Table 1 Summarized themes, textural and... | Emerald Publishing

Table 1

Summarized themes, textural and structural descriptions and significant statements related to research question 1

Identified themes	Textural and structural description	Examples of significant statements
Interdependent systems and processes	● Textural: Project managers describe the challenge of aligning interdependent systems, such as digital tools and workflows, that must function together ● Structural: Project managers meant that if any element is changed, it causes a ripple effect that necessitates quick adjustments. The complexity of this is increased by the continuous changes resulting from digitalization and sustainability requirements, thus making synchronization an ongoing leadership challenge	“There are many dependencies and many factors that influence a given context or a development effort” “And it can involve dependencies on different organizations and various stakeholders, with many people being affected and holding conflicting interests, which means you constantly have to find a way to balance it all” (Participant 2) “That means there are many different systems or variables that intersect, meaning that if you make a change in one place, it doesn't just affect one factor—it impacts several.” (Participant 10)
Many and diverse stakeholders	● Textural: Project managers describe the handling of a varied group of stakeholders, such as internal teams and external partners, as an issue that troubles them frequently. Adjusting to different demands usually results in exhaustion ● Structural: They argue that the struggle between stakeholder priorities creates a multifaceted environment, which requires continuous negotiation and the use of balanced leadership	“One dimension can also be that there are a lot of stakeholders. And that there is not a single part that has the result.” (Participant 5) “Another aspect might be that the scope of something causes a certain complexity due to a large number of people being involved. The volume itself becomes a complexity that is difficult to manage.” (Participant 1) “It gets complicated when there are a lot of different viewpoints and interests, so that it is difficult to reach agreement—then there are many actors involved. There are many wills and opinions”. (Participant 7)
Cross-cultural and cross-professional factors	● Textural: Project managers have difficulty integrating across hierarchies, silos or culturally diverse environments ● Structural: They describe the complex interplay of hierarchies and cultural differences that require leaders to break down fragmentation barriers to facilitate collaboration	“Working‍‌‍‍‌ cross-functionally is something you do frequently, which means you operate across different areas. That is to say, there are people/resources from various professions: IT, economists, managers, business developers, process experts, strategists, and so forth. This raises the level of complexity since it is not usually a simple or a homogeneous project where everyone has the same background and can understand each other. Instead, people come from different professional domains.” (Participant 10) “In case you are heading a working group that is spread worldwide, I consider it a kind of complexity. There are languages, cultures, time zones—lots of factors come with that which make it more complex.” (Participant 3)
Dynamic change and uncertainty	● Textural: Project managers explain the difficulty of quickly adapting to changes in technology, market and regulations ● Structural: They describe how unpredictability makes conventional planning insufficient. It requires continuous learning and agile strategies	“A complex context is essentially one that has numerous uncertainties and where the final objective might also not be very clear. Actually, you even have to figure out where you are going” (Participant 5) “It is frequently simple if you carry out a technically advanced solution in a small area; however, it becomes difficult and complex in business development if you do it in such a way that it affects a lot around. Your changes influence other changes, hence it becomes complicated to manage.” (Participant 2) “The complex context is the different factors that affect the project such as different stakeholders, internal and external, the requirements come from many different directions, regulatory requirements, industry players' requirements, legal requirements, regulations, government regulations, how we are governed and financed operationally.” (Participant 6)

Identified themes	Textural and structural description	Examples of significant statements
Interdependent systems and processes	● Textural: Project managers describe the challenge of aligning interdependent systems, such as digital tools and workflows, that must function together ● Structural: Project managers meant that if any element is changed, it causes a ripple effect that necessitates quick adjustments. The complexity of this is increased by the continuous changes resulting from digitalization and sustainability requirements, thus making synchronization an ongoing leadership challenge	“There are many dependencies and many factors that influence a given context or a development effort” “And it can involve dependencies on different organizations and various stakeholders, with many people being affected and holding conflicting interests, which means you constantly have to find a way to balance it all” (Participant 2) “That means there are many different systems or variables that intersect, meaning that if you make a change in one place, it doesn't just affect one factor—it impacts several.” (Participant 10)
Many and diverse stakeholders	● Textural: Project managers describe the handling of a varied group of stakeholders, such as internal teams and external partners, as an issue that troubles them frequently. Adjusting to different demands usually results in exhaustion ● Structural: They argue that the struggle between stakeholder priorities creates a multifaceted environment, which requires continuous negotiation and the use of balanced leadership	“One dimension can also be that there are a lot of stakeholders. And that there is not a single part that has the result.” (Participant 5) “Another aspect might be that the scope of something causes a certain complexity due to a large number of people being involved. The volume itself becomes a complexity that is difficult to manage.” (Participant 1) “It gets complicated when there are a lot of different viewpoints and interests, so that it is difficult to reach agreement—then there are many actors involved. There are many wills and opinions”. (Participant 7)
Cross-cultural and cross-professional factors	● Textural: Project managers have difficulty integrating across hierarchies, silos or culturally diverse environments ● Structural: They describe the complex interplay of hierarchies and cultural differences that require leaders to break down fragmentation barriers to facilitate collaboration	“Working‍‌‍‍‌ cross-functionally is something you do frequently, which means you operate across different areas. That is to say, there are people/resources from various professions: IT, economists, managers, business developers, process experts, strategists, and so forth. This raises the level of complexity since it is not usually a simple or a homogeneous project where everyone has the same background and can understand each other. Instead, people come from different professional domains.” (Participant 10) “In case you are heading a working group that is spread worldwide, I consider it a kind of complexity. There are languages, cultures, time zones—lots of factors come with that which make it more complex.” (Participant 3)
Dynamic change and uncertainty	● Textural: Project managers explain the difficulty of quickly adapting to changes in technology, market and regulations ● Structural: They describe how unpredictability makes conventional planning insufficient. It requires continuous learning and agile strategies	“A complex context is essentially one that has numerous uncertainties and where the final objective might also not be very clear. Actually, you even have to figure out where you are going” (Participant 5) “It is frequently simple if you carry out a technically advanced solution in a small area; however, it becomes difficult and complex in business development if you do it in such a way that it affects a lot around. Your changes influence other changes, hence it becomes complicated to manage.” (Participant 2) “The complex context is the different factors that affect the project such as different stakeholders, internal and external, the requirements come from many different directions, regulatory requirements, industry players' requirements, legal requirements, regulations, government regulations, how we are governed and financed operationally.” (Participant 6)