Project management in developing countries: Implications for project trust, collaboration, and success

T.J. Bond-Barnard & H. Steyn

Paper reports on a survey with 160 respondents that explores whether the perception of practitioners involved in projects in developing countries – regarding variables of an existing model that predicts trust, collaboration and success in a project – differ from those of their counterparts in developed countries. The results of a Mann-Whitney U test indicate that the model of project management success, verified in previous research, is applicable to both projects in developing and developed countries. The main finding of the study is that proximity (the extent to which a practitioner is co-located with his team members) is greater for developing countries than for developed countries. This bodes well for project collaboration in developing countries as long as practitioners take note of the other variables that predict trust and collaboration that subsequently also influences project success. This paper contributes to the project management body of knowledge regarding projects in developing countries, specifically in Africa. Project practitioners in developed countries are also advised to encourage team co-location to promote collaboration and thereby increase the likelihood of project management success.

Keywords: Collaboration; Developing countries; Trust; Project management success.

3rd IPMA (International Project Management Association) Research Conference, Cape Town, 2015