Relationship between risk management and project success

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an investigation in four Brazilian States on the adoption of Risk Management practices in projects with different complexity levels. The field research involved 415 projects from nine different economic sectors. Data was gathered through a questionnaire applied to managers and project team members. Results showed that there are significant and positive impacts in the adoption of Risk Management practices on project success. It also showed that there is dependence between perceived success and the presence/absence of a risk manager, i.e., the presence of a risk manager has positive impacts on project success. The major limitation of this study concerns the methodological choice: non-probability sample survey based on respondents perception. The work promotes the integration between Risk Management practices and projects performance, providing a basis for further studies in other sectors and areas of project knowledge.

Project risk management; Project typology; Project complexity; Innovation management