Project managers on the edge: liminality and identity in the management of technical work

• Date: 01 March 2016
• Author: Steve Paton,Damian Hodgson
• Published date: 01 March 2016
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/ntwe.12056

Project managers on the edge: liminality

and identity in the management of

technical work

Steve Paton and Damian Hodgson

This paper explores the consequences of ‘corporate

professionalisation’ through an analysis of the experiences of

technical specialists adopting the position of project manager.

Shifts towards ‘corporate professionalism’ in this and other

occupations result in a tension between competing logics, the

logic of the traditional profession versus another focused on

delivery of market value for clients/employers. Living with this

tension places project managers in a ‘liminal’ position in two

ways; they find themselves in a liminal position created, first,

by the transition from a technical specialist role into a mana-

gerial role, and second, as they occupy the space between the

often opposing institutions of profession and employing

organisation. Drawing on empirical data gathered within a

project-based industry and referring to Gouldner’s ‘cosmopoli-

tan’ and ‘local’ typologies, we explore the ‘identity work’

engaged in by project managers as they attempt to creatively

negotiate the tensions inherent in the role.

Keywords: corporate professions, project management,

identity, liminality, cosmopolitan, local.

Introduction

The knowledge economy has been characterised by the proliferation of new ‘expert

occupations’(Brint, 1994; Reed, 1996; Fincham, 2012) many of which are organising into

collectives increasingly labelled as ‘corporate professions’.These corporate professions

(Muzio et al., 2011;) comprise a mix of characteristics inherited from the traditional

professions (Johnson, 1972; Burrage and Torstendahl, 1990) such as knowledge-based

enclosure and a commitment to public good, and contemporary characteristics such as

proactive engagement with markets and an orientation towards commercialisation

(Paton etal., 2013). Occupations emerging as sub-disciplines of management are par-

ticularly noteworthy in this regard, with many such as marketing (Enright, 2006),

consulting (Sturdy, 2011) and human resource management (Wright, 2008) having

some success in achieving recognition and respect as an occupation while developing

some form of professional self-organisation and autonomy. Corporate professions thus

trade their knowledge assets while regulating and maintaining standards of practice,

Steve (steve.paton@strath.ac.uk)is Senior Lecturer at the Department of Organisationand Strategy at

the University of Strathclyde. Current areas of interest include the management of contemporary

workers within project-based environments. Damian Hodgson (damian.hodgson@mbs.ac.uk) is Pro-

fessor of Organisational Analysis at Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester.

His research focuses on the management and control of expert labour, with a particular focus on

project-based organisations.

New Technology, Work and Employment 31:1

ISSN 1468-005X

26 New Technology, Work and Employment © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd