Do Classics Exist in Megaproject Management?

By Bent Flyvbjerg1 and J. Rodney Turner2

Draft 6.1, July 2017, all rights reserved

Full reference: Bent Flyvbjerg, and J. Rodney Turner, 2017, “Do Classics Exist in Megaproject Management?”, introduction to special issue on classics in megaproject management, International Journal of Project Management, published online July 31, DOI 10.1016/j.ijproman.2017.07.006, url for published version: http://bit.ly/2vezue8 .

Abstract This special issue asks, “Do classics exist in megaproject management?” We identify three types of classics: conventional, Kuhnian, and citation classics. We find that the answer to our question depends on the definition of “classic” employed. First, “citation classics” do exist in megaproject management, and they perform remarkably well when compared to the rest of the management literature. A preliminary Top Ten of citation classics is presented. Second, there is no indication that “conventional classics” exist in megaproject management, i.e., texts recognized as definitive by a majority of experts. Third, there is also no consensus as to whether “Kuhnian classics" exist, i.e., texts with paradigmatic clout. The importance of classics seems to be accepted, however, just as work to develop, discuss, and consolidate classics is seen as essential by megaproject scholars. A set of guidelines is presented for developing classics in megaproject management research.

2 What Is a Classic? In conventional language a classic is a written work that is generally recognized as definitive in its field by a majority of experts in that field. Kuhn (2012, first published 1962: 10) further observes about classics of science that “[t]heir achievement was sufficiently unprecedented to attract an enduring group of adherents away from competing modes of scientific activity” and that such works served for a time to define “the legitimate problems and methods of a research field for succeeding generations of practitioners [of that field].” Finally, in an age that increasingly emphasizes research impact, Garfield (1977: 5) introduced the term “citation classics” to describe highly cited publications as identified by citation indices. All three definitions of classics – conventional, Kuhnian, and citation classics – are used by the authors of the papers included in the present special issue.

Kuhn argues that classic texts are necessary for an academic field to make progress and consolidate itself. Classic texts are important because they serve as exemplars and reference points around which paradigmatic research, or what he calls “normal science,” may evolve. Paradigmatic research is used to effectively teach young scholars, or others who are new to a field, “how we do things around here” in terms of which problems to focus on; what theories, methods, and data are relevant; and what the consensus is regarding what constitutes good work in that field, according to Kuhn.

However, from time to time the consensus may break down, argues Kuhn. When that happens, paradigmatic research serves as a counterpoint against which “revolutionary” research may pit itself in developing new ideas, aimed at toppling old paradigms and arriving at new ones. Classics and their ideas may here serve as key reference points in a process that leads from an established to a toppled to a new established paradigm, through “scientific revolution,” in Kuhn’s words. Indeed, each scientific revolution, big or small, is likely to lead to new classic texts and the abandonment of old ones.

We find Kuhn’s model useful for understanding important aspects of scientific development and we agree with his view on the role of classics. However, Kuhn developed his thinking for natural science, with most of his examples taken from physics and chemistry, and he was explicit that the situation for social science, to which research on megaproject management belongs, might be different, in that “it remains an open question what parts of social science have yet acquired such paradigms at all” (Kuhn 2012: 15). In other words, the paradigmatic status of the social sciences is uncertain, according to Kuhn.

Consequently, when we called this special issue, we wondered whether, as an emerging academic field in the social sciences, megaproject management is best described as “pre-paradigmatic” or “non-paradigmatic” (Flyvbjerg 2004: 396) – in contrast to Kuhn’s notion of paradigmatic research – and whether classics can be said to exist at all in megaproject management. We were also keenly aware that the frequently shifting fashions in social science and management research should generally not be mistaken for Kuhnian paradigm shifts, and that the paradigmatic status of social science may be as uncertain today as it was at the time of Kuhn.

3 Why Do Megaprojects Matter? The McKinsey Global Institute (2013, 2016) estimates global infrastructure sp

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