Study goals
To report a managerial intervention during the implementation of an order management system in a major pharmaceutical retail chain, showing how adaptive practices and stakeholder engagement enabled critical project delivery in a low project maturity environment.
Relevance / originality
The report shows how simple practices—visual schedules, alignment rituals, and informal communication channels—can enable strategic project execution in fragile organizations, emphasizing relational leadership and emergent governance as key overcoming strategies.
Methodology / approach
A qualitative, descriptive, and applied approach was used, based on the CIMO protocol. Data collection involved participant observation and document records. Adaptive mechanisms in communication, governance, and institutional coordination were applied, influenced by the project manager’s political engagement.
Main results
The study reinforces the value of context-sensitive approaches and adaptive leadership in challenging projects. Methodologically, it contributes by presenting a practical and replicable model based on agile, relational, and emergent mechanisms of governance and stakeholder engagement.
Theoretical / methodological contributions
The study reinforces the importance of context-sensitive approaches and adaptive leadership in adverse project settings. Methodologically, it contributes a practical and replicable model for implementation based on agile, relational, and emergent mechanisms of governance and stakeholder engagement.
Social / management contributions
It offers concrete pathways for managers operating in low-maturity contexts, highlighting contextualized communication, interpersonal bonds, and dynamic governance. These practices are shown to strengthen critical deliveries, generate legitimacy, and build institutional capacity in transformation projects.