People at the Heart of Projectification: Rethinking Agency, Identity, and Value Creation

Description

Projectification—the embedding of project logic across organizations, public sectors, and society—has fundamentally transformed how work is organized. While this shift has been widely documented, scholarly attention has predominantly focused on systemic and organizational dimensions, often overlooking the human experience. This special issue seeks to redress this imbalance by centering individuals and their experiences within projectification processes.

The issue invites interdisciplinary contributions exploring how people exercise agency, construct identity, and create value within projectified contexts. It addresses researchers and practitioners interested in understanding the lived experiences of those who shape, participate in, or are affected by projectification across educational, occupational, cultural, and geographical contexts.

Potential topics

• How do individuals implement and negotiate their agency in the context of increasing projectification by navigating between structure, temporality, and autonomy?
• How do individuals build and maintain their identities amid the fluidity and temporality of projectified work in a complex social environment?
• How do people co-create and redefine value through their participation in - and contribution to - the ongoing projectification in our society?
• What role do projects play in the development of people, from childhood to old age? Is there any difference between personal and occupational development?
• How do different levels of education and educational opportunities affect people's participation in projects and projectification?
• What expectations, aspirations, and objectives do individuals pursue through their involvement in projects, project management, and projectification?
• What impact (positive and/or negative) does engagement in projects - as temporary endeavors - have on the people involved?
• Which prerequisites have to be created by organizations, government, or society so that people engage in projects and turn them into success stories?
• How much projectification can people tolerate, or is there a point at which over-projectification is reached and de-projectification starts?
• How do cultural factors affect people's involvement in projects and projectification?
• What are the main differences in projectification across the globe, and how does it influence individuals involved or eager to enter the project world?
• To what extent is the use of professional project management beneficial or detrimental to the implementation of projects in the different areas of society?