Key Success Factors for New Projects Initiated by Employees and Legitimacy for Resource Mobilization by Project Branding

Abstract

The paper examines key success factors for new projects initiated by front line employees, and the legitimacy for resource mobilization by project branding. Under today’s severe economic circumstances, it is critical for companies to increase their long term competitiveness by innovation and new project. Front line employees who interact with customers know customers’ needs and wants very well. Thus, it is recommended that companies make use of front line employees as project leaders for new projects. For successes of projects initiated by front line employees, it is necessary that project leaders create the legitimacy of the project and the legitimacy for resources allocation into projects. The resources consist of managerial resource and talent project members. It is considered that those resources would be key success factors. Firstly, the study examined previous works and conducted qualitative analyses for specifying key success factors, and then verified those factors by quantitative analyses. The study confirmed that support from company executives and talent project members’ involvements have impact on success of projects. The result revealed that project branding was an effective method for obtaining support from company executives and prompting talent employees’ involvement into projects.