Strategic organizational euthanasia: The cost of dying strategically in project management

Gaggiotti, Hugo; Cicmil, Svetlana; Iwowo, Vanessa

Abstract

This paper aims to explore the complex experience of “deadlines” in project management, highlighting how they signify both project completion and the initiation of new ones, creating repetitive cycles of dying and living. It examines emotional responses to this strategic euthanasia, aiming to clarify the paradox of living and dying in project work. The paper addresses two key questions: What does “deadline” mean beyond its conventional use, and how do participants interpret its arrival during project execution? By situating the discussion within strategic management frameworks, it reconceptualizes deadlines as intricate temporal-spatial constructs that embody simultaneous experiences of life and death.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 14, 2025
• Online Publication Date: Apr 15, 2025
• Deposit Date: Apr 14, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 16, 2025
• Journal: Strategy & Leadership
• Print ISSN: 1087-8572
• Electronic ISSN: 1758-9568
• Publisher: Emerald
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/sl-10-2024-0113
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/14304628