Generative Artificial Intelligence as a Driver of Project Management Transformation : Opportunities, Challenges, and Organizational Implications

Abstract

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is profoundly transforming project management practices by offering new opportunities for automation, decision support, and enhanced collaboration among stakeholders. This article provides a critical synthesis of the literature on the integration of GenAI into project management by drawing on several recent systematic reviews conducted across diverse geographical contexts, including North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East and Africa. The study aims to identify the opportunities these technologies offer for project planning, cost estimation, risk management, and stakeholder communication, while examining the organizational, technical, and ethical barriers that hinder their adoption. The analysis is based on a conceptual framework encompassing artificial intelligence, generative artificial intelligence, machine learning, and tacit, explicit, and data-driven knowledge. It is further supported by a theoretical framework integrating the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Diffusion of Innovation Theory, the Sociotechnical Systems Theory, and the Technology–Organization–Environment (TOE) framework. The literature review reveals broad consensus regarding the benefits of GenAI in improving efficiency, predictive accuracy, and collaboration. However, it also highlights persistent challenges related to data quality, insufficient digital competencies, resistance to organizational change, and ethical governance. The article concludes by proposing avenues for extending these insights to the Moroccan context, where the adoption of generative artificial intelligence in project management remains an emerging and largely underexplored field of research.