The Strategic Role of Project Portfolio Management: Evidence from the Netherlands

Project portfolio management (PPM) is evolving swiftly and becoming the main tool of managing complex project environment. Many organisations are adopting this system in an effort to achieve a better strategic alignment, reduce organisational project complexity, increase the project success rate and improve utilisation of organisation’s resources. The paper aims to examine motivations for implementation of PPM and its alignment with business strategies. This empirical evidence is to be confronted with literature. We examine PPM practices in five (multinational) companies based in the Netherlands, representing a diverse sectoral and organisational mix. The study is rich in practical implications for organisations. The paper adds novel insights that can improve the success of project portfolio management in practice.