Bridging the Gap Between Maturity and Value: Exploring the Ability of Project Management Office Maturity Models to Capture Performance and Value Delivery in Complex Industrial Environments - A Case Study at Tetra Pak
(2026) BUSN09 20261Department of Business Administration
- Abstract
- Project management office (PMO) maturity models are widely used to assess PMO capability and guide organisational improvement initiatives. However, their ability to capture PMO performance and value delivery remains uncertain, particularly in complex industrial environments where organisational context strongly shapes project work. This study enhances understanding of the extent to which the PMO Maturity Cube, as an explanatory PMO maturity model, captures PMO performance and value delivery, and explores the contextual boundaries that limit its applicability. An embedded single qualitative case study was conducted at Tetra Pak, a global food processing and packaging company. The study explored two structurally distinct PMO subcases and... (More)
- Project management office (PMO) maturity models are widely used to assess PMO capability and guide organisational improvement initiatives. However, their ability to capture PMO performance and value delivery remains uncertain, particularly in complex industrial environments where organisational context strongly shapes project work. This study enhances understanding of the extent to which the PMO Maturity Cube, as an explanatory PMO maturity model, captures PMO performance and value delivery, and explores the contextual boundaries that limit its applicability. An embedded single qualitative case study was conducted at Tetra Pak, a global food processing and packaging company. The study explored two structurally distinct PMO subcases and draws on ten semi-structured interviews with PMO practitioners and external stakeholders, analysed through an abductive thematic analysis.
The findings suggest that the PMO Maturity Cube provides a valuable framework for assessing PMO maturity, including capabilities associated with PMO performance. However, its ability to explain and assess value delivery is more limited. While higher maturity was positively associated with stronger PMO capabilities and improved performance, performance did not automatically translate into recognised organisational value. Instead, contextual boundaries influenced whether PMO contributions became visible, attributable, and perceived as valuable. The study argues that this gap is rooted in the organisational role of the PMO. As strategic enablers, PMOs primarily influence project outputs, whereas organisational value emerges only when these outputs are translated into broader organisational outcomes. This indirect contribution creates a structural maturity-value gap in which attribution becomes increasingly difficult as value moves beyond the PMO's direct sphere of influence.
Based on these findings, the study proposes the PMO Dynamic Strategic Capability Framework, which integrates maturity, performance, value creation, enabling factors, and boundary conditions into a single explanatory model. The study contributes to PMO research by refining the maturity-performance-value relationship, explaining the structural origins of the maturity-value gap, and demonstrating the force of enabling factors and contextual boundaries. The findings suggest that PMO maturity is necessary but insufficient for value delivery, and that PMO effectiveness must be understood in relation to the organisational conditions. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9245367
- author
- Haug, Tamara LU and Ehlers, Lisza LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- BUSN09 20261
- year
- 2026
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- Project Management Office, PMO Maturity Models, PMO Performance, Value Delivery, Maturity-Value Gap, Organisational Context, Complex Industrial Environments
- language
- English
- id
- 9245367
- date added to LUP
- 2026-06-30 09:17:03
- date last changed
- 2026-06-30 09:17:03
@misc{9245367,
abstract = {{Project management office (PMO) maturity models are widely used to assess PMO capability and guide organisational improvement initiatives. However, their ability to capture PMO performance and value delivery remains uncertain, particularly in complex industrial environments where organisational context strongly shapes project work. This study enhances understanding of the extent to which the PMO Maturity Cube, as an explanatory PMO maturity model, captures PMO performance and value delivery, and explores the contextual boundaries that limit its applicability. An embedded single qualitative case study was conducted at Tetra Pak, a global food processing and packaging company. The study explored two structurally distinct PMO subcases and draws on ten semi-structured interviews with PMO practitioners and external stakeholders, analysed through an abductive thematic analysis.
The findings suggest that the PMO Maturity Cube provides a valuable framework for assessing PMO maturity, including capabilities associated with PMO performance. However, its ability to explain and assess value delivery is more limited. While higher maturity was positively associated with stronger PMO capabilities and improved performance, performance did not automatically translate into recognised organisational value. Instead, contextual boundaries influenced whether PMO contributions became visible, attributable, and perceived as valuable. The study argues that this gap is rooted in the organisational role of the PMO. As strategic enablers, PMOs primarily influence project outputs, whereas organisational value emerges only when these outputs are translated into broader organisational outcomes. This indirect contribution creates a structural maturity-value gap in which attribution becomes increasingly difficult as value moves beyond the PMO's direct sphere of influence.
Based on these findings, the study proposes the PMO Dynamic Strategic Capability Framework, which integrates maturity, performance, value creation, enabling factors, and boundary conditions into a single explanatory model. The study contributes to PMO research by refining the maturity-performance-value relationship, explaining the structural origins of the maturity-value gap, and demonstrating the force of enabling factors and contextual boundaries. The findings suggest that PMO maturity is necessary but insufficient for value delivery, and that PMO effectiveness must be understood in relation to the organisational conditions.}},
author = {{Haug, Tamara and Ehlers, Lisza}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Bridging the Gap Between Maturity and Value: Exploring the Ability of Project Management Office Maturity Models to Capture Performance and Value Delivery in Complex Industrial Environments - A Case Study at Tetra Pak}},
year = {{2026}},
}