MANAGING THE IMPACT OF DIFFERENCES IN NATIONAL CULTURE ON SOCIAL CAPITAL IN MULTINATIONAL IT PROJECT TEAMS – A GERMAN PERSPECTIVE

How can management handle relationship problems arising from cultural differences in multinational IT project teams? This paper uses a social capital lens to better understand the negative impact of cultural differences in IT project teams. In contrast to many previous works we do not consider cultural differences as a whole but explore the role of the different national culture dimensions. This allows for a more detailed view on cultural differences in a team context and thus contributes to a better understanding about which dimensions of national culture drive relationship problems and which management measures can help to dampen the negative effects. Based on several exploratory cases (6 multinational IT projects in 4 companies, headquartered in Germany), the authors identify three patterns showing typical problems in team social relationships which arise from differences in particular dimensions of national culture. Pattern-specific as well as general management measures, employed to address the culture-driven negative effects, are identified as well

Cultural dimensions at the individual level of analysis: The cultural orientations framework

10.1177/147059580223001International Journal of Cross Cultural Management23275-29

Understanding and managing shared projects in SMEs networks

6th Working Conference on Virtual Enterprises, Valencia, SPAIN, SEP 26-28, 2005International audienceThis research work presents a management framework applied to a network of SMEs which organizes its production like a shared project. Starting from a set of network definitions and considering the collective nature of their activities and the concentration on the own core competences, the study tries to specify what is expected from the management. Then, it proposes a framework to plan and manage the collaborative work using concepts coming from project and risk management theories and practices based on the results of an empirical study in a twelve SMEs network from the aeronautical sector located in Toulouse, France. A specific typology of risks that affect the operation of networks is proposed. Additionally, work planning recommendations are presented

A Comparative Analysis of Cultural Value Orientations of Indians and Migrant Indians in the USA

Understanding the cultural value systems of nations is a key factor in anticipating the behaviour of business managers and employees in a specific business environment. Many research studies have acknowledged the impact of culture on communication across nations and its impact on business operations, however no study has attempted to measure and quantify the cultural orientations of people originating from one nation, but working in two different national settings. This study adopted Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck's framework to examine cultural dimensions of a total of 580 Indian respondents comprising two groups: 429 Indian natives living and working in India and 151 Indian migrants living and working in the USA. It initially compares the cultural orientations of the total population of each of the two groups and then examines cultural differences in the same based on demographic characteristics consisting of occupation, gender, age, and level of education. The study found significant cultural value differences between the two groups on both levels of analysis. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed in detail