Opportunities and Challenges for Project Based Organisations (PBOs) in Light of Climate Change: A Call for Institutional Entrepreneurship Within PBOs for Regenerative Cities

Since Project Based Organisations (PBOs) deliver projects, their resilience and contribution towards building sustainable and regenerative communities cannot be overemphasized. Yet, research on climate change focuses more on the environment and the people with limited consideration of how PBOs are impacted. This study therefore reviews how climate change and subsequent demands for sustainability may impact PBOs within the UK construction industry by conducting a systematic literature review involving 28 papers. Institutional theory was adopted as the theoretical lens. Findings reveal that, as a positive impact, increased demand for sustainability-related services in response to climate change creates opportunities for PBOs. As a negative impact, response to new regulations, upskilling employees and acquiring sustainable materials/products create financial and operational constraints for PBOs. New planning regulations, sustainability activists and extreme weather may also disrupt supply chains, reduce job opportunities and delay projects. The implications are that instead of perceiving climate change and resulting regulations as constraints, PBOs should consider these as an opportunity to innovate and improve their project delivery. This is by engaging in institutional entrepreneurship mechanisms (developing internal practices, values and beliefs) and institutional linkages through 'causation', 'effectuation' and 'bricolage'.