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• Shenhar, A. J. and D. Dvir (1996). 'Toward a typological theory of project management'. Research Policy 25(4): 607-632.

http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=9956781&Fmt=7&clientId=44986&RQT=309&VName=PQD
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0048-7333(95)00877-2
A traditional categorization of innovation as either incremental or radical has often been mentioned in the theoretical literature of innovation. Projects exhibit considerable variation, and their specific management styles seem anything but universal. As a step towards the development of a project management theory, a two-dimensional typology is presented to define the wide spectrum of today's projects and their various management styles. Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods and two data sets, a set of ideal types and real-world variants of these types is identified. It is shown that the framework of this research can be subjected to quantitative modeling and rigorous empirical testing, and that it meets most of the criteria of a developed typlogical theory. Furthermore, such theory will particularly be useful in predicting the dependent variable - i.e. project effectiveness.