‘Cultural’ differences in project risk perception: An empirical comparison of China and Canada

Evaluating the opportunities and risks of a new project proposal is a complex process that brings into play objective as well as subjective factors, not only in the process itself but also in the selection of the data used to support or justify the evaluation. There is much evidence in the social sciences that people differ in their perception and evaluation processes. It is therefore important for the proponents of a new project to understand, before they commission lengthy and expensive feasibility studies, how the individuals that will be involved in the approval process develop their perception of the level of risk of the proposed project. This paper presents the results of an empirical study that was conducted to investigate whether and how project managers from different cultural horizons differ in the way they assess the risk of a large project. A conceptual framework was developed and an inferential approach (conjoint measurement) was used to determine, from the results of a project risk comparison exercise, how subjects with project management experience relied on various risk factors to assess the risk of a project. Significant differences between Chinese and Canadian citizens are reported, the implications of this finding are discussed and avenues for further research are suggested.