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. 2023 Jun 27;18(6):e0287225. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287225

Competitive advantages of organizational project management maturity: A quantitative descriptive study in Australia

Garry Huang 1, Shwn-Meei Lee 2, Daniel L Clinciu 3,*
Editor: Jana Košťálová4
PMCID: PMC10298749  PMID: 37368892

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine whether organizational project management maturity in the project management consultancy industry offers any competitive advantages to a business when it tenders for contracts. We collected 150 responses from both members and former members of professional Australian project management associations in order to examine and understand any potential effects of project management maturity on management and organizations. The statistical software SPSS was used to analyze the data collected with the confidence interval (alpha) set at 5%. The results of this study reveal that organizational project management maturity has an effect on competitive advantages as noted by the project managers (p < .0001; 99.99%; H0 –rejected). The study also shows that the perception of competitive advantages for organizational project management maturity is based on the level of maturity reached. It also reveals that an organization is winning contracts/jobs due to various other competencies, particularly soft skills such as client relationships, stakeholder management, communications skills, and modes of client engagement.

Introduction

Project management is widely used in the implementation of new programs and system changes seen in information technology projects, building projects, automotive products, airplanes, defense systems and many other areas [13]. Studies show that organizations having a standardized method of project management delivery increase their chances of delivering projects in accordance with plans [4, 5] and ultimately to the client’s satisfaction.

Since adopting its modern form in the 1950s [69], project management has been an acquired skill, with various certifications and competency guidelines available to validate an individual’s capability/competency. Such an example is the PRojects IN Controlled Environments (PRINCE2), a structured project management method and practitioner certification program [10, 11]. PRINCE2 emphasizes dividing projects into manageable and controllable stages. It is adopted in many countries worldwide, including the UK, Western European countries, and Australia, with training available in many languages. There are many project management maturity models available for project managers to use (Appendix A, S1 File), nevertheless, they all emphasize that project managers need to be proficient in their own competency to achieve maturity. There are also general maturity models and methods that can further aid project managers in achieving competitive advantages (Appendix B, S1 File).

This study selected the Portfolio Programme and Project Management Maturity (P3M3) model, derived from PRINCE2 and developed in the United Kingdom, a country having a high degree of similarity with Australia. In addition, there are certifications available such as the Registered Project Management (RegPM) by the Australian Institute of Project Management and the Project Management Professional (PMP) provided by the Project Management Institute (PMI). PMI serves more than five million professionals including over 680,000 members in 217 countries and territories around the world, with 304 chapters and 14,000 volunteers serving local members in over 180 countries. Notably, the International Project Management Association (IPMA) is a federation of around 70-member associations across the globe which provides qualification standards for individuals working in project, programme and portfolio management [12]. The IPMA competency-based Four-Level Certification System for programme and project managers world-renowned for its quality and uniqueness. It comprises the following:

  • Stage 1: Application, CV for initial certification, and Self-assessment.

  • Stage 2: Examination.

  • Stage 3: Final evaluation, Decision.

  • Stage 4: Certification, Feedback, and Archiving.

This study, therefore, refers to competitiveness as the ability of project management organizations to secure contracts as they submit tenders.

Theoretical background

Studies by Kathawala, Elmunti, and Toepp (1991); Barber (2004), and Milosevic and Patanakul (2005) revealed that organizations with standardized project management practices, in comparison to individual skill sets experience, improved overall organizational project management performance when assessed by the number of projects that meet the purpose, time and cost emphasized by the project plan [4, 13, 14]. Project management skills are shifting from an individual capability to an organizational competency as seen through various organizational project management maturity models [15]. Such skills encompass the soft skills of project managers which can play an important role in the success of a project by providing competitive advantages through better planning, execution, and evaluation of project progress. Soft skills are highly significant in providing various competitive advantages, especially when dealing with complex projects [16].

Among the skills set, the highly influential skills of project managers on project success include communication skills, team-building skills, and problem-solving skills. Current business environments encounter multiple challenges as well as opportunities in a volatile market environment. This situation requires constant changes within organizations and leaders’ behavior. Studies on communication skills in the construction industry reveal that this particular soft skill can contribute as much as 78.3% variation in project success [17]. Another quantitive study showed that project managers’ emotional intelligence, their team members’ trust in them and job satisfaction also greatly impact the success of a project [18]. The shift in managing human capital with increasing complexity has developed project management from a purely technical discipline to being viewed as a specialized field of management. Within it, leadership and interpersonal skills play a central role in future project enterprises and their success. Thus, current studies strongly suggest that project management interpersonal transferrable skills are the ones that will be most highly sought after currently and in the future [19].

Problem statement

The specific problem this study aims to address is the lack of understanding of organizational project management maturity as defined by various maturity models and its effects on the perceived competitive advantages. Properly identifying the organizational project management maturity and its effects on the competitive advantages of an organization enable stakeholders to be better informed on both the strengths and weaknesses of the organization, thus, enabling the organization to continue evolving and developing. In this research, competitiveness refers to the ability of project management organizations to secure contracts when they submit a tender. This study examined the effects of organizational project management maturity on competitive advantages for Australian-based organizations.

Methods

Study participants

The participants were project managers, either current or former members of a professional project management association such as the Australian Institute of Project Management, the Project Management Institute, and the International Project Management Association. The study was approved by the Bellberry Human Research Ethics Committee (TGA HREC Code: EC00372).

A quantitative descriptive method was used to analyze the effects of organizational project management maturity level on competitive advantages for Australian-based project management consultation organizations; 130 project managers were surveyed. A quantitative method can interpret large amounts of data [20], and was therefore ideal to validate the specific research questions in this study. Furthermore, quantitative research allows for the testing of hypotheses from large amounts of data through precise measurement [21]. The main focus of this study was to collect empirical evidence of the experiences of the organizational project managers. Vogt et al., (2012) along with Ingham-Broomfield (2014) state that quantitative research aims at explaining and predicting solutions to a problem that could be generalized to other persons or places; additionally, there must be a clear objective reality that can be measured and quantified [22, 23]. While other research methods such as a qualitative study may also be a valid method, only a quantitative method can use statistics to interpret the large amounts of data [20].

Design

Two components are the main focus of this study; an organizational project management maturity model self-assessment tool and a questionnaire employing a five-point Likert-type survey used in examining the perceptions of the project managers on organizational project management maturity level and its connection to competitive advantages. The purpose of such design is for allowing participants to document their perspectives on whether organizational project management maturity offers any competitive advantages when tendering for contracts. Participants were asked to fill and acceptance form (Appendix C, S1 File) to examine and complete a survey covering two main components. The first component was the Portfolio Programme Project Management Maturity Model (P3M3®) self-assessment tool, which focused on project management maturity (https://www.axelos.com/for-organizations/p3m3). The second one, a five-point Likert-type survey required the participants to describe their attitudes, perceptions, and perspectives on the organizational competitive advantages associated with organizational project management maturity.

The collection and reporting the quantifiable descriptive data based on the experiences of the project managers on competitive advantages was central to this study. The quantitative descriptive design selected here enabled a systematic analysis of organizations across multiple levels suggesting that multiple factors may contribute to the overall perception of the surveyed individual [24], and is able to provide repeatable and statistically significant data to the variables [25]; for example, the perceived connection between organizational project management maturity and the competitive advantages outlined in this study. Therefore, by collecting the quantitative descriptive data of the project managers we aim to obtain a better understanding of a possible connection between organizational project management maturity as defined by various maturity models and the competitive advantages experienced by participants.

Sampling

A sample size target of 125 is recommended by Cooper and Schindler (2012); as the population size approaches 125, a reasonable statistical estimate could be achieved from the standard deviation and is, therefore, a more meaningful result [21]. Therefore, for the purpose of this study, a sample size target of 125 valid responses was the target.

A convenience sampling method was used in this study; this is an appropriate method as potential subjects can choose either to participate or not in the study and is also an effective method of choice due to the ease of collecting sample data, its relatively low cost of collection [26] as well as allowing for the study to be completed in a shorter timeframe. However, a convenience sampling method could have a “coverage error” as described by [27].

Research question

The main research question that this study is focused on is as follows: What is the effect of organizational project management maturity on the perceived competitive advantages as observed by the project managers that are current and former members of various professional project management associations?

This main question is further detailed and stratified into a 20-question survey.

Field test

Three experts were invited to review the researcher developed survey questions and provide feedback on the appropriateness of the questions. Each expert has at least 20 years of project management experience and is either a current or former member with the Australian Institute of Project Management. Each expert responded accordingly and provided their review on the survey questions.

Data analysis

A Likert-type survey consisting of 20 questions (P3M3/Appendix D, S1 File and Table 2) was administered to participants, with questions 10–20 (Table 2) focused on determining the organizational project management maturity level. The questions were based on the P3M3® project management self-assessment originally developed by the Office of Government Commerce. Questions 10–20 (Table 2) emphasized the experiences of the participants on competitive advantages provided by the organizational project management maturity and were developed by the researchers. The level of organizational project management maturity was measured by the P3M3® project management self-assessment. The competitive advantages of the organization cannot be directly measured and are also considered as a latent variable [28]; that is, a single variable such as organizational project management maturity cannot be identified as the sole source of competitive advantages as there are many other factors involved. This claim was also supported by Agresti and Kateri (2014) in that a standard latent model treats the variables observed (level of organizational project management maturity) and latent variable (perceived competitive advantages) as a nominal scale, omitting any ordering that may exist [29]. Consequently, the addition or any other form of data manipulation is not possible based on findings by Field (2013) and Agresti and Kateri (2014). Therefore, the respondents were required to answer questions based on their experiences in the second component of the survey on whether or not they believe that organizational project management maturity was in fact one source of competitive advantages that they can rely on when submitting tenders.

Table 2. Survey questions used for determining components’ matrix outcome.

Question# Survey question Component 1 Component 2
10 Are your organization’s project management Capabilities a contributing factor when bidding for contracts/jobs? .892 .112
11 The organization has always invested in professional development of project managers as a source of competitive advantages .851 -.007
12 The organization emphasizes the importance of client relationships over the importance of organizational project management maturity -.549 .399
13 The organization only secures contracts/jobs if it charges a lower price than competitors -.789 -.038
14 The organization can compete with its nearest competitor in all its organizational project management capabilities .866 .098
15 The organization secures contracts/jobs based on its organizational project management maturity/capabilities .879 .053
16 The organization is winning contracts/jobs due to other competencies (e.g. soft skills: relationships, management, communications) -.106 .868
17 The organization often benchmarks its own organizational project management maturity for the purpose of continuous improvement (e.g. development, workshops, staff education) .784 .157
18 The organization has created new business opportunities because of its organizational project management maturity .869 .072
19 Do you agree with the statement: “Organizational project management maturity has given the organization a competitive edge?” .897 .072
20 Do you agree with: “It is not about what you know, but who do you know” in the current market? -.510 .383

The data collected by this study was then analyzed through the statistical software SPSS version 24. The confidence interval (alpha) was set at 5% and alpha inflation was auto-corrected by the statistical software automatically. As competitive advantages cannot be directly measured and are considered as a latent variable [28], then a factor analysis is an appropriate method for statistical analysis. The specific SPSS functions used included the”reliability analysis” in scale as well as the “factor analysis” in dimension reduction. For the hypotheses, the eigenvalues were determined by the number of survey questions and the computations done by SPSS [28]. Mathur, Jugdev, and Fung (2013) further suggested that by examining Cronbach’s alpha, it is possible to gain an appreciation of how well the question relates to a unidimensional latent construct, and in this study, the perception of competitive advantages [30].

An eigenvalue of greater than one suggests a significant relationship with the corresponding factor [28], therefore, revealing that the participants agree or highly agree with the corresponding survey question (statement) and Nunnally (1978) suggested that a new research topic with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.5 would be adequate to determine the reliability of the study [31].

Grouping of data

Of the expected responses, the data were separated into two main groups and contrasted against each group. One group consisted of the survey responses with an organizational project management maturity level ranging between one to three and the other group ranged between four and five. Each group was entered into SPSS for factor analysis to determine its eigenvalues and the Cronbach’ alpha. The results were contrasted in order to determine any similarities.

The purpose for establishing a baseline is to be able to group the responses by the survey participants into similar categories. This is to ensure that a reasonable comparison between the survey responses can be achieved. Without the grouping, it is possible that only a very small amount of organizations would fall into level one and level five maturities and therefore making it impossible to contrast.

Results

A total of 150 participants initially participated in this study, however, 20 participants were excluded after failing to agree to terms and conditions, resulting in a total number of 130 participants (n = 130). SPSS further excluded 21 data sets due to incomplete responses resulting in a total of 109 valid responses (Table 1, S1 File). The average number of years of work experience for the participants was 13.73 years. From the study’s protocols, the Cronbach alpha was calculated at 0.615 (Table 2, S1 File) for the 11 components used (Table 1) which determined this study has a sufficiently reliable result (0.5 minimum used as the acceptance criteria).

Table 1. Total variance among the components of this study.

Component Initial Eigenvalues
Total % of Variance
1 6.413 58.299
2 1.121 10.187
3 .757 6.879
4 .707 6.424
5 .478 4.346
6 .425 3.867
7 .302 2.748
8 .270 2.453
9 .206 1.873
10 .191 1.734
11 .131 1.192

Note. Number of Components identified = 2

The total variance calculated by SPSS identified two components with an eigenvalue greater than one using survey questions 10 through 20 (Table 2). The two components identified relevant survey questions to be used in determining maturity levels 1–5, thus, removing questions 12 and 20 (Table 3). Based on the self-assessment P3M3 questions, maturity levels were grouped into two sections: maturity levels 1–3 and 4–5.

Table 3. Survey questions and scores for possible competitive advantages in maturity levels 1 to 3 and 4 to 5.

Question# Survey question Score: (Levels 1–3) (Levels 4–5)
10 Are your organization’s project management Capabilities a contributing factor when bidding for contracts/jobs? 3.24 4.46
11 The organization has always invested in professional development of project managers as a source of competitive advantages 2.53 3.86
13 The organization only secures contracts/jobs if it charges a lower price than competitors 2.95 (3.05a) 1.78 (4.22a)
14 The organization can compete with its nearest competitor in all its organizational project management capabilities 2.75 4.49
15 The organization secures contracts/jobs based on its organizational project management maturity/capabilities 2.85 4.14
16 The organization is winning contracts/jobs due to other competencies (e.g. soft skills: relationships, management, communications) 4.27 4.32
17 The organization often benchmarks its own organizational project management maturity for the purpose of continuous improvement (e.g. development, workshops, staff education) 2.74 3.83
18 The organization has created new business opportunities because of its organizational project management maturity 2.55 3.70
19 Do you agree with the statement: “Organizational project management maturity has given the organization a competitive edge?” 2.97 4.13

a The adjusted score

These two components were able to explain 68.5% of the total variance in this study with each component being able to explain 58.3% and 10.2% of the variance respectively. Component two as identified by the Eigenvalue calculation suggested that question 16 shows a high degree of variance to the overall calculations (Tables 2 and 3).

Independent samples T-test results

The independent sample T-test as calculated by SPSS revealed a p-value of <0.0001 (99.99% confidence, Table 3, S1 File; thus rejecting the null hypothesis (H0 –Organizational project management maturity has no effect on competitive advantages as perceived by the project managers).

Maturity levels 1–3 represent 47 respondents, and Maturity levels 4–5 represent 62 (21 respondents were excluded). Based on the final question “Do you agree with the statement: Organizational Project Management Maturity has given the organization a competitive edge”, organizations with a maturity level of 1–3, scored on average 2.97 (Table 4, S1 File) while those with a maturity level of 4–5 scored 4.13 (Table 5, S1 File, Table 3).

Discussion

This study examined the effects of organizational project management maturity on competitive advantages for organizations based in Australia. SPSS identified two components with an eigenvalue greater than one, suggesting there are two factors with particular significance in this study (Table 1). The second component (question 16), based on SPSS calculations identified 10.2% of the variance (eigenvalue of 1.121). This component relates to the survey question which addresses the impact of soft skills on the ability to win contracts/jobs (Tables 3 and 6, S1 File). The score of 4.30 (agree to strongly agree), suggests that the surveyed project managers considered this feature an important aspect of competitive advantages. Although previous studies found soft skills to be of particular importance in a variety of fields [1719], they did not investigate whether such skills could be used as competitive advantages for securing or winning contracts.

This study revealed that the perception of competitive advantages based on organizational project management maturity is based on the level of maturity (Table 3). Project managers in organizations having lower levels of maturity do not perceive various competitive advantages, whereas, project managers in organizations with higher levels of maturity do. Also, it is possible to replicate this study using different maturity models besides the P3M3® used in this study such as the Portfolio Management Maturity Model (PfM3) and the Programme Management Maturity Model (PgM3). This study did not, however, factor in a weighted component with each of the survey questions, and any future research can potentially benefit from a weighted score for different survey questions.

The results of this study demonstrated there is a higher perception of competitive advantages in organizations with a higher level of organizational project management maturity. One interesting aspect to note was that all of the participants were perceived to possess additional competitive advantages. However, the definition of competitive advantage is a resource or strategic asset that is valuable, rare, inimitable, and involves organizational focus [32], and since it is possible for any organization to reach the same level of organizational project management maturity, it is not rare and inimitable. Therefore, future research should investigate through weighted component questions based on the outcome of this study to determine other possible sources of competitive advantages.

One specific potential area for future research is to conduct this research in a different country, which is a limitation of this study. Asian countries rely more on human interactions rather than the technical skills of an individual, occasionally known as Hofstede’s cultural dimensions [33]. Therefore, by repeating this study in a different country, particularly an Asian country, better observation of the impact of the second significant component in this study and its relationship to competitive advantages may occur. Another potential study, using a qualitative phenomenological method and design that could gather the lived experiences of project managers based in another country with significant cultural differences incorporating organizational project management maturity when developing programs may be explored. Rather than looking at an entire country, focusing on one particular city’s project managers in a focus group design, might provide another perception of the interface between project management maturity and competitive advantages, especially with respect to the soft skills of project management.

Conclusion

Whether organizational project management maturity can be relied upon as the single source of competitive advantages is not a conclusion of this study. Based on the independent sample T-test as calculated by SPSS, a p-value of <0.0001 (99.99% confidence) was obtained which rejected the null hypothesis (N0: Organizational project management maturity has no effect on competitive advantages as perceived by the project managers). This suggests that there is a relationship between organizational project management maturity and the perceived competitive advantages of the surveyed project managers. Furthermore, this study confirmed that the soft skills of project management such as client relationships (with an overall average of 4.30), stakeholder management, and communications abilities are important factors for winning jobs/contracts across all levels of organizational project management maturity. By properly identifying the organizational project management maturity and its effects on the competitive advantages of an organization, the stakeholders may be more aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the organization, thus, prompting the organization to continue developing and evolving.

Supporting information

S1 File

(DOCX)

Data Availability

All relevant data containing the minimal data set are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.

Funding Statement

The authors received no specific funding for this work.

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2 Oct 2022

PONE-D-22-12656Competitive Advantages of Organizational Project Management Maturity: A Quantitative Descriptive Study in AustraliaPLOS ONE

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Reviewer #1: Yes

**********

3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

**********

4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: Yes

**********

5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: Formal comments:

1. There is not clear which of the resources (Itim Interantiona and Itim International, 2010) on page 15 and in References is in right form (I suppose the second one). It is necessary to correct it.

Content comments:

1. Introduction – 1st paragraph - project management is discipline used not only in “… information technology projects, building projects, new automotive products, airplanes, or weapons systems ...”. I recommend to modify it.

2. Introduction – 2nd paragraph – The skills of project managers could be certified. The mentioned certification from Australia is regional certification, I recommend to mention certifications used worldwide, not only Project Management Institute certification, but also PRINCE2 and International Project Management Association standards certifications.

3. Results – it will be useful to present in the article also description of answers of respondents. If they full filled self-assessment P3M3 questions it could be possible to present what is the level of project management maturity of respondent’s organizations. This information could give the overview about the maturity of project management. It could be important information, in case the maturity is mainly on low level (P3M3 has got 5 levels – from the lowest “awareness of process” to the highest “optimized process”) it could be the reason of the final statement: „organizational project management maturity has no effect on competitive advantages “. There would be very interesting the comparison of high-level project maturity organizations and low-level project maturity organizations – is there for both groups still the result same, or the level of project maturity could impact the relationship between organizational project management maturity and competitive advantages?

4. References – there is possible to find many references but mainly to methodology of the research, to the main topic – project management maturity and competitive advantages – is not presented sufficient literature review.

5. Supplementary material – there is presented the Project Management Maturity Model (P3M3®) self-assessment, but this project management maturity model is described in the literature, so it is sufficient just to offer to the readers the link to description of this model. The questions 10-20 are presented two times – in table and in supplementary material, it is redundant.

Summary:

Authors would like to examined the effects of organizational project management maturity on competitive advantages. The methodology, problem statement and design of the analysis are specified very clearly and deeply. But the survey is very limited by insufficient literature review. The methodology and specification of research are based on recommendation from literature, but there is not presented the theoretical background of the project management maturity and competitive advantages.

The project management maturity is possible to measure by project management maturity models. There are, based on the literature review, available more than 50 project management maturity models. Why the P3M3 by Axelos based on PRINCE2 methodology has been used for the analysis? Is this methodology preferred in Australia? There are other models, like OPM3 (based on Project Management Institute standard), IPMA Delta (based on International Project Management Association standards), Kerner Project Management Maturity Model (by Kezner, 2019, 2005), Project Management Solutions´ Project Management Maturity Model (by Crawford, 2021), Project Management Process Maturity by Kwak and Ibbs (2002). Project FRAMEWORKTM Project Management Maturity Model (by Iqbal 2016), all based on PMI standard and many others.

Why the model P3M3 has been chosen? There are available other self-assessment models. Is it based on the statement, that PRINCE2 standard is the most preferable in Australia? If not, there is not presented the relevant explanation the P3M3 model has been chosen for this survey.

It is same with the competitive advantages, the second part of the survey is focused on project managers´ attitude to relationship of project management maturity and competitive advantages, but there is not literature review, which would specify in detail how the competitive advantages could be specified. There is not mentioned if these relationships has been analysed before in some other studies, or if they are focused just on comparison of success and project management maturity.

International Project Management Association. (2016). Reference model for IPMA Delta. http://www.ipma.world/certification/certify-organisations/delta-reference-model/

Iqbal, S. (2016). Organizational Maturity – Managing Programs Better. In. "Program Management: A Life Cycle Approach", CRC Press, edited by Ginger Levin 584 pp.

Kerzner, H. (2019). Using the Project Management Maturity Model, Third Edition: Strategic Planning for Project Management. John Wiley &Sons, Inc., doi: 10.1002/9781119559078.

Kerzner, H. (2005). Using the project management maturity model. Hobokon, New Jersey: John Wiley& Sons.

Kwak, Y. H.; Ibbs, C. W. (2002). Project management process maturity (PM)2 model. Journal of Management in Engineering, 18, 150-155.

Project Management Institute (2003). Organizational Project Management Maturity Model (OPM3). 1. ed. Newton Square: PMI, 195 pp. doi: 10.1201/9781420028942.axa

Crawford, J. K. (2021). Project Management Maturity Model (PM Solution Research). 4. ed., Auerbach Publications, 234 pp.

**********

6. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy.

Reviewer #1: Yes: Jana Kostalova

**********

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PLoS One. 2023 Jun 27;18(6):e0287225. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287225.r002

Author response to Decision Letter 0


14 Oct 2022

Responses to Reviewers

We want to thank the reviewer for her time and valuable comments. Our editing and changes have been highlighted in red throughout the manuscript.

1. Introduction – 1st paragraph - project management is discipline used not only in “… information technology projects, building projects, new automotive products, airplanes, or weapons systems ...”. I recommend to modify it.

1. We have edited parts of the abstract that may have been confusing and corrected the misspelled word and also its reference format (added the year in the references section).

2. Introduction – 2nd paragraph – The skills of project managers could be certified. The mentioned certification from Australia is regional certification, I recommend to mention certifications used worldwide, not only Project Management Institute certification, but also PRINCE2 and International Project Management Association standards certifications.

2. We have added a short description of PRINCE2 in the introduction. We include in our study an Appendix (Appendix A) which lists over 20 different maturity models which suggest that project managers need to be proficient in their own competency in order to achieve maturity. We hope this can satisfy the reviewer’s concern.

3. Results – it will be useful to present in the article also description of answers of respondents. If they full filled self-assessment P3M3 questions it could be possible to present what is the level of project management maturity of respondent’s organizations. This information could give the overview about the maturity of project management. It could be important information, in case the maturity is mainly on low level (P3M3 has got 5 levels – from the lowest “awareness of process” to the highest “optimized process”) it could be the reason of the final statement: „organizational project management maturity has no effect on competitive advantages “. There would be very interesting the comparison of high-level project maturity organizations and low-level project maturity organizations – is there for both groups still the result same, or the level of project maturity could impact the relationship between organizational project management maturity and competitive advantages?

3. We added additional details of the responses’ results in the Results section to clarify our findings and to answer the reviewer’s points. We also added a new table (Table 2) and modified Table 3 by adding the results of maturity groups in it: 1) maturity levels 1 – 3 and 2) maturity levels 4 – 5 in order to clarify our findings and make it easier for the reader to understand them. Please see the red highlights in the results section.

4. References – there is possible to find many references but mainly to methodology of the research, to the main topic – project management maturity and competitive advantages – is not presented sufficient literature review.

4. We have added more details in the introduction, and also references to support the main topic. Please see the red highlights in the introduction (paragraphs 2 and 3, and references).

5. Supplementary material – there is presented the Project Management Maturity Model (P3M3®) self-assessment, but this project management maturity model is described in the literature, so it is sufficient just to offer to the readers the link to description of this model. The questions 10-20 are presented two times – in table and in supplementary material, it is redundant.

5. We have removed the redundant material/information in the supplementary material and added necessary links, appendixes, and tables. Please see the new revised the tables in the manuscript.

Attachment

Submitted filename: Responses to Reviewers.docx

Decision Letter 1

Jana Košťálová

9 Jan 2023

PONE-D-22-12656R1Competitive Advantages of Organizational Project Management Maturity: A Quantitative Descriptive Study in AustraliaPLOS ONE

Dear Dr. clinciu,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

Please submit your revised manuscript by Feb 23 2023 11:59PM. If you will need more time than this to complete your revisions, please reply to this message or contact the journal office at plosone@plos.org. When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file.

Please include the following items when submitting your revised manuscript:

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  • A marked-up copy of your manuscript that highlights changes made to the original version. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Revised Manuscript with Track Changes'.

  • An unmarked version of your revised paper without tracked changes. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Manuscript'.

If you would like to make changes to your financial disclosure, please include your updated statement in your cover letter. Guidelines for resubmitting your figure files are available below the reviewer comments at the end of this letter.

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We look forward to receiving your revised manuscript.

Kind regards,

Jana Košťálová, Ph.D.

Guest Editor

PLOS ONE

Journal Requirements:

Please review your reference list to ensure that it is complete and correct. If you have cited papers that have been retracted, please include the rationale for doing so in the manuscript text, or remove these references and replace them with relevant current references. Any changes to the reference list should be mentioned in the rebuttal letter that accompanies your revised manuscript. If you need to cite a retracted article, indicate the article’s retracted status in the References list and also include a citation and full reference for the retraction notice.

Additional Editor Comments (if provided):

Authors accepted most of the comments of reviewer. The most import is including of PRINCE2 standard and the overview of project management maturity measured by P3M3 of respondents, which gives relevant overview on which level of project management in these organizations is and how relevant are their answers in questionnaire survey.

The is not extended very much the literature review, but there is appendix A, where the available maturity models are included.

The most important parts are improved, but there are still some formal and content comments:

Formal comments:

1. There is not the title of Table 1, please include it.

Content comments:

1. Introduction – 1st paragraph - project management is discipline used not only in “… information technology projects, building projects, new automotive products, airplanes, or weapons systems ...”. I recommend to modify it.

Insufficient formulation, I recommend to modify it in this way: … project management is used much widely i.e. IT projects, building projects….. and many other areas.

2. Introduction – 2nd paragraph – The skills of project managers could be certified. The mentioned certification from Australia is regional certification, I recommend to mention certifications used worldwide, not only Project Management Institute certification, but also PRINCE2 and International Project Management Association standards certifications.

The text is intended for readers across the world. So, the overview in the introduction has to reflect the situation across the world, not only in Australia. Generally, across the world PMI, PRINCE2 and IPMA international project management standards and certifications for project managers skills are used (despite the fact that IPMA does not have its branch in Australia). I recommend to mention in the Introduction also this third standard, to offer general independent overview of project management standards.

3. Appendix A – the title of the Appendix is not accurate. This is not a list of project management maturity models. There are included general project management maturity models (like Building Architecture Maturity Model, Capability Maturity Model Integration for Development, Capability Maturity Model Integration for Acquisition, Corrective Maintenance Maturity Model or EFQM Excellence Model). There are general management methods (like Balance Scorecard). Some of these models has been used for development of project management maturity model (like EFQM Excellence Model or CMMI model). These models and method are usable for evaluation of management maturity generally, not exactly for project management maturity.

There are mentioned international project management standards (like International Project Management Association and its ICB standard), but it is not project management maturity model. Based on this standard is available Reference model IPMA Delta (IPMA, 2016). Unfortunately, the IPMA Delta project management maturity model is not included in the list.

There is only 15 real project management maturity models int the appendix. It is necessary to specify it precisely. I recommend to modify table – stay there only real project management maturity models or divide it into two parts – general maturity models and methods and project management maturity models.

International Project Management Association. (2016). Reference model for IPMA Delta. http://www.ipma.world/certification/certify-organisations/delta-reference-model/

[Note: HTML markup is below. Please do not edit.]

Reviewers' comments:

[NOTE: If reviewer comments were submitted as an attachment file, they will be attached to this email and accessible via the submission site. Please log into your account, locate the manuscript record, and check for the action link "View Attachments". If this link does not appear, there are no attachment files.]

While revising your submission, please upload your figure files to the Preflight Analysis and Conversion Engine (PACE) digital diagnostic tool, https://pacev2.apexcovantage.com/. PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at figures@plos.org. Please note that Supporting Information files do not need this step.

PLoS One. 2023 Jun 27;18(6):e0287225. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287225.r004

Author response to Decision Letter 1


9 Feb 2023

Format comments

We have provided a title for Table 1. Please see the title in red highlights (revised manuscript)

Content comments

We have modified the Introduction paragraph as per reviewer’s suggestion. Please see the red highlights in paragraph 1.

We have added more content as per reviewer’s suggestion. Thank you for the great example and please see red highlights

We have separated the appendix into two parts as suggested by the reviewer. We now have appendixes A (project management maturity models) and B (General Maturity Models and Methods).

Attachment

Submitted filename: Rebuttal Letter.docx

Decision Letter 2

Jana Košťálová

16 Feb 2023

PONE-D-22-12656R2Competitive Advantages of Organizational Project Management Maturity: A Quantitative Descriptive Study in AustraliaPLOS ONE

Dear Dr. clinciu,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

Please submit your revised manuscript by Apr 02 2023 11:59PM. If you will need more time than this to complete your revisions, please reply to this message or contact the journal office at plosone@plos.org. When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file.

Please include the following items when submitting your revised manuscript:

  • A rebuttal letter that responds to each point raised by the academic editor and reviewer(s). You should upload this letter as a separate file labeled 'Response to Reviewers'.

  • A marked-up copy of your manuscript that highlights changes made to the original version. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Revised Manuscript with Track Changes'.

  • An unmarked version of your revised paper without tracked changes. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Manuscript'.

If you would like to make changes to your financial disclosure, please include your updated statement in your cover letter. Guidelines for resubmitting your figure files are available below the reviewer comments at the end of this letter.

If applicable, we recommend that you deposit your laboratory protocols in protocols.io to enhance the reproducibility of your results. Protocols.io assigns your protocol its own identifier (DOI) so that it can be cited independently in the future. For instructions see: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/submission-guidelines#loc-laboratory-protocols. Additionally, PLOS ONE offers an option for publishing peer-reviewed Lab Protocol articles, which describe protocols hosted on protocols.io. Read more information on sharing protocols at https://plos.org/protocols?utm_medium=editorial-email&utm_source=authorletters&utm_campaign=protocols.

We look forward to receiving your revised manuscript.

Kind regards,

Jana Košťálová, Ph.D.

Guest Editor

PLOS ONE

Journal Requirements:

Please review your reference list to ensure that it is complete and correct. If you have cited papers that have been retracted, please include the rationale for doing so in the manuscript text, or remove these references and replace them with relevant current references. Any changes to the reference list should be mentioned in the rebuttal letter that accompanies your revised manuscript. If you need to cite a retracted article, indicate the article’s retracted status in the References list and also include a citation and full reference for the retraction notice.

[Note: HTML markup is below. Please do not edit.]

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.

Reviewer #2: All comments have been addressed

********** 

2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #2: Partly

********** 

3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #2: Yes

********** 

4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #2: No

********** 

5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #2: Yes

********** 

6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #2: - There is not a cross reference No. 4 to the author name.

- There are some typing errors (e.g. “…Dorouin & Jugdev, 2014….. ”; correct is “…Drouin & Jugdev, 2014….. ”; – see Introduction, second paragraph).

- I recommend to add the chapter Theoretical Background (Literature Review) which evaluates the current state of the research topic on an international scale. – I recommend move the last paragraph from the Introduction chapter to this chapter and further expanding this chapter with other literary sources especially from the Web of Science or Scopus databases not older than 5 years.

- I recommend more in detail describe the methodology (i.e. the used statistical methods) which help to achieve the defined research aim.

********** 

7. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy.

Reviewer #2: No

**********

[NOTE: If reviewer comments were submitted as an attachment file, they will be attached to this email and accessible via the submission site. Please log into your account, locate the manuscript record, and check for the action link "View Attachments". If this link does not appear, there are no attachment files.]

While revising your submission, please upload your figure files to the Preflight Analysis and Conversion Engine (PACE) digital diagnostic tool, https://pacev2.apexcovantage.com/. PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at figures@plos.org. Please note that Supporting Information files do not need this step.

PLoS One. 2023 Jun 27;18(6):e0287225. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287225.r006

Author response to Decision Letter 2


2 May 2023

We have addressed all of the concerns of the reviewer

We have removed the cross reference #4 in the title page.

We have corrected the spelling error of Drouin (highlighted in red)

We have added a section in the Introduction titled Theoretical Background which includes references and/or literary sources within the last 5 years as per reviewer’s suggestion. Thank you for your details (please see the red highlights).

We have provided more details of the methodology as per reviewer’s suggestion (please see red highlights in the Methods section).

Attachment

Submitted filename: Rebuttal Letter.docx

Decision Letter 3

Jana Košťálová

2 Jun 2023

Competitive Advantages of Organizational Project Management Maturity: A Quantitative Descriptive Study in Australia

PONE-D-22-12656R3

Dear Dr. clinciu,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

An invoice for payment will follow shortly after the formal acceptance. To ensure an efficient process, please log into Editorial Manager at http://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/, click the 'Update My Information' link at the top of the page, and double check that your user information is up-to-date. If you have any billing related questions, please contact our Author Billing department directly at authorbilling@plos.org.

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Kind regards,

Jana Košťálová, Ph.D.

Guest Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Dear authors,

thank you for accepting of the requirements and correction of the text based on them.

Best Regards

Guest Editor

Reviewers' comments:

Acceptance letter

Jana Košťálová

19 Jun 2023

PONE-D-22-12656R3

Competitive Advantages of Organizational Project Management Maturity: A Quantitative Descriptive Study in Australia

Dear Dr. Clinciu:

I'm pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been deemed suitable for publication in PLOS ONE. Congratulations! Your manuscript is now with our production department.

If your institution or institutions have a press office, please let them know about your upcoming paper now to help maximize its impact. If they'll be preparing press materials, please inform our press team within the next 48 hours. Your manuscript will remain under strict press embargo until 2 pm Eastern Time on the date of publication. For more information please contact onepress@plos.org.

If we can help with anything else, please email us at plosone@plos.org.

Thank you for submitting your work to PLOS ONE and supporting open access.

Kind regards,

PLOS ONE Editorial Office Staff

on behalf of

Dr. Jana Košťálová

Guest Editor

PLOS ONE

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    Submitted filename: Responses to Reviewers.docx

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    Submitted filename: Rebuttal Letter.docx

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    Submitted filename: Rebuttal Letter.docx

    Data Availability Statement

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