Puppet play? A study of control mechanisms and cultural values in high-tech firms

The success of new products for international markets improves when developed in international teams. Such teams combine knowledge of different markets and culturally influenced preferences of consumers. Yet, international teams including members of diverse culturally embedded values and behaviors face more difficulties than mono-cultural teams. This paper explores effects of project control on innovativeness and project performance in international teams. Our study is based on 75 participants in the semiconductor industry in five countries. The results of our moderated regression analyses indicate that control has dissimilar effects on project innovativeness and performance depending on the cultural values of project members. From our findings we derive culture-specific implications for innovation project management.