ABSTRACT
A typical problem for permanent organizations operating many projects at the same
time is the so-called “resource allocation syndrome” in multi-project organizations
(Engwall & Jerbrant, 2003). We find this discussion useful in analysing our case study
since the involved actors all have many other projects and operations to deal with at the
same time as they aim to develop a new Christmas market and themed Christmas destina-
tion brand. According to Engwall and Jerbrant (2003), multi-project management is about
allocating resources. An organization is often overwhelmed with issues concerning prior-
itization of projects and the distribution of resources. Resource redistribution to increase
the resource for one project often brings negative effects on other projects in the portfolio.
Projects compete with each other to secure the limited resources for their own projects. A
reason behind the resource allocation syndrome is, for example, failure of project schedul-
ing, which enhances resource demand among ongoing projects. Another reason is over-
commitment, i.e. when organizations carry too many projects in terms of their available
resources. Clark and Wheelwright (1992) call this the “canary cage approach” to portfolio
planning, i.e. every new project is thrown into a cage without any analysis of the effects of
the other projects already in the cage. Moreover, opportunistic project management behav-
iour is another reason behind the resource-allocation syndrome. To obtain the best
resource, project managers try to obtain higher priority for their project than others and,
thus, political games occur in between projects.
