The cultural political economy of megaprojects : governmentality and the social realm of client decision-making

In recent years the landscape for international design management has been fast changing and a key development, which has led to this, has been the unprecedented advances in digital technologies. Firms in the architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) sector are no longer constrained to working on domestic projects but now operate on a global scale. The rise of globalisation has not been without problems and in particular project challenges related to technological and social complexity, strategic behaviour, contested information and cost overruns are prominent. Effective design management and project success is significantly impacted by the internal workings of clients and its relationship with project decision-making which is often beyond the control of project teams. Yet the focus of past megaproject and design management research has tended to be on the industry's role instead of the client's. In their role as project initiators and financiers, clients are the driving political force on projects, occupying a central position within the power structure embedded on megaprojects. This paper is positioned within a PhD study which seeks to offer a theoretical contribution to the design management field by examining the governance context of megaprojects with a focus on the critical role of the client. There has been little research investigating the sophistication of the international client and their capacity to contribute to project success in relation to sound decision making regardless of the political environment. This research is concerned with two key gaps; firstly a lack of empirical research to explain the nature and structure of the power relations underpinning the client's complex decision-making environment on mega projects and secondly, a lack of theory and methodological framework to achieve this. A theoretical model is proposed based upon the concept of governmentality to explore the power relations underpinning megaproject decision-making. The outcomes of this research have serious implications for design managers in the AEC sector who are increasingly faced with project challenges in the international megaproject environment. Deeper understanding of how various forms of power come to be created, distributed and exercised on megaprojects may enable design managers to better shape and influence project outcomes at various stages of project decision-making.