Personal relationship (Guanxi) behavior effect on international project management: An empirical and comparative study between South African and Chinese project managers

With increasing globalization, more and more project managers will be involved in managing projects in foreign environments. Knowing behavioral differences of foreign culture is a requirement in international project management. Personal relationship (Guanxi) is an important cultural issue for achieving project success in the Chinese community because it is critical for getting favors through these relationships and thus businesses can be conducted successfully. In this study Guanxi of Chinese project managers is assessed in a cultural context and is examined in five project activities (i.e. project communication, negotiation, conflict resolution, contract process and team building). Although the questionnaire is designed based on Chinese culture, South African project managers have also been asked to participate in order to illustrate the differences where applicable. The results showed significant differences as well as similarities between the Chinese and South African project managers in various behaviors related to Guanxi in these five project activities.