The law of supply and demand applied to project data management: a novel concept

Purpose To introduce a novel exploratory conceptual framework which adapts the classical economic Law of Supply and Demand (LoS&D) to project data management and reframes time as the regulatory factor to optimise the timing and value of data for confident decision-making throughout the project lifecycle. Design/methodology/approach This conceptual study adopts a qualitative theory-adaptation methodology to bridge economic principles and project data environments supported by three systematic literature reviews to investigate whether LoS&D principles have been previously applied to project data environments. Findings It is confirmed that LoS&D has not previously been applied to the management of project data. Two exploratory constructs are defined, i.e. Data Equilibrium (DE) and Time Equilibrium (TE), to represent the balance between data supply and demand. These constructs are operationalised through organisational and project-level examples while examining their interaction with modern data governance and data science tools. Furthermore, the study evaluates the conceptual, organisational, behavioural and technological challenges to real-world implementation and synthesises these insights into a structured research agenda. Originality/value The article offers originality by proposing a novel concept that has the potential to transform the management of project data from a routine administrative function into a predictive system. The exploratory conceptual framework provides an initial roadmap for treating project data as analogous to a dynamic “value asset”, reframing traditional challenges like data overload or scarcity as measurable imbalances in a lifecycle-driven system and proposes a comprehensive future research agenda that identifies research priorities, questions and methodologies for theory development and empirical validation.