Project Management From an Executive Perspective: A Comparative Analysis Across Economic Sectors

Currently, project management has been consolidated as a key managerial tool for achieving organizational objectives; however, the perception of its instrumental value by company executives may vary depending on the economic sector to which they belong. The present research had as its central aim to analyze the extent to which perceptions of project management differ among organizations in the primary, secondary, and tertiary economic sectors. For this purpose, a quantitative approach was adopted with a comparative-descriptive scope, based on a structured survey administered to 2,500 business executives. The instrument enabled evaluation of perceptions of project management using Likert-scale questions. The data analysis included descriptive statistics, Spearman’s correlation coefficient, the nonparametric Kruskal–Wallis test, and the post hoc Dunn–Bonferroni test. In general, the results indicate a positive assessment of project management by executives, as well as statistically significant differences across some economic sectors. In particular, a greater perception of project management was identified in the tertiary sector than in the secondary sector. These findings show the influence of the sectoral context on the perception and adoption of project management practices as an administrative tool, and underline the importance of adaptive approaches that consider the particularities of context at the organizational and sectoral levels.