Research Summary
Research Summary
Research Focus of Chris Gordon
Description
Chris Gordon's main area of interest and expertise is the delivery of complex capital projects. These projects can take the form of government sponsored infrastructure projects such as highways and utilities, private real estate development such as commercial and industrial facilities, and non-profit projects such as university campuses. His work looks at the characteristics of areas such as the organization, finances, contracts, strategy, political context, and reporting. Existing projects are often used to develop models and templates to study and guide future projects. International comparisons are important as interest and investment in such projects move at increasing speed around the globe.
The main questions Chris thinks about are what strategies and factors have been particularly significant in the success or failure of projects, for example, how procurements of large public projects have been accomplished in developing countries with unsophisticated financial and organizational systems. This year he will be working on two case studies in this area - the ongoing development of the second Panama Canal and the development of Allston by Harvard. He also is working on a strategic model that attempts to treat a capital project like a consumer product in need of a careful market, product, and process strategy.
The main questions Chris thinks about are what strategies and factors have been particularly significant in the success or failure of projects, for example, how procurements of large public projects have been accomplished in developing countries with unsophisticated financial and organizational systems. This year he will be working on two case studies in this area - the ongoing development of the second Panama Canal and the development of Allston by Harvard. He also is working on a strategic model that attempts to treat a capital project like a consumer product in need of a careful market, product, and process strategy.