Aim: According to experts, one of the ways to improve sustainable development in projects is to improve organizational capabilities related to the three dimensions of sustainable development in project-based organizations. The purpose of this study is to identify and assess the status of organizational capabilities for sustainable development in oil and gas project-based organizations in Iran.
Method: In order to in-depth study of sustainable development capabilities in context of Iranian oil and gas organizations, the case study strategy was used in eight Iranian oil and gas organizations. In order to collect information, 23 informants were selected and interviewed. According to the list of capabilities extracted from the literature and the preparation of a capability definition matrix, the interviewees were asked to describe the capabilities that exist in Iranian oil and gas project-based organizations in the field of sustainable development. The data obtained from the interview were coded by deductive qualitative content analysis.
Results: In the present study, the capabilities of sustainable development in oil and gas project-oriented organizations were identified in seven main categories of factors including process, structural, technological, cultural, knowledge, human, political and financial, and the relative status of these capabilities in Iranian oil and gas organizations was examined. The contribution of the present study is due to the fact that the capabilities were identified according to the specific context of Iranian oil and gas organizations, on the other hand, organizational capabilities in all three areas of environmental, social and economic at the same time have been examined.