An Investigation of Project Management Problems Facing the Saudi Telecommunication Sector

Abstract

The research aimed to investigate project management problems facing the Saudi telecommunication sector. Data from 50 respondents drawn from the Saudi Arabian telecommunications industry involved in a survey was used in the analysis. Regression analysis was used, with hypothesis testing at a 95% confidence level. Of the four main categories of challenges (Scope, Time, Cost and Quality) as predicted under the theory of constraints, scope challenges were the most prevalent, according to 45% of the respondents.

Based on the regression analysis results, there was a statistically significant impact on the project management challenges, including human resources challenge (t=2.135, p=0.039), risk management activities (t=-0.311, p=0.047), and the use of digital technology (t=-1.539, p=0.031). However, risk management activities and the use of information technology have an inverse relationship with the prevalence of project management challenges. The rest of the variables did not have a statistically significant relationship with the prevalence of the problems.

The findings reveal the need for the industry to standardize the project management practices in the industry, in order to ensure that the tenets of the theory of constraints, specifically the substitutability of the project characteristics in order to increase project success, can be used to reduce the project management problems in the industry.