Cross-Cultural Challenges in Globally Distributed IT Projects 1 ... - 9

Back

26th Bled eConference eInnovations: Challenges and Impacts for Individuals, Organizations and Society June 9, 2013 – June 13, 2013; Bled, Slovenia

Cross-Cultural Challenges in Globally Distributed IT Projects Olga Stawnicza European University Viadrina, Germany [email protected]

Abstract Globally dispersed IT projects face more challenges than collocated projects. Geographical distances, different time zones and project team members from diverse cultures considerably impact the management of these projects. Despite the challenges, today’s companies conduct more and more globally distributed IT projects. Even though cultural awareness is becoming stronger and cross-cultural trainings are offered by many companies, cross-cultural misunderstandings still play a significant role in global project management. Therefore, cultural issues need further in-depth examination. This paper presents the first insights from an on-going PhD research on cross-cultural challenges in globally distributed IT projects. The research goals, the methodology used, and the proposed schedule of the research work are described. Keywords: Global project, global software development, project management, crosscultural challenges, dispersed project teams

1 Significance of the Topic According to the CHAOS Report 2009 published by The Standish Group, only 32% of software development projects end successfully, providing the right product on time and within budget (The Standish Group, 2009). Though the Standish Group’s report does not distinguish between collocated and globally distributed projects, it is assumed that globally dispersed projects fail more often than collocated ones. Apart from the challenges that are common to collocated IT projects, globally dispersed projects face additional problems due to geographical, cultural, and time dispersion. Global project teams are located in different time zones, which makes synchronous communication challenging. Team members have limited face-to-face contact, which, in turn, hampers trust building in a team. Furthermore, global project team’s dependence on information and communication technologies (ICT) may impact conflict occurrence and impede conflict management. However, the most crucial characteristic of global projects is that they consist of culturally diverse team members. The members come

1

Olga Stawnicza

from different countries and different cultural backgrounds, which significantly influences project team performance and project management techniques. Despite the challenges, companies tend to conduct more and more globally distributed IT projects that involve team members from various countries. Globalization and the ever rising trend towards outsourcing also impact projects management. Many companies, not being prepared well enough for working with other cultures across country borders, experienced failure as their IT projects were not successful. Frequently, culture was the factor leading to misunderstanding and impacting project failure. Thus, cultural issues cannot be neglected. Even though cultural awareness nowadays is much stronger than a few years ago, culturally-related concerns still play a significant role in projects’ success or failure. Thus, it is important to further investigate cross-cultural challenges in globally distributed IT projects. The proposed PhD research defines an IT project as a temporary endeavor that involves using hardware, software, and/or networks that is undertaken to create a unique product, service or result (Project Management Institute, 2013; Schwalbe, 2010). An IT project is considered successful if it is produced to specification, within budget, and on time with the minimum or mutually agreed upon scope change. An additional critical success criterion is that it meets its defined objectives and user requirements (Wateridge, 1998; Kerzner, 1989).

2 State of Research Vast amount of research has been conducted in the field of project management. Neither the concept of globally dispersed project teams nor the challenges faced by their project managers is new. It is commonly known that IT projects are particularly challenging, therefore, researchers investigate success and critical failure factors in IT projects (e.g. Yeo, 2002). On the one hand, Gulla (2012) introduced a “Five Factor Model,” which presents five indicators that impact the success of an IT project (Gulla, 2012). He distinguishes the following areas: project management, business, people, method, and a technical area, whereby project management is given the highest value of 54%, influencing project success or failure. On the other hand, Kayworth and Leidner (2000) found that global virtual teams face major challenges in four areas: communication, culture, technology, and project management (Keyworth & Leidner, 2000). While Gulla investigated IT projects, Kayworth and Leidner focused on global virtual teams. The proposed PhD research will bridge these two research endeavors by investigating challenges in global virtual IT project teams. Culture has been emphasized by various academics as a significant factor in conducting business in the twenty-first century. Mario Eberlein (2008) determined culture as a critical success factor for successful global project management in multi-national IT service projects (Eberlein, 2008). However, in his article, he focused solely on the national culture and did not include the organizational culture in the scope of his research. The findings of Hofstede, Hall, and Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner (Hofstede, 1984; Hofstede & Hofstede, 2006; Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner, 1998; Hall, 1981) build the heart of such cultural studies. Their exhaustive investigation and analysis of different cultures is the most substantial achievement in the field. Furthermore, prior literature elaborates on success communication and collaboration methods in globally distributed IT project teams (e.g. Avram, 2007; Kumar, van Fenema & Von Glinow, 2004; Weimann et al., 2010), knowledge sharing (Damm & Schindler, 2002; Zakaria, Amelinckx & Wilemon, 2004), conflict management (Hinds & Mortensen, 2005; Tsai & Chi, 2011), as well as cross-cultural differences and their impact on global project team performance (Kankanhalli, Tan & Wei, 2007; Ranganathan & Alfaro, 2011).

2

Cross-Cultural Challenges in Globally Distributed IT Projects

Prior literature can be found in research on cross-cultural issues, virtual teams, IT projects, and project management, proving that this topic is very significant. However, little of the prior research focused on all of mentioned field of studies simultaneously and did not investigate cross-cultural challenges in globally dispersed IT projects. Moreover, prior literature on cross-cultural conflict focused mostly on conflict management, and research on conflict prevention in global IT project teams is scarce (Stawnicza & Kurbel, 2012). The proposed PhD research project aims to bridge these gaps. Most researchers targeted project managers in their questionnaires or interviews, despite the project team members’ point of view on project management techniques often being neglected. Thus, the proposed PhD research will investigate culturally diverse project management techniques, especially in respect towards trust building, conflict management, and collaboration in globally dispersed IT project teams - from the perspective of project managers. However, it will also verify the effectiveness of proposed techniques from the perspective of multicultural IT project team members. Thus, it will be clearly distinguished between the project managers’ perspective and the team members’ perspective.

3 Research Design As the 1990s saw globalization and outsourcing become popular buzzwords, scientists and project professionals began paying more attention to virtual teams and cultural issues. Today companies are more aware of cross-cultural differences and often offer cross-cultural training to their global project team members. Higher cross-cultural awareness in companies and a few years of experience in managing globally distributed IT projects raises the question whether culture is still a significant topic in the field of project management. The first interviews conducted in February 2013 in India with global project managers of an IT outsourcing organization proved that culture is definitely still a relevant issue today. Even companies with many years of global project experience face challenges related to cultural differences. The main motivation for conducting the proposed PhD research is to show how important culture is in globally distributed IT projects. It is hypothesized that providing cultural training does not solve all cross-cultural problems in globally distributed IT project teams and project management techniques must be adapted to globally distributed projects. The goal is to sensitize global project managers to common crosscultural challenges in dispersed IT projects and to provide suggestions for improvements in such projects. The research intention is also to bridge the gap in prior literature by combining three fields of research, i.e. IT project management, global virtual work, and cultural issues, in one study. This PhD research aims to determine the significance of culture in modern global IT projects and to characterize the most effective project management methods in globally distributed IT project teams. The objectives are to: - compare the challenges from prior literature with the challenges noted by today’s project managers, - develop a framework for conflict prevention in global IT projects - determine whether culture is still a significant topic to be discussed within the aspect of project management and - analyze project management techniques used in distributed IT projects with small cultural distance among the project team members and compare it to the techniques used in distributed project teams with a larger cultural distance. As a result of the conducted research, awareness of modern challenges related to crosscultural differences in global IT projects will be improved. Moreover, global IT project

3

Olga Stawnicza

managers will obtain a framework of effective project management techniques depending on cultural distance of project team members. Finally, the occurrence of cross-cultural conflicts in globally distributed IT project teams will be reduced due to conflict prevention framework. The following work plan (see Table 1) indicates the schedule of the research work on Cross-Cultural Challenges in Globally Distributed IT Projects. Accomplishing each of the research steps will lead to completing the PhD thesis by the winter semester 2014/2015. Time frame Winter Semester 2012/2013

Summer Semester 2013

Winter Semester 2013/2014

Summer Semester 2014

-

-

Activity Collect ideas and determine the scope of research In-depth literature review Write the introductory chapter of the PhD thesis Prepare questions for pilot interviews Trip to India: find acquaintances for future interviews; conduct pilot interviews with global project managers; site observation within an organization Continue extensive literature research Analyze the results of the pilot interviews and adjust the interview questions accordingly Prepare questions and contact database for the pilot online survey

-

Conduct pilot online survey Analyze the results of the pilot online survey Write the theoretical portion of the PhD thesis Conduct semi-structured interviews with global managers (mostly from Germany, Poland, and India)

-

Analyze the data collected from the interviews Revise the questions of the pilot online survey and adjust them accordingly Launch the online survey

-

project

-

Analyze the data collected from the survey Discuss the results with supervisor and a global project management practitioner - Write the empirical portion of the PhD thesis - Revise and submit the manuscript Table 1: Submission Format Summary Winter Semester 2014/2015

4 Methodology In this PhD thesis, an inductive research approach will be used. Research will be based on a comprehensive review of prior literature on challenges in cross-cultural virtual teams and IT projects. In the empirical section of the research, the mixed method approach will be used. The qualitative research will be done through semi-structured interviews with global project managers. In order to limit the scope of the research, countries of interest for conducting the interviews have been limited to Germany, India, and Poland. The interview partners will be selected using two channels. Firstly, project managers from Germany and India will be contacted using the PhD candidate’s own personal

4


connections to IT companies established via VIBE Internships. Secondly, interview partners from Poland will be found through participation in project management seminars organized by PMI Chapter Poland and through contacting randomly selected IT organizations in Wroclaw, Poznan, Krakow, and Warsaw. The interview questions will be translated. The initial language used will be English and translations into Polish and German will be made using standard blind translation procedures (Brislin, 1986). The semi-structured interviews will range between one and two hours and will be audio-recorded. To analyze the data, the audio files from the interviews will be transcribed and coded line by line. The PhD candidate will notice common patterns, cluster and categorize results, compare and contrast the findings, and note relations between common patterns (Miles & Huberman, 1994). The qualitative research aims at providing answers to the main research questions. It will be validated whether culture is currently still a relevant issue in globally distributed IT projects. It will be determined which cross-cultural challenges modern global IT project managers face and which methods they use to manage globally distributed IT project teams. Moreover, the interviewees will be asked questions regarding collaboration techniques, conflict prevention and management, building trust, and motivating methods used in such project teams. The results of the qualitative research will create a base for developing survey questions in the quantitative research portion of the thesis. The quantitative research will be conducted through an online questionnaire prepared in English. The survey participants will belong to two groups. Firstly, project managers will participate in the survey in order to validate and strengthen the findings from the semi-structured interviews. Secondly, team members of globally dispersed IT projects will participate to confirm that the project management techniques determined by the project managers as effective are also perceived positively by the team members. The questionnaire will be launched online and respondents will be selected by again using two channels. Firstly, previously interviewed project managers will be asked to send the questionnaire to all members of their globally distributed project teams. This approach is advantageous in that most of the team members will be more likely to respond to the questionnaire, as it would be coming from their manager. Especially in the case of project teams in India, where hierarchy plays a significant role in organizations, it is assumed that the percentage of responses will be substantial. Secondly, social networks for professionals, such as LinkedIn, XING, and Facebook will be used. The databases of LinkedIn and XING will be used to search for project management practitioners with experience in globally dispersed and multicultural IT projects. Facebook will be used to post the link to the survey on PMI and other project management related organizations’ fan pages. References Avram, G. (2007). Of Deadlocks and Peopleware - Collaborative Work Practices in Global Software Development. In Second IEEE International Conference on Global Software Engineering, August 27-30, 2007 (91-102). IEEE Computer Society. Brislin, R. (1986). The wording and translation of research instruments. In Lonner, W. & Berry J. (Eds.), Field methods in cross-cultural research (137-164). Thousand Oaks, CA, US: Sage Publications, Inc. Damm, D. & Schindler, M. (2002). Security Issues of a Knowledge Medium for Distributed Project Work. International Journal of Project Management. 20 (1), 37-47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0263-7863(00)00033-8.

5

Olga Stawnicza

Eberlein, M. (2008). Culture as a critical success factor for successful global project management in multi-national IT service projects. Journal of Information Technology Management, XIX (3), 27-42. Gulla, J. (February 2012). IBM Systems Magazine. Seven Reasons IT Projects Fail. Retrieved 03.05.2013, from: http://www.ibmsystemsmag.com/power/SystemsManagement/ Workload-Management/project_pitfalls/. Hall, E. (1981). Beyond culture. Oxford, England: Anchor Books. Hinds, P. & Mortensen, M. (2005, May-June). Understanding Conflict in Geographically Distributed Teams: The Moderating Effects of Shared Identity, Shared Context, and Spontaneous Communication. Organization Science. 16 (3), 290-307. http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1050.0122. Hofstede, G. (1984). Culture's consequences. International differences in work-related values. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications, Inc. Hofstede, G. & Hofstede, G. (2006). Lokales Denken, globales Handeln. Interkulturelle Zusammenarbeit und globales Management. Munich: Dt. Taschenbuch-Verl. Kankanhalli, A., Tan, B. & Wei, K.-W. (2007). Conflict and Performance in Global Virtual Teams. Journal of Management Information Systems. 23 (3), 237-274. Kerzner, H. (1989). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. Keyworth, T. & Leidner, D. (2000). The global virtual manager: a prescription for success. European Management Journal. 18 (2), 183-194. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0263-2373(99)00090-0. Kumar, K., van Fenema, P. & Von Glinow, M. (2004). Intense Collaboration in Globally Distributed Teams: Evolving Patterns of Dependencies and Coordination. Rotterdam: Erasmus Research Institute of Management. Miles, M. & Huberman, M. (1994). Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook. Thousand Oaks, CA, US: Sage Publications, Inc. Project Management Institute. (2013). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK Guide) (5th Edition). Newtown Square, Pa: Project Management Institute. Ranganathan, C. & Alfaro, I. (2011). Project Performance in Global Software Development Teams: Do Prior Work Ties and Nationality Diversity Matter? In ECIS 2011 Proceedings. Schwalbe, K. (2010). Information Technology Project Management. Boston, MA: Course technology CENGAGE Learning. Stawnicza, O. & Kurbel, K. (2012). How to prevent before you must cure - A comprehensive literature review on conflict management strategies in global project teams. In International Research Workshop on IT Project Management 2012, December 15, 2012 (101-114). SIGITProjMgmt. The Standish Group. (2009). The CHAOS Report. The Standish Group International, Inc. Trompenaars, A. & Hampden-Turner, C. (1998). Riding the waves of culture: Understanding cultural diversity in global business. McGraw Hill. Tsai, J.-S. & Chi, C. (2011). Linking Societal Cultures, Organizational Cultures and Conflict Management Styles. In Toole, T. M. (Ed.), Working Paper Proceedings Engineering Project Organizations Conference, August 9-11, 2011.

6


Wateridge, J. (1998). How can IS/IT projects be measured for success? International Journal of Project Management. 16 (1), 59-63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S02637863(97)00022-7. Weimann, P., Hinz, C., Scott, E. & Pollock, M. (2010). Changing the Communication Culture of Distributed Teams in a World Where Communication is Neither Perfect nor Complete. The Electronic Journal Information Systems Evaluation. 13 (2), 187-196. Winaja, R. (2003). Major challenges in multi-cultural virtual teams. In Proceedings: Southwest Case Research Association, (341-346). Retrieved 03.05.2013, from http://www.sbaer.uca.edu/research/swdsi/2003/Papers/068.pdf. Yeo, K. (2002). Critical failure factors in information system projects. International Journal of Project Management. 20 (3), 241-246. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S02637863(01)00075-8. Zakaria, N., Amelinckx, A. & Wilemon, D. (2004, March). Working Together Apart? Building a Knowledge-Sharing Culture for Global Virtual Teams. Creativity and Innovation Management. 13 (1), 15-29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.14678691.2004.00290.x.

7