Project Management Capability and the Formation of Organizational Execution Capability: The Mediating Role of Perceived Knowledge Transfer

Abstract

This study examines how project management (PM) capability is translated into execution readiness, an antecedent condition for organizational execution capability in project-based organizations (PBOs). Moving beyond prior studies that emphasize direct capabilityperformance relationships, it adopts a process-oriented perspective focusing on perceived knowledge transfer. A sequential mixed-method design was employed. First, 2,514 unprompted textual responses collected over ten years were analyzed using text mining to inductively identify core constructs and recurring patterns associated with capability enactment. Second, survey data from 153 participants in a scenario-based PM capability development program were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results show that perceived knowledge transfer significantly mediates the relationship between PM capability development factors and execution readiness. Practice orientation exhibited a full mediation effect, whereas real-world relevance showed both direct and indirect effects. This study contributes to production and operations management literature by explaining how management knowledge is transformed into execution readiness and by conceptualizing organizational execution capability as a collective foundation for execution formed through accumulated individual execution-readiness judgments.