Insights on the impact of conformity and commitment on project performance

Organizational influences is an umbrella concept that refers to factors in the social and organizational context that impact the project setting. Shared values are organizational influences and a level of organizational culture. This paper explores the impact of three shared values, namely conformity and commitment, on the organization and project performance in the Norwegian project management practice. The exploration was done by means of semi-structured interviews. The findings show that although conformity is not a promoted value, it is rather a practiced value that decreases project team performance and causes irrational selection of project personnel. Commitment on the other hand is a promoted and practiced value that becomes critical during troubleshooting and problem solving when projects meets challenges. This investigation is aimed to provide insights into the impacts of shared values so that the project managers can use this knowledge to deal with the complex social context where the project is submerged.