Building blocks of project competence in complex products and systems innovation

This paper explores the factors affecting project competence within firms producing complex products and systems (CoPS). We developed a research framework for the analysis of factors affecting the project competence in CoPS innovation. Literature review and Nominal Group Technique were used to identify these factors and to assist in developing a questionnaire to identify and rank their associated measured variables, five key factors were identified and extracted by using factor analysis, and these resulting factors were related to the overall project competence in CoPS by using a multiple regression analysis method, then the results of factor analysis and multiple regression analysis were valuated and confirmed by using structural equation modeling, in which corresponding tentative model was constructed and tested quantitatively. The proposed model identified five building blocks of project competence in CoPS innovation, namely project environment, technology, innovation, organization management and operation process. The paper argues that these firms are only able to effectively harness and reproduce their project competence by integrating these five building blocks within the firm.