Exploring organizational culture linkages to project management implementation among aerospace defense contractors

The purpose of the qualitative phenomenological research study was to explore the perceptions of project managers regarding elements of the organizational culture that link to Project Management (PM) implementation. The exploration included how organizational values affected PM performance, how top leadership priorities aligned with PM performance, and how philosophies of project managers and organizational strategies potentially affected PM effectiveness. The target population included project managers employed in an aerospace defense contractor organization in southern California. Purposive sampling consisted of 16 project managers who met the selection criteria: a minimum of 5 years experience within their discipline, and a minimum of 4 years full-time employment with the target aerospace defense contractor organization in southern California. The following six major themes emerged from the study: theoretical framework, organizational components that drive performance, key project manager characteristics, project stakeholder effects, social driver components, and organizational culture impact on project management. The insights into organizational leadership revealed from the study may serve as a tool in improving project performance records through tailored organizational changes and leadership initiatives developed from the emergent themes represented in the perceptions of study participants. The results contribute to positive project management performance, highlighted in a Project Management Performance Model, and include the following: Integrated Theories, Performance Shapers, Enhancers, Stakeholder Drivers, Social Drivers, and Organizational Culture Impacts