Abstract
Governments continue to broaden the application of project management from large, costly infrastructure projects to a more diverse range of settings, but public administration scholarship has been criticized for not keeping pace with these trends. We instead focus on relatively smaller public projects by examining municipal strategic initiatives from the lens of project management. Results from 207 initiatives indicate that variables which emphasize an upfront shaping of conditions for success increase the likelihood of completion but do not necessarily reduce cost overruns and schedule delays among completed projects. However, variables which stress fixing issues midstream during implementation can potentially lead to improved cost and schedule performance. Results underscore the need for multidimensional theories of project performance to better understand how management practices impact different measures of performance.
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