Managing Distributed Projects Across Cultures

Abstract

A model of cross-cultural distributed project management is proposed. The model is based on recent theoretical developments regarding trust and team processes and suggests that trust relates to cultural differences between distributed members. Trust affects project performance in two key ways: through the traditional view of main effects on performance, and via moderating effects on other determinants of performance in distributed projects. We also use a task characteristics categorization, together with several mini-case studies, to create a set of guidelines for best practices for management of cross-cultural distributed projects.