Call for paper: Beyond the Final Chapter: Unravelling Project Closure Through Termination Practices and Long-Term Outcomes

Beyond the Final Chapter: Unravelling Project Closure Through Termination Practices and Long-Term Outcomes

Project closure typically involves the formal acceptance, resource release, and team reassignment (Pinto, 2022; Pinto & Prescott, 1990). Closure is often categorized as planned termination (with original goals being achieved) or unplanned termination (premature cessation of project activities) (Spirer, 1984; Tadisina, 1986). Planned termination is a defining characteristic of projects, which enables structured conclusion and learning (Pinto, 2022), but is arguably the most important and least well executed of the activities associated with projects (Crawford, 2018). Unplanned termination is often perceived as negative and a waste of resources (Flyvbjerg, 2014; Juarez Cornelio et al., 2021; Ika et al., 2022), although it has also been seen as a vital activity to meet new strategic goals (Blau et al., 2004; Seider, 2006; Unger et al., 2012; Juarez Cornelio et al., 2023).

With this special issue, we aim to advance the understanding of project closure and termination as a process, requiring in-depth exploration of its underlying causes, evaluation of decision-making mechanisms, and analysis of the complexities involved. Furthermore, it is our goal to understand the “effects” of project termination, and investigate how such projects, as vectors of changes, have in a planned or unplanned way impacted society and economies positively or negatively.

List of topic areas

We welcome submissions to this special issue. Topics covered include (but are not limited to):

What are the key determinants that influence preparation for and decision to initiate planned project termination, and how do these factors vary across different organizational and industrial contexts?
What are the long-term organizational impacts of planned premature project termination, and how do firms mitigate negative consequences (e.g., stakeholder trust, employee morale, innovation culture) while capitalizing on potential benefits (e.g., resource reallocation, strategic agility)?
How do organization’s structure and implement the planned termination process to ensure efficiency, stakeholder alignment, value capture and knowledge preservation, and what are the critical challenges encountered across different industries?
How do organizations manage unplanned project termination? (e.g., crisis response, stakeholder communication, resource reallocation).
What are the short-term operational and financial consequences of unplanned project terminations, and how do they differ from planned terminations in terms of disruption, cost recovery, and contractual liabilities?
How does planned or unplanned termination disrupt team dynamics and employee morale in the aftermath, and what strategies mitigate negative psychological and productivity effects?
How do repeated planned and unplanned project terminations within an industry shape long-term economic resilience, investment patterns, and innovation trajectories in a region?
What are the long-term effects of project terminations (planned vs. unplanned) on workforce stability, skill depreciation, and career mobility, particularly in specialized or geographically concentrated industries?
How do project terminations exacerbate or mitigate regional inequalities, particularly in communities dependent on single industries or anchor projects, and what policies buffer long-term spatial inequities?
What are the long-term environmental and infrastructural/asset consequences of prematurely terminated projects (e.g., abandoned sites, sunk investments in physical assets), and how do planning vs. crisis-driven exits differ in their legacy effects?
How do individual decision-makers/organizations differ in their motivations, justifications, and procedural approaches to project termination (planned vs. unplanned), and what factors explain gaps between intended and actual termination practices?
How do projects continue to influence organizations, communities, and industries long after their official termination? What mechanisms explain the persistence or gradual dissolution of their economic, social, and environmental legacies?
How do post-termination effects differ between planned and unplanned termination?
Why do some projects leave lasting positive legacies while others generate unintended consequences?
What roles do documentation, knowledge archiving, or stakeholder networks play in sustaining legacies of terminated projects?

Submission information

Submissions are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. Registration and access are available here.

Author guidelines must be strictly followed. Please see here.

Authors should select (from the drop-down menu) the special issue title at the appropriate step in the submission process, i.e. in response to ““Please select the issue you are submitting to”.

Submitted articles must not have been previously published, nor should they be under consideration for publication anywhere else, while under review for this journal.