Knowledge areas

The following knowledge areas have been central to the activities of PBI Research Institute since the mid-1990s. The projects have involved extensive empirical studies on location in nearly 100 countries spanning five continents. The knowledge creation is carried out in close co-operation with the industry in order to ensure that the results are well grounded and are applied by the industrial partners. The projects focus on the entire project lifecycle: from sales; through delivery; to operation, support, and decommissioning.  

1. Value creation and business logic

Industrial investments and project business have a particular setting and business logic, and it is important to study and develop ways to create value based on this specific context. Key topics for study include: industry segment logic, business ideas and models, product process structures, modularity, risk and uncertainty, and integration mechanisms. To learn more about our research in this area click here. Our industrial partners have benefitted significantly from PBI's research projects by developing enhanced competitive offerings - including modularised products - and by supporting the development and clarifying the roles and responsibilities of management. For samples of our projects dealing with such issues click here.

2. Business relationships

Because of the high degree of uniqueness, intensity, and unpredictability associated with project business, relationships play a critical role in business affairs. Key study topics include trust, corporate identity, intercultural relations, customer and supplier relationship management, and market segmentation. To learn more about our research in this area click here. Our industrial partners have benefitted from our research by gaining in-depth understanding of their customers' needs, by learning methods for dynamic market segmentation, and by developing processes for managing B-to-B relationships, including trust on a strategic and operational level. For additional information about our projects in these areas click here.

3. Organisation and management

Organising and managing complex projects in unique settings presents many challenges. Key study topics include organisational design based on project context, roles and responsibilities of project managers, managing individual projects, and managing the project firm. For further information on our research in these areas click here. Our industrial partners have benefitted from our research by adopting organisational structures that are suited to their line of project business, and by developing methods for monitoring the performance of individual projects, the project company, and the project network. For project references regarding our research into these questions click here.

4. Capability and competence

Each firm involved in industrial investments and project business has tangible and intangible capabilities and competences that form the assets of the firm. Significant study topics are: capability and competences, ethics, reflection, need-based value addition, professional requirements, and learning mechanisms.  To learn more about our research in this area click here. Our industrial partners have benefitted from participating in and reading about our studies; they have engaged in mapping their capabilities and competences, applied methods for monitoring and managing capability, adopted improved methods for pricing their products and services, and created value-added offerings based on their distinctive processes, competences, and capabilities. For additional information about our projects in these areas click here.

Updated: 26.3.2009