Wiggle Room in Practice: Project Managers Navigating Paradoxes Through Collaboration

Project managers in interorganizational projects face paradoxes arising from competing demands from the parent and project organizations. Through a longitudinal research approach of eight infrastructure operation and maintenance projects across two case studies, we explore how project managers navigate these paradoxes through formal and informal collaboration. The study finds that public project managers practice contractual wiggle room to informally negotiate with private project partners, and that a formalization of collaboration risks disrupting well-functioning informal practices. These findings highlight the importance of recognizing the role of informal collaboration and ensuring procurement strategies remain adaptable to project-level conditions.