{
  "title": "Project management: when is it really time to hand over?",
  "url": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/gestion-de-projet-quand-peut-on-passer-le-relais-en",
  "language": "en",
  "datePublished": "2025-12-05",
  "publisher": {
    "name": "SHR — Swiss Human Resources",
    "url": "https://www.shr.swiss",
    "address": "Esplanade de Pont-Rouge 9A, 1212 Lancy, Suisse"
  },
  "summary": "Delivering a project does not guarantee that the receiving team can operate what it inherits. Research on knowledge transfer suggests distinguishing acceptance of a deliverable from operational capability.",
  "section": "Research",
  "topic": "Project Management",
  "place": {
    "name": "Zurich",
    "region": "Zurich",
    "country": "CH"
  },
  "keyPoints": [
    {
      "heading": "What the literature establishes",
      "point": "Gabriel Szulanski (1996, Strategic Management Journal) examines barriers to transferring best practices within firms."
    },
    {
      "heading": "The mechanism: transferring a capability, not just information",
      "point": "Linda Argote and Paul Ingram (2000, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes) present a theoretical synthesis in which knowledge is embedded in people, tools, tasks and their combinations."
    },
    {
      "heading": "The premature conclusion",
      "point": "One might conclude that the project team should always remain involved for longer."
    },
    {
      "heading": "What the evidence cannot decide",
      "point": "The study of best-practice transfer is not a direct evaluation of project-to-operations handovers, and the theoretical synthesis is not a trial of a project closure protocol."
    },
    {
      "heading": "A practical check in Zurich",
      "point": "As part of SHR's “[Project Management](/formation/gestion-de-projet/zurich)” programme, an exercise applicable to financial services, insurance, tech and the European headquarters of international groups in Zurich is to test the handover before closure."
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "authors": "Szulanski",
      "year": "1996",
      "source": "Strategic Management Journal"
    },
    {
      "authors": "Ingram",
      "year": "2000",
      "source": "Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes"
    }
  ],
  "wordCount": 425,
  "image": "https://www.shr.swiss/img/blog-editorial-2025-12-05-en.jpg?v=4",
  "translations": {
    "fr": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/gestion-de-projet-quand-peut-on-passer-le-relais",
    "en": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/gestion-de-projet-quand-peut-on-passer-le-relais-en",
    "de": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/gestion-de-projet-quand-peut-on-passer-le-relais-de",
    "it": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog/gestion-de-projet-quand-peut-on-passer-le-relais-it"
  },
  "relatedPages": {
    "programme": "https://www.shr.swiss/formation/gestion-de-projet/zurich",
    "city": "https://www.shr.swiss/formations-ville/zurich",
    "blog": "https://www.shr.swiss/blog"
  },
  "citationPolicy": "Citation autorisée avec mention « SHR — Swiss Human Resources » et lien vers l'article."
}