Theory Use in Project Management Research: An Exploratory Content Analysis Approach.

The frequency and richness of the theories developed, tested, and used by researchers in an academic discipline exemplify several pertinent factors, namely, the growth, the maturity, the independence, the legitimacy, and the influence of the discipline. Although organizations have been working on projects for centuries, Project Management (PM) is a considerably new academic discipline with emerging research themes, models, methodologies, frameworks, and paradigms. These PM concepts are anchored on or reinforced by new or existing theories.