Identifying Risks for Better Project Management between Two Different Cultures: The Chinese and the Spanish

Rocío Rodríguez-Rivero, Isabel Ortiz-Marcos, Luis Ballesteros-Sánchez and Xabier Martínez-Beneitez
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Rocío Rodríguez-Rivero: Department of Organization, Business Administration and Statistics, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, C/José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain.
Isabel Ortiz-Marcos: Department of Organization, Business Administration and Statistics, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, C/José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain.
Luis Ballesteros-Sánchez: Department of Organization, Business Administration and Statistics, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, C/José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain.
Xabier Martínez-Beneitez: Taiger Spain, C/Apolonio Morales, 13, 28036 Madrid, Spain

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 18, 1-14

Abstract: Business globalization causes all project managers, sooner or later, to face the challenge of understanding cultural differences. Identifying the risks associated with these differences has become an essential task today when discussing international projects. This paper shows how to improve the management of projects carried out in China by Spanish organizations, identifying risks related to differences between societies. To determine this set of risks, the cultural dimensions of Hofstede and Meyer were analyzed for the case of China and Spain, as well as the most critical values of the World Value Survey between both cultures. From there, and thanks to work done with a focus group formed of 29 Spanish project managers who are experienced in working in projects developed in China, risks were identified and classified into categories considering cultural dimensions. The results obtained show a record of risks of great interest for organizations working in international contexts, mainly in China. They reveal, in addition, the importance of considering this type of risks related to cultural differences, which have rarely been treated before.

Keywords: risk management; project management; values; national culture; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:18:p:7588-:d:413683

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