Professor Ofer Zwikael

Ofer Zwikael

RSM

Research School of Management

Position
Director - Research School of Management
Email
ofer.zwikael@anu.edu.au
Phone number
+61 2 612 56739
Office
Room 1087, LF Crisp Bld (26)
Research areas

Project management; Program management; Project governance; Operations management; Government projects.

Biography

Ofer Zwikael is a Professor of Project Management and Director of the Research School of Management. Ofer’s research focuses on project benefits management and has been funded by organisations including the Australian Department of Defence and the Project Management Institute, USA. Ofer’s work has been published in a number of books and leading journals including Journal of Operations Management, European Journal of Operational Research, Decision Support Systems, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management and International Journal of Project Management. Ofer’s research excellence has been recognised through his receipt of research awards from the Academy of Management, British Academy of Management, International Project Management Association, Emerald and the Australian Institute of Project Management. Ofer has previously held leadership roles including Associate Dean and Associate Editor for the International Journal of Project Management. He has led, trained, mentored and consulted projects and program groups in major organisations, including Motorola, Nestle, Teva and Nationwide Bank, UK.

View ORCID profile

CV

Research publications

Recent Books

Zwikael, O., Smyrk, J. R. (2019). Project Management: A Benefit Realisation Approach. Springer-Verlag, London, UK. ISBN: 978-3-030-03173-2 (print book); ISBN 978-3-030-03174-9 (eBook).

Kwak, Y. H., Liu, M., Petanakul, P., Zwikael, O. (2014). Challenges and Best Practices of Managing Government Projects and Programs. Newtown Square PA: Project Management Institute, Inc., ISBN: 978-1-62825-065-7.

Zwikael, O., Smyrk, J. R. (2011). Project Management for the Creation of Organisational Value. Springer-Verlag, London, UK. ISBN 978-1-84996-515-6 (print book); ISBN 978-1-84996-516-3 (ebook).

Recent publications

Zwikael, O., Meredith, J. (2021). Evaluating the success of a project and the performance of its leaders. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management.

Feris, M., Goffin, K. Zwikael, O., Fan, D. (2021). Enhancing software development through project-based learning and the quality of planning. R&D Management.

Zwikael, O., Meredith, J. (2021). How can comprehensive goal setting enhance project investment decisions? IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management.

Asadabadi, M. R., Zwikael, O. (2020). The ambiguous proposal evaluation problem. Decision Support Systems, 136, 113359.

Asadabadi, M. R., Zwikael, O. (2020). Integrating Risk into Estimations of Project Activities' Time and Cost: A Stratified Approach. European Journal of Operational Research.

Zwikael, O. (2020).When doesn't formal planning enhance the performance of government projects? Public Administration Quarterly.

Zwikael, O., Meredith, J. (2019). The role of organizational climate in setting project goals. International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 39(12), 1281-1294.

Zwikael, O., Meredith, J. (2019). Effective organizational support practices for setting target benefits in the project front end. International Journal of Project Management, 37(7), 930-939.

Zwikael, O., Meredith, J., Smyrk, J. (2019). The responsibilities of the project owner in benefits realization. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 39(4), 503-524.

Chih, Y., Zwikael, O., Restubog, S.L. (2019). Enhancing value co-creation in professional service projects: the roles of professionals, clients and their effective interactions. International Journal of Project Management, 37(5), 599-615.

Zwikael, O., Meredith, J. (2018). Who’s who in the project zoo? The ten core project roles. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 38(2), 474-492.

Zwikael, O., Chih, Y., Meredith, J. (2018). Project benefit management: Setting effective target benefits. International Journal of Project Management, 36(4), 650–658.

Musawir, A., Serra, C. E. M., Zwikael, O., Ali, I. (2017). Project governance, benefit management, and project success: Towards a framework for supporting organizational strategy implementation. International Journal of Project Management, 35(8), 1658-1672.

Feris, M., Zwikael, O., Gregor, S. (2017). QPLAN: Decision support for evaluating planning quality in software development projects. Decision Support Systems, 96, 92–102.

Zwikael, O. (2016). Editorial - International Journal of Project Management special issue on project benefit management. International Journal of Project Management, 34 (4), 734-735.

Patanakul, P., Kwak, Y., Zwikael, O., Liu, M. (2016). What impacts the performance of large-scale government projects? International Journal of Project Management, 34 (3), 452–466.

Zwikael, O., Smyrk, J. (2015). Project governance: Balancing control and trust in dealing with risk. International Journal of Project Management, 33 (3), 852-862.

Zwikael, O., Shtub, A., Chih, Y. (2015). Simulation-based training for project management education: mind the gap, as one size does not fit all. Journal of Management in Engineering, 31 (2), 040140351-11.

Chih, Y., Zwikael, O. (2015). Project benefit management: A conceptual framework of target benefit formulation. International Journal of Project Management, 33 (1), 352-362.

Zwikael, O., Pathak, R. D., Singh, G., Ahmed, S. (2014). The moderating effect of risk on the relationship between planning and success. International Journal of Project Management, 32 (3), 435-441.

Aviram-Unger, E., Zwikael, O., Restubog, S. (2013). Revisiting goals, feedback, recognition and performance success: the case of project teams. Group & Organization Management: An International Journal, 38 (5), 570–600. [Editor's Choice Collections on team effectiveness].

Zwikael, O., Smyrk, J. (2012). A general framework for gauging the performance of initiatives to enhance organizational value. British Journal of Management, 23, S6-S22. [Emerald Citations of Excellence winner for 2015].

Zwikael, O., Ahn, M. (2011). The effectiveness of risk management: an analysis of project risk planning across countries and industries. Risk Analysis: An International Journal, 31 (1), 25-37.

Ahn, M., Zwikael, O., Bednarek, R. (2010). Technological invention to product innovation: A project management approach. International Journal of Project Management, 28 (6), 559–568.

Zwikael, O., Unger-Aviram, E. (2010). HRM in project groups: the effect of project duration on team development effectiveness. International Journal of Project Management, 28 (5), 413-421.

Lipke, W., Zwikael, O., Henderson, K., Anbari, F. (2009). Prediction of project outcome: The application of statistical methods to earned value management and earned schedule performance indexes. International Journal of Project Management, 27 (4), 400-407.

Zwikael, O., Sadeh, A. (2007). Planning effort as an effective risk management tool. Journal of Operations Management, 25 (4), 755-767.

Zwikael, O., Globerson, S. (2006). From critical success factors to critical success processes. International Journal of Production Research, 44 (17), 3433 – 3449.

Zwikael, O., Cohen, Y., Sadeh, A. (2006). Non-delay scheduling as a managerial approach for managing projects. International Journal of Project Management, 24 (4), 330-336.

Zwikael, O., Shimizu, K., Globerson, S. (2005). Cultural differences in project management processes: a field study. International Journal of Project Management, 23 (6), 454-462. [Third most downloaded paper in the Elsevier’s International Journal of Project Management in 4th quarter 2005].

Zwikael, O., Globerson, S. (2004). Evaluating the quality of project planning: a model and field results. International Journal of Production Research, 42 (8), 1545-1556.

Research grants and awards

Recent Research Grants 

Zwikael, O., Hirst, G. (2019-22). Project investment benefit realisation to enhance force effectiveness. Research Grant awarded by the Defence Science and Technology Group of the Australian Department of Defence.

Pathak, R. D., Zwikael, O., Singh, G., Prasad, B. C. (2014-16). Improving project management capabilities in the Pacific. Research grant funded by the University of the South Pacific

Kwak, Y. H., Liu, M., Patanakul, P., Zwikael, O. (2011-13). Project, program, and portfolio management in government: application and performance. The Project Management Institute’s Sponsored Research Grant, PA, USA.

Pathak, R. D., Zwikael, O., Ahmed, S., Naidu, S. (2011-13). Improving project management capabilities of projects in the Pacific: A Case Study of the Fiji Islands. Research grant funded by the University of the South Pacific. 


Awards

IPMA Research Award (2016), awarded at the International Project Management Association. http://www.ipma.world/awards/research-awards-2/ipma-research-award-winners/

Project of the Year (2016), awarded by the Australian Institute of Project Management, ACT Chapter.

Project Management Research award (2016), awarded by the Australian Institute of Project Management, ACT Chapter.

Emerald Citations of Excellence winner (2015), awarded at the Academy of Management Annual Meeting in Vancouver, Canada based on citations and novelty of a 2012 paper published in the British Journal of Management: Zwikael, O., Smyrk, J. (2012). A general framework for gauging the performance of initiatives to enhance organizational value. British Journal of Management, 23, S6-S22. http://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/authors/literati/citations/awards.htm?id=2015

The Thomson South-Western Award (2015) for outstanding research-based paper on management consulting was awarded at the Academy of Management Annual Meeting in Vancouver, Canada.

Best paper award (2013), Public Management and Governance track at the 27th Annual British Academy of Management Conference, Liverpool, UK.

Editor's Choice Collections on team effectiveness: Aviram-Unger, E., Zwikael, O., Restubog, S. (2013). Revisiting goals, feedback, recognition and performance success: the case of project teams. Group & Organization Management: An International Journal, 38 (5), 570–600. 

Best paper award (2012), the SIBR Conference on Interdisciplinary Business & Economics Research, Bangkok, Thailand.

Outstanding Research Contribution (2008), awarded by the International Project Management Association. http://ipma.ch/awards/research-awards-2/ipma-research-award-winners

Research engagement and outreach

Associate Editor, International Journal of Project Management


Editorial Board Member:

International Journal of Project Organisation and Management

Pacific Asia Journal of the Association for Information Systems

IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management

 

Teaching

Prof Zwikael’s teaching excellence has gained wide recognition. Ofer has been awarded by the ANU Vice Chancellor Commendation for outstanding contribution to student learning. He has also been recognised by the ANU College of Business and Economics for Program that Enhances Learning Award. Additionally, Ofer has received awards for top PhD supervisor and Best Lecturer.


Teaching and learning awards

Commendation for outstanding contribution to student learning, awarded by the ANU Vice Chancellor (2014).

Program that Enhances Learning Award, awarded by the ANU College of Business and Economics (2013).

Student award for top supervisors, awarded by the Australian National University’s Dean of Students (2010).

Best lecturer award, awarded by the Holon Institute of Technology, Israel (2003).


Teaching:

MGMT7170 Tools and Techniques for Business Project management

MGMT7169 Management Framework for Business Projects