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Cited by 42Conflict Management and NegotiationGlobal and Cross-Cultural ManagementCultural Differences and Values

Culture and Conflict Management Style of International Project Managers

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Mohammed, Umar K., White, Gareth RT, Prabhakar, Guru P.·2009·International Journal of Business and Management
DOI 10.5539/ijbm.v3n5p3
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Abstract

The management of culture has become increasingly important to many organisations and business disciplines, particularly multicultural and international project management. Cultural differences often result in varying degrees of conflict and require careful consideration. This study surveys 116 Project Managers using the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument to determine their approach toward managing conflict. Indian, French and UK Project Managers’ conflict management style are correlated with Hofstede’s description of their cultural characteristics. We find that significant links between the cultural dimensions of Individualism and Masculinity with the propensity for Project Managers to adopt a Competitive style of conflict management. We also find Uncertainty Avoidance correlates with a tendency for Project Managers to adopt an Avoiding approach to conflict management. Other relationships are found between Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and conflict management styles in Project Managers but their meaning requires further study.

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  • High uncertainty avoidance cultures, such as France, exhibited a preference for collaborating and compromising styles.

    “Moreover, the results indicated that high uncertainty avoidance cultures, such as those in France, exhibited a preference for collaborating and compromising styles.”

    From Analysis of Conflict Management Styles and Organisational Performance (2025) · cites this paper as Mohammed et al. (2009)

    The Analysis and Discussion section links uncertainty avoidance to an Avoiding strategy, not to collaborating or compromising. Table 2 shows that among the surveyed French project managers, Competitive was the most common style (32.14%), compared with Collaborator (17.86%) and Compromiser (21.41%). No page numbers are available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.90)

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  • Cultures with high individualism, such as the United States and Australia, were more likely to adopt competing and compromising styles.

    “Additionally, the study noted that cultures with high individualism, such as those in the United States and Australia, were more likely to adopt competing and compromising styles.”

    From Analysis of Conflict Management Styles and Organisational Performance (2025) · cites this paper as Mohammed et al. (2009)

    The Analysis and Discussion section links high individualism to a competitive conflict-management style among project managers in France and the UK. Table 3 does not show a comparable link with compromising, and the study does not report this relationship for the United States or Australia. Table 2 includes four Australian respondents but no US respondents. (LLM, conf=0.89)

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  • Cultures characterized by high collectivism, such as India and South Africa, preferred avoiding and accommodating styles.

    “Conversely, cultures characterized by high collectivism, such as India and South Africa, preferred avoiding and accommodating styles, reflecting the collectivist value of maintaining group harmony and avoiding disruption of social relationships.”

    From Analysis of Conflict Management Styles and Organisational Performance (2025) · cites this paper as Mohammed et al. (2009)

    Table 2 (Conflict Management Styles by Country; page not given) shows avoiding as the most common style among the surveyed Indian project managers and accommodating as the most common among the South African respondents. It does not show South African respondents preferring avoiding, and the Analysis and Discussion does not attribute these patterns to collectivism or maintaining group harmony. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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  • Countries with high power distance, such as India and South Africa, showed a stronger preference for avoiding conflicts.

    “For example, the study found a stronger preference for avoiding conflicts in countries with high power distance, such as India and South Africa.”

    From Analysis of Conflict Management Styles and Organisational Performance (2025) · cites this paper as Mohammed et al. (2009)

    The Method and Results section reports a stronger tendency to use an Avoider style among Indian project managers (32.68%). But Table 2 shows a much lower Avoider score for South Africa (18.52%), which was excluded from the main analysis because it had fewer than 15 responses. The Analysis and Discussion section also says a link between power distance and an Avoiding style is not necessarily meaningful. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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  • Respondents from countries with lower power distance, such as the United Kingdom, displayed a higher inclination towards competing and collaborating styles.

    “Conversely, respondents from countries with lower power distance, such as the United Kingdom, displayed a higher inclination towards competing and collaborating styles.”

    From Analysis of Conflict Management Styles and Organisational Performance (2025) · cites this paper as Mohammed et al. (2009)

    The Analysis and Discussion section identifies the UK as having lower power distance than France and India. Table 2 shows UK respondents scored higher on both competing and collaborating than Indian respondents, but France scored higher than the UK on competing. The paper therefore supports the UK–India comparison, not a general pattern in which lower-power-distance countries favor both styles. (LLM, conf=0.85)

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Cites

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5 of the 124 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 11

  1. Capozzoli, T. K. (1999). Conflict resolution: A key ingredient in successful teams. Journal for Quality and Supervision, 56 (12), 3-5.
  2. Cloke, K. & Goldsmith, J. (2000). Conflict resolution that reaps great rewards. The Journal for Quality and Participation. 23 (3), 27-30.
  3. Hofstede, G.H. (1985). The Interaction between National and Organizational Value System. Journal of Management Studies, 22 (4), 347-357.
  4. Kezsbom, Deborah S. (1992). Re-opening Pandora's Box: sources of project conflict in the '90's, Industrial Engineering, 24 (5), 54-59.
  5. O'Reilly, Charles A., & Pfeffer, Jeffrey, (2000). Cisco Systems: Acquiring and Retaining Talent in Hypercompetitive Markets. Human Resource Planning, 23 (3), 38-52.
  6. Prabhakar, G.P. (2004b). Switch Leadership. Pre-IRNOP Doctoral Conference at Helsinki University of Technology, Helsinki, Finland
  7. Prabhakar, G.P. (2005a). Switch Leadership in Projects. Project Management Journal, 36 (2), 53-60.
  8. Prabhakar, G.P. & Walker S.E. (2004c). A Switch in Time Saves Nine II. ESC Lille International Seminar cum workshop, Lille, France.
  9. Singh, Amarjit, & Johnson, Holly M. (1998). Conflict Management Diagnosis at Project Management. Journal of Management in Engineering, 14 (4), 48.
  10. Sujansky, Joanne G. (2004). The Five Biggest Traps to Avoid when Leading a Diverse Group. Occupational Hazards. 66 (8), 23.
  11. Van Slyke E.J. (1999). Resolve conflict, boost creativity. Human Resource Magazine, 44 (12), 132-137.

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Authors
Mohammed, U. K., White, G. R., & Prabhakar, G. P.
Affiliations
University of the West of England (GB)
Corresponding author
Prabhakar, Guru P.
ORCID
Prabhakar, Guru P.
Venue
International Journal of Business and Management
Publisher
Canadian Center of Science and Education
Published
2009-02-10
Volume
3
Issue
5
ISSN
  • 1833-3850 (ISSN-L)
  • 1833-8119
DOI
10.5539/ijbm.v3n5p3
OpenAlex
W2172210862
Cited by
41
References
124
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 1
FWCI
2.16
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • International Journal of Business and Management (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • UWE Research Repository (UWE Bristol) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Conflict Management and Negotiation
  • Social Sciences › Anthropology › Global and Cross-Cultural Management
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Cultural Differences and Values
Keywords
conflict management styles, international project management, project managers, cultural dimensions, Hofstede, Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, avoiding style, cross-cultural management

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