Adopting the multidimensional balanced scorecard approach to improve project management and organizational performance can help reduce project risks and potential disasters in order to maximize the investment benefits and security of IT projects with high risks. We adopted the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) research context, whose stimulus, organism, and response refer to project risk, project management, and organizational performance, respectively. Furthermore, a questionnaire survey of project management experts was conducted. We then utilized the DANP model, which combines the Decision-Making Trial Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) and the analytical network process, to explore the relationships among project risks, project management, and organizational performance. We observed the following: (a) effective project management can reduce project risk and improve organizational performance; (b) project risk is most influenced by the user; (c) senior manager support significantly influences project management; (d) organizational learning and growth has a significant impact on organizational performance; and (e) the criteria with the largest relative weight is generally considered to pose a risk, which indicates that the experts seriously consider that project risk. Our results can provide a valuable reference for project management to reduce risk and improve organizational performance. © 2018, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.