Knowledge lost: Challenges in changing project manager between sales and implementation in software projects

The knowledge acquired during the sales phase of a software development project is very important for supplier firms. However, the knowledge that a project manager has acquired before the project starts, and during the sales phase, is not necessarily available when the project is starting. We draw theoretically on the project marketing cycle and emphasize a discontinuity in the project marketing cycle between the preceding phases of the project and the project implementation phase. Our study revealed an ignored phenomenon that is an inherent part of supplier firms. The phenomenon originates from funnel-like sales processes and volatile projects' situations, which force supplier firms to select a project manager other than the one who was involved in the case during the sales phase. This creates a knowledge management challenge in supplier firms. Our study contributes to project management research, studying management of a project in a project business context, and reveals a knowledge management challenge in supplier firms.