Effort? Schmalenbach Business Review, 70(1), 25–55. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41464-017-0043-x
Schilling, A., Werr, A., Gand, S., & Sardas, J.-C. (2012). Understanding professionals’ reactions to strategic change: The role of threatened professional identities. The Service Industries Journal, 32(8), 1229–1245. https://doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2010.531269
Sousa, M. J., & Wilks, D. (2018). Sustainable Skills for the World of Work in the Digital Age: Skills for the Digital Age. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 35(4), 399–405.
https://doi.org/10.1002/sres.2540
Terwiesch, P., & Ganz, C. (2009). Trends in Automation. Springer Handbook of Automation. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-540-78831-7_8#citeas
Walker, D., & Lloyd-Walker, B. (2019). The future of the management of projects in the 2030s. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 12(2), 242–266.
https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMPB-02-2018-0034
Walsham, G. (1998). IT and changing professional identity: Micro-studies and macro-theory. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE, 49(12), 9. Waschull, S., Bokhorst, J. A. C., Molleman, E., & Wortmann, J. C. (2020). Work design in future
industrial production: Transforming towards cyber-physical systems. Computers & Industrial Engineering, 139, 105679. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cie.2019.01.053
Wittkop, A., Zulauf, K., & Wagner, R. (2018). How Digitalization Changes the Internationalization of Entrepreneurial Firms: Theoretical Considerations and Empirical Evidence. Management Dynamics in the Knowledge Economy, 6(2), 193–207.
Page | 22
Appendix
Appendix A. Characteristics interviewees
Respondent / Code Function Project environment Years of working experience 1. Director Technology & Engineering Machine engineering 35
2. Project manager Construction 30
3. Project manager Internal processes 20
4. HRM Internal processes 25
5. Project manager Construction 19
6. Project manager IT-consultant 20
7. Project manager ICT Security 15
8. CEO Private practice 10+
9. Project manager University-college 30+
10. Project manager Banking 30
11. Project manager Engineering 10+
12. Project manager Machine engineering 10+
13. Project manager Machine engineering 10+
14. Project manager Automation technician 10+
15. Project manager Industrial production 20
Appendix B. Interview protocol
Name/Respondent code: Function:
Data:
Time start interview: Time end interview:
Introduction interview: - Introducing researcher
- Explaining goal of the interview
- Main interest in the vision and role of the respondent. The respondent is the expert. - Duration of the interview
- Appoint informed consent and sign of informed consent - Remaining questions
Start interview:
1. What can you tell me about your job?
- How long have you been working in this function? - What are your responsibilities in this function?
- Could you describe the use of ICT in your job as a project manager? 2. How would you describe your role as project manager?
Page | 23
3. How has digitalization changed your work? - Beneficial changes or disadvantages?
- How do you feel about those changes?
- Can you describe your role as PM before those changes happened? 4. Has digitalization influenced your work (relations)?
- Contact with others
o Satisfied with the level of social relations? o More personal or more impersonal? o Digital or face-to-face?
o Effect on job performance?
- Influence of digitalization on daily work and communication/collaboration o Can you do your work better or worse now?
o How do you experience the level of collaboration as PM?
o To what extend does the increase in digital data availability influence collaboration (or your work in general)?
5. As a project manager, what do you feel is your core task/function? - Role
o Self-image o Personal meaning
o General feel and view of the job
6. Because of digitalization, your job (like many others) must have changed somehow, how does this affect your view of your job?
- Are you happy or discouraged with digitalization and why?
- How has digitalization influenced your day-to-day activities, compared to 5 or 10 years ago? - Do you see yourself doing this job/having this role in the foreseeable future and why (not)? 7. How do you identify with the work of a project manager?
- Would you say your identity as PM is changing?
o Over the years has your job become more (im)personal? o If so, to what degree?
- Level of job (in)security?
o What exactly does it mean to be a project manager? - View of self
8. Would you say your job as project manager is based on honesty and trust or surveillance and records?
- Hard- and soft-side of project management Closing remarks:
- Are there any matters we did not discuss but are according to you important regarding digitalization and professional identity?
- Further questions?
Page | 24
Appendix C. Data structure
First-order codes Second order themes
- View of self
- Relation with others - Responsibilities - Traits
- Work meaningfulness - Role project manager - Identification - Use of experience Professional identity - Digital benefit - Digital drawback - ICT Components - IT as a driver of change - Difference with old days - Increase use of ICT
- Costs
Digitalization
- Substitution of tasks - Work performance - Working method
- Changing work ICT
Changing work
- Decrease use of hard - ICT hard
- Control
- Increase use of hard - Trait hard
- Analysis
- Information & Documentation - Monitoring
- Planning
- Procurement & Contract - Quality
- Resources - Thinking Critical
Hard Skills
- Decrease use of soft - ICT soft
Page | 25
Appendix D. Codebook: Second-order themes
Second-order code Type Description Example*
Professional identity
Deductive Project manager comments on how he describes himself in his job, and how others see him (e.g. view of self, relation with others,
responsibilities, traits and role)
“Al zou ik mijn rol moeten beschrijven, zou je kunnen zeggen dat ik de man ben die ervoor zorgt dat dingen gebeuren. Kijk, in project
management heb je projecten, leden, dingen die moeten gebeuren, als je dat managed wil dat eigenlijk zeggen dat je de man achter het stuur bent en ervoor zorgt dat het schip op de juist plek en tijd aankomt. Je zou dus kunnen zeggen dat je rol een stuurman is…” “Facilitator hoor je ook wel eens voorbij komen. Projectleden werken aan iets, en aan het eind van de week ben jij de persoon die bijhoudt wat er gebeurt is en hoeveel er nog te gaan is.”
Digitalization Deductive The interviewee refers to digitalization as digital instruments that are introduced in working activities. The digitalization is based on ICT components and creates digital benefits or digital drawbacks. Through digitalization work has changed and IT driven. “
“Nu is er mede dankzij de grote proliferatie aan systemen en hulpmiddelen meer ruimte om te spelen met hoe je je een project
aanpakt.” “Dus digitalisatie levert in de eerste plaats enorm veel snelheid op, omdat je rechtstreeks kan communiceren, je hebt daar minder mensen voor nodig.”
Changing work Deductive Project manager states that during his career work has changed to a large degree due to numerous factors, and shows how he/she feels about that (e.g. work meaningfulness
working method, work performance substitution of tasks)
“Als je toen een project aanging was alles voorhand duidelijk uitgeschreven en verliep alles volgens het rooster. Ik denk dat
digitalisering daar een mildere omgeving van heeft gemaakt, door strakke tijdsplanningen en strikte contacten te versoepelen.”
Hard Skills Deductive The interviewee refers to hard skills when referring to ICT components (e.g. planning system, AutoCad, etc.) which focuses on hard characteristics or takes over hard skills or referring to his/ her increased/ decreased usage
“We hebben Isa, dat is het ERP systeem waar we het nodige informatie uithalen. Daarin kan ik zien of bepaalde inkoopopdrachten gedaan zijn. Daarin kan ik ook zien wat de verkoopprijzen zijn. Wat de inhoud is van het project, het volledige project wordt namelijk op Isa gezet bij ons. Daar kan ik veel informatie uit halen. We hebben niet echt een
Page | 26
Second-order code Type Description Example*
of hard skills (e.g. planning, use of experience, etc.)
Soft Skills Deductive The interviewee refers to soft skills when referring to ICT components (e.g. e-mail, stakeholders management system, mobile phone, mobile applications, communication
applications, etc.) which focuses on soft characteristics or referring to his/her
increased/decreased usage of soft skills (e.g. communication, networking, teamwork, etc.)
“ Het voordeel is, is dat het heel pluriform is. Je hebt bij WhatsApp de mogelijkheid om alleen te bellen met elkaar, je hebt de mogelijkheid om een bericht te sturen waarbij ze kunnen reageren wanneer het hun uitkomt en het voordeel daarvan is dat je beelden mee kunt sturen, je kunt snel een foto of een bestand meesturen. Daarnaast kun je ook videobellen zodat ik snel even iets kan bekijken. Verder is de kwaliteit behoorlijk. En het is heel erg breed. Ik vind het een heel krachtig tool om op afstand met elkaar te kunnen werken en heel snel en reactief te kunnen zijn.”
COVID-19 Inductive The project managers refers to changes due to the current COVID-19 crises, specifically how it has impacted his work.
"Om verder te werken in deze crisistijd doen we videogesprekken. Op dit moment werken we uitsluitend aan projecten via Skype of MS Teams.”
*Examples in Dutch, since the interviews themselves were in Dutch and not translated to English in order to prevent information loss.
First-order concepts
First-order code Type Description Example*
View of self Inductive The interviewee refers to himself in relation to the work he performs.
“Ik ben heel blij met deze veranderingen. Het maakt mij werk een heel stuk makkelijker, het maakt niet zoveel uit of ik op het werk ben of dat ik in Rusland of in Finland zit. Ik kan overal hetzelfde werk doen, alle informatie is tot mijn beschikking.”
Relation with others
Inductive The interviewee refers to his work relations or in what manner he deals with clients.
Page | 27
First-order code Type Description Example*
moeten charmeren om voor de planning en budgetten alles klaar te krijgen.”
Responsibilities Inductive The interviewee refers to his responsibilities on the job (e.g. tasks to complete, relation to take care of, plans to uphold).
“De verantwoordlijkheden is dat je budgetverantwoordelijk bent, dat je de mensen werft en dat je resultaatverantwoordlijk bent voor de projecten, dat je de deliverables die van te voren worden vastgesteld zijn dat je die aan het einde haalt.”
Traits Inductive The interviewee refers to his own traits in general, or those needed in order to be a successful project manager (e.g. the ability to work under stress).
“Ik ben pragmatisch, gedreven, resultaatgericht, verbindend en ik ken geen 9 tot 5 mentaliteit.”
Work
meaningfulness
Inductive The interviewee refers to how he perceives the meaning of his work, meaning to what degree he experiences meaningfulness or if he finds his job fulfilling/satisfying.
“Dat vind ik echt dagkoersen. Soms heb je een project waarvan je denkt dat het er echt tot doet en soms vraag je je af waar je aan bent begonnen. En soms zijn er projecten waar geld voor vrijkomt dus die moeten gedaan worden en dan blijkt achteraf dat het toch wel weer een toegevoegde waarde heeft. Dat verschilt per project vind ik. Maar ik vind het overal het algemeen heel leuk werk, net als al het andere werk is dat voor de helft administratief wat minder leuk is, maar er zitten ook parels tussen waarbij veel voldoening komt.”
Role project manager
Inductive The interviewee describes his own role as a project manager (e.g. does he seem himself as a follower or as a leader).
“Wat ik wel bij een projectmanager vind passen is de houding van: “het is beter door het vuur te vliegen dan te kruipen” en “als je iets moet doen, doe het dan gelijk” anders komt het als een boomerang op verschillende manieren terug. Time management is daar belangrijk bij, mensen zullen nooit op jou wachten. Dat ja tlijd zorgt dat je wat hebt voordat mensen erom vragen. Dan ben je echt een goede projectmanager. Bijvoorbeeld, slechte communicatie zoals wachten op e-mail: bij een goeie
Page | 28
First-order code Type Description Example*
Identification Inductive The interviewee describes how he identifies as a project manager. What sort of characteristics are needed and how to use them (e.g. behavior).
“Maar als je energiek laat zien: “Ik geloof erin dat we het voor elkaar krijgen!”. En “waarom was dit ook alweer zo belangrijk?” Het droomscenario schetsen van stel nou dat het lukt wat zou dit dan
betekenen en wat is onze bijdrage aan het project en het grote geheel. Dat zijn dingen waarvan ik denk dat als een projectleider dat niet kan, maar dat puur beschrijft als een excelsheet dan gaat het je echt nooit lukken.” Use of experience Inductive The interviewee refers to how he uses his own
job experience to perform his work.
“Dit wordt gedaan op basis van ervaring en op basis van enige
budgetoffertes van leveranciers. Je maakt een grove kosten inschatting, je maakt een besparingsinschatting, dan gaan we naar Zuid-Afrika met de vraag; ‘wat vind je van dit idee?’, oh is goed, werk het maar uit, dan beginnen we met uitwerken.”
Digital benefit Inductive The interviewee refers to digitalization as a benefit or helpful event.
“Nu is er mede dankzij de grote proliferatie aan systemen en hulpmiddelen meer ruimte om te spelen met hoe je je een project
aanpakt.” “Dus digitalisatie levert in de eerste plaats enorm veel snelheid op, omdat je rechtstreeks kan communiceren, je hebt daar minder mensen voor nodig.”
Digital drawback Inductive The interviewee refers to digitalization as a drawback or negative event.
“Het nadeel van ICT is dat je alle momenten van de dag bereikbaar bent en men ook verwacht dat je altijd bereikbaar bent.”
ICT Components Inductive The interviewee refers to components or tools in the field of ICT, which he makes use of in his work as a project manager.
“Ikzelf gebruik het niet zoveel, maar de gemeente gebruikt bijvoorbeeld het internet en sociale media ook heel veel om een boodschap te
communiceren. Ik ben zelf geen fan van Twitter bijvoorbeeld. Twitter is een belangrijk communicatiemiddel om gevoelens van de samenleving uit op te halen en daarop te reageren.”
IT as a driver of change
Inductive The interviewee refers to changes in his work as a direct result of IT influences.
“ICT is wel erg ontwikkeld, de modems zijn beter, de software om
Page | 29
First-order code Type Description Example*
Difference with old days
Inductive The interviewee refers to how his work was done (many) years ago as opposed to today.
“Dat gevoel heb ik niet. De communicatie is wel compleet anders geworden. De soft skills zijn wel anders geworden. Ik vind het moeilijk om te zeggen of de verhouding ook anders is geworden. Het is allemaal veel effectiever geworden aan beide kanten. De verhouding is misschien niet anders geworden maar je doet meer van beider. Analyseren en controleren is veel effectiever en sneller.”
Increase use of ICT
Inductive The interviewee refers to recent changes that involve an increase usage of ICT systems or tools.
“Teams was al wel geimplementeerd maar niemand gebruikte het echt. Teams is nu een algemeen begrip binnen de organisatie.”
Costs Inductive The interviewee refers to the costs of systems or financial gains/losses.
“Ja, maar dan alleen ten aanzien van de financiën. Dus de hele financiën worden verantwoord in SAP PS (Project Systeem). Dit begint met het plaatsen van een bestelling, inkoop besteld, en je ziet meteen of het betaald is, niet betaald is of wanneer het wordt betaald, betalingstermijn.” Substitution of
tasks
Inductive The interviewee refers to how certain tasks he performs as project manager have been substituted by digital means over the years.
“Waar je voorheen vast zat aan een harde planning op papier is nu je voornaaamste taak het sturen van allerei kleine dingetjes die er bij komen kijken.”
Work performance
Inductive The interviewee refers to his performance on the job and whether or not digitalization has had an effect on it.
“Er staat veel druk op ten opzichte van mijn beginjaren.”
Working method Inductive The interview explicitly refers to the way he performs his work and how digitalization plays a role in it.
“De tooling is wel verdomde handig om door alle lagen van je project doorheen te kunnen communiceren.”
Changing work ICT
Inductive The interviewee refers to how ICT has changed his work.
Page | 30
First-order code Type Description Example*
Decrease use of hard
Inductive The interviewee refers to the decreasing use of ICT components, which are used for using hard skills.
“Ja ik denk het uiteindelijk wel. De ICT heeft een enorme bijdrage geleverd. Dus als het aan de harde kant sneller gaat en aan de zachte kant niet. Dan verschuift de verdeling.”
ICT hard Inductive The interviewee refers to ICT components, which are used for using hard skills.
“Wij hebben hier een planningsprogramma.”
Control Inductive The interviewee refers to making use of his controlling abilities in his work.
“En alle scores komen in de portals te staan. En vanuit de portals kunnen wij vergelijkingen trekken. Er is dus een dashboard ontwikkeld, met daarachter portals waarin je kan zien hoe er per team gescoord is, op organisatieniveau of individueel, of op onderwerkpen. Dus vanuit die portals kunnen wij allerlei informatie gaan halen.”
Increase use of hard
Inductive The interviewee refers to the increasing use of ICT components, which are used for using hard skills.
“Daar hebben ze Navision geïmplementeerd waarin alle projecten worden gepland, dat is best wel uitgebreid. Die projecten waren weer gebaseerd op de productieplanning. Dat werd er ook ingepland. Dat zie ik qua
verandering” Trait hard Inductive The interviewee refers to traits, which can be
indicated as hard.
“Analyserend vermogen, de hoofd en bijzaken scheiden, vind ik heel belangrijk.”
Analysis Inductive The interviewee refers to making use of analysis in his work.
“Door de digitalisatie ontvangen wij data en door die data kunnen wij allerlei onderzoeken doen naar wat wij willen weten, je kan allemaal verbanden leggen tussen verschillende groepen en leeftijden. Dus dat geeft veel meer mogelijkheden tot onderzoek en het oplossen van vragen.” Information &
Documentation
Inductive The interviewee refers to making use of information and documentation in his work.
“Nu kan ik alles rapporteren in de formulering, lay-out, enzovoorts, zoals ik dat graag wil zien. Na de introductie van computers kon je daar over nadenken, hoe wil ik het formuleren, de formatering, hoe bouw je het verhaal op, enzovoorts. Wat heeft het uiteindelijk gebracht.”
Monitoring Inductive The interviewee refers to making use of monitoring in his work.
Page | 31
First-order code Type Description Example*
Planning Inductive The interviewee refers to making use of planning in his work.
“Het is belangrijk dat mijlpalen hebt waar je naartoe werkt, maar je merkt wel dat het vaststellen van realistische mijlpalen is veel belangrijker dan een planning bijvoorbeeld.”
Procurement & Contract
Inductive The interviewee refers to making use of procurement or contracts in his work.
“Ik denk dat we ons vroeger daar niet van bewust waren, maar nu beschouwen we dat bijna als een voorwaardig communicatiemiddel. Ook om te kunnen onderbouwen dat deze mail bindend is, bijna als contract. Dat gebruiken we ook zeker. Daar waren we ons vroeger echt niet van bewust.”
Quality Inductive The interviewee refers to how he ensures quality in his work.
“Wat wel een risico is het te veel krijgen van informatie. In de gemeente Zwolle ontstond er echt een overkill van informatie en rapportages, dat zijn ze nu gaan terugschroeven en houden ze beperkt. Alleen merken wij dat hierdoor het kwaliteitsniveau van de rapportages is gedaald en dit levert risico’s op in gevallen van verantwoording. Naast tijd is geld het belangrijkst om op te sturen en daar worden wij nu door de systemen heel slecht in gefaciliteerd. Dat is echt een risico. Het was zelfs zo erg dat er vanuit het management werd gekeken en gedacht; ‘is rapporteren niet een ding op zich geworden.”
Resources Inductive The interviewee refers to making use of resources in his work.
“Daarnaast gebruiken wij SAP (Systeme, Anwengdungen en produkte). Dat is een van de populairste systemen. In SAP zijn alle bedrijfskundige processen geïntegreerd. Vanaf salaris, productie, verkoop, alles zit erin, en ook projecten. De Capex geschiedenis zit er ook in, inkoop. Zodat alles aan elkaar gelinkt is.”
Critical thinking Inductive The interviewee refers to making use of critical thinking in his work.
Page | 32
First-order code Type Description Example*
Decrease use of soft
Inductive The interviewee refers to the decreasing use of ICT components, which are used for using soft skills.
“Vroeger was het misschien meer als introductie om later verder contact te hebben. Nu wordt het echt gebruikt om dingen formeel vast te leggen.”
ICT soft Inductive The interviewee refers to ICT components, which are used for using soft skills.
“Verder werden middelen zoals Skype of bellen gebruikt.”
Teamwork Inductive The interviewee refers to using teamwork in his work.
“Maar bijvoorbeeld in Office 365, kan je gemakkelijk samen met collega’s in verslagen werken, daar zitten de optimalisatie slagen.”
Increase use of soft
Inductive The interviewee refers to the increasing use of ICT components, which are used for using soft skills.
“Wat het meest in ontwikkeling is, is dat je veel makkelijker conferenties kunt uitvoeren en dat je iedereen face to face kunt benaderen. Ja Skype en Whatsapp kun je videobellen.”
Trait soft Inductive The interviewee refers to traits, which can be indicated as soft.
“Het overtuigen van je project teamleden.”
Communication Inductive The interviewee refers to using communication in his work.
“Dat is onmisbaar. Want je kunt via e-mail heel veel verknallen in de communicatie. Het wordt vaak verkeerd geïnterpreteerd en er zitten vaak verkeerde emoties in en noem maar op, en dan gaat het helemaal de verkeerde kant op. Dus het is heel belangrijk dat je ter plaatse bent.” Creativity Inductive The interviewee refers to using creativity
in his work.
“En ik vind de uitslag niet zo interessant, maar het is de reden die
Page | 33
First-order code Type Description Example*
Political Skills Inductive The interviewee refers to using political skills in his work.
“Maar om een gemeente mee te krijgen, dat is wel echt een opgave. Dat vind ik wel heel stoer. Dat lukt mij nu ook voor een gedeelte en daar krijg ik ook waardering voor. De structuur en de programma organisatie en over de mensen mee krijgen, vasthoudendheid, doordrammen, alles bij elkaar brengen om de organisatorische verandering te realiseren.”
Social skills Inductive The interviewee refers to using social skills in his work.
“Het is allemaal zo veel efficiënter geworden, dus nu kan ik mij veel meer bezighouden met coachen, dan alleen maar gegevens en data uitwerken. Bij de data kan je veel gemakkelijker conclusies trekken en houd je dan tijd over, dan kan je dat invullen met extra persoonlijk contact.” COVID-19-crisis Inductive The interviewee refers to changes due to the
current COVID-19 crises, specifically how it has affected his work.
“We kunnen alleen ons hoogstnoodzakelijke taken nog doen, met een minimum in contactmomenten.”
Crisis Inductive The interviewee refers to changes due to the current COVID-19 crises, specifically how it has affected his work.
“Om verder te werken in deze crisistijd doen we videogesprekken. Op dit moment werken we uitsluitend aan projecten via Skype of MS Teams.”
Corona Inductive The interviewee refers to changes due to the current COVID-19 crises, specifically how it has affected his work.
“Wat je nu natuurlijk steeds meer ziet, helemaal in de Corona tijd, dat je nu op afstand kunt werken.”
Current times Inductive The interviewee refers to changes due to the current COVID-19 crises, specifically how it has affected his work.
“… Zeker nu, werken we alleen nog maar vanuit huis.”
