The effect of governance and governmentality on project portfolio success

Orientation: Although project portfolio is a renowned tradition in organisations, its effective management remains a challenge. Research purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of governance and governmentality on project portfolio success. Motivation for the study: Good governance of project portfolio management is perceived as an enabler for management. By realising the effect of governance and governmentality on project portfolio success, organisations will become interested in ensuring that appropriate governance mechanisms are in place and that governance is ingrained in all project portfolio activities. Research design, approach and method: A deductive approach was applied to test two hypotheses. Quantitative data were collected through a cross-sectional survey from organisations that are involved in project portfolio management. Data were analysed through descriptive and inferential statistics. Main findings: The results from the 104 online quantitative surveys establish a strong positive relationship between governance, governmentality and project portfolio success. The results further show governmentality as the key predictor of project portfolio success. Practical/managerial implications: The implication of these findings is that organisations that improve their governmentality will see improvements in their project portfolio performance. Therefore, organisations that are still battling with the management of their project portfolios are encouraged to improve their governmentality. Contribution/value-add: This study fills the gap in the relationship between governance, governmentality and success at the portfolio level, which has implications for the success of the entire organisation. For an organisation to succeed in the management of its portfolios, it has to improve its governmentality posture and its governance practices.