Research field of Vujdan El Khatib

Cross-cultural issues in IT Project Management


Quick technological changes along with political, social and economical decisions have led the Telecommunication industry to become a very dynamic and changing sector. International partnerships are everywhere and the tighter relation to IT represent high-risk potential.

Statistics show that 70% of IT projects are either out of time or budget or simply fail. With such perspectives, measures ought to be taken to avoid the replication of this pattern. Efforts should be aimed to find out the relevant skills, practices and knowledge necessary to avoid pitfalls in the implementation of telecommunication projects.

Developing and implementing IT projects requires a large understanding of the context in which the project is carried out, the technology involved, the management techniques and the people involved in the process.

A wide accepted concept, by both practitioners and researchers, is that of critical success factors, implying those key areas where things must go right for an undertaking to develop appropriately. Still, the critical success factors’ validity is constraint by the organizational and cultural context. This fact becomes relevant for the telecommunications sector because the industry’s dynamics is characterized by international mergers, acquisitions, joint-ventures, partnerships as a result of the deregulation, liberalization and globalization process.



At the department of Information Management, we are concerned with the low rate of success of IT projects. Particularly, watching the speed at which the telecommunication sector is demanding IT services and products, we are focused in unveiling the skills and practices necessary for successful IT project management in this industry. Our proposition results in a multi-country analysis of projects, a typology for each participant country is to be derived and a cross-cultural framework for IT can be proposed.

Scientific research in cooperation with the TMForum and members enables us to address concerns to this problematic. Conducted by an impartial team, with profound understanding of the industry and scientific methods to provide insightful information.

For more information please contact Vujdan El Khatib at the University of Göttingen.