Synchronising Projects and Competences: An Empirical Study conducted within the German Plant Engineering Industry

摘要

The paper focuses on competences necessary for the development of engineering and construction projects. It shows the results of six longitudinal case-studies carried out with German Plant Engineering Companies. A biological analogy between the company's heritage and the company's core competence aids the analysis of these results. It is argued that a company has diverse chromosomes acting in situated functions or projects. The composition of these situated competences is the result of genetic modifications of the company's core competence, the company's inheritance. The empirical results identified one significant gene for the formation of "visible", i.e. successful, competences. This phenotype is the company's intangible attitude: interaction (coordination), engineering (innovation) and production (control). The configuration of this gene has implications for the portfolio of projects a company can undertake, and, consequently, its strategic position.