Committed Use of Project Management Methodologies: Understanding the Role of Costs, Benefits, and Psychological Needs

Even when employees use project management methodologies (PMMs), the question regarding the nature of their use remains, i.e. are they using PMMs in a dedicated manner? While empirical research states that the usefulness of a methodology is the single most important determinant of its acceptance and use by actual users, studies have not examined which methodology use outcomes are more important for which type of people regarding determining their committed PMM use behavior. In our study, we develop a theoretically and practically complete, as well as relevant, typology of the costs and benefits of using a methodology and study the effect of personal traits such as psychological needs. We develop and test a conceptual model, using a sample of 2,651 participants, which shows that individual needs determine which costs and/or benefits have a greater effect on individuals’ committed use of a PMM.