Project autonomy in complex service development networks

Purpose – Earlier research has investigated project autonomy only in the context of one parent organization, and not sufficiently in complex stakeholder environments. This paper aims to examine project autonomy and its formation in a complex stakeholder environment. The purpose is to increase understanding on project autonomy, its formation, enablers, and barriers in a complex stakeholder environment, particularly in service development networks. Design/methodology/approach – An embedded case study strategy of 11 service development projects are employed within the same non‐profit parent organization, each with their unique, complex stakeholder networks. Data were collected through interviews with key informants both in the projects and their parent organization and content analyzed. Findings – The results reveal that project autonomy appears in constant interplay with the surrounding stakeholder environment. Four types of context‐dependent autonomy are characterized in the projects: isolated, privileged, networked, and embedded. How the parent organization enables and constrains autonomy is also reported by moderating the level of attention given to projects more or less deliberately. Research limitations/implications – The alleged connection between project autonomy and success needs to be questioned in complex stakeholder environments. Further research is suggested on the dynamics of project autonomy throughout the project lifecycle, and the effects of contingency factors such as project type. As the embedded single‐case strategy has its limitations for generalizability, further research should test and verify the findings in other contexts. Practical implications – Project manager and owner capabilities should be aligned with the type and degree of project autonomy. Originality/value – The results contribute to the literature on project autonomy by drawing attention to the complexity of a project's stakeholder environment and by lending empirical support to recent conceptual research on context‐bound project strategies.