Determinants of Information Systems and Information Technology Project Team Success: A Literature Review and a Conceptual Model

During the past years, increasingly more project managers started to recognize that human factors, in particular those related to project team success, are critical for overall project success. Hence, the scientific investigation of this topic has gained momentum. However, a review of the Information Systems and Information Technology (IST) literature on the determinants of project team success reveals that there has been limited research on this topic. Bearing this research gap in mind, it is reasonable to argue that IST theorizing can substantially benefit from new insights from other scientific disciplines in which studies on team effectiveness and project team success are already available. Therefore, the present article reviews and integrates the literature published in other disciplines in order to develop a conceptual model, which provides insights into the determinants of IST project team success. Moreover, a first empirical assessment based on interview data collected from sixteen project experts shows the utility of the model. Consequently, the contribution of the present article is twofold: First, we present a conceptual model applicable to IST project teams. Second, the theoretical insights addressed are useful for project managers who are responsible for project success. Propositions that guide future research are provided, and implications of the model for both theory and practice are discussed.