Title
Comparing Senior Executive And Project Manager Perceptions Of It Project Risk: A Chinese Delphi Study
Abstract
The success rate for information technology (IT) projects continues to be low. With an increasing number of IT projects in developing countries such as China, it is important to understand the risks they are experiencing on IT projects. To date, there has been little research documenting Asian perceptions of IT project risk. In this research, we examine the risks identified by Chinese senior executives (SEs) and project managers (PMs), and compare these two groups. The importance of top management support in IT projects is well documented. Prior research has shown that from the perspective of IT PMs, lack of support from SEs is the number one risk in IT projects. Surprisingly, senior executives' perceptions towards IT project risk have never been systematically examined. One reason why lack of support from senior executives continues to represent a major risk may be that senior executives themselves do not realize the critical role that they can play in helping to deliver successful projects. In this study, we use the Delphi method to compare the risk perceptions of senior executives and project managers. By comparing risk factors selected by each group, zones of concordance and discordance are identified. In terms of perceived importance ascribed to risk factors, PMs tend to focus on lower-level risks with particular emphasis on risks associated with requirements and user involvement, whereas SEs tend to focus on higher-level risks such as those risks involving politics, organization structure, process, and culture. Finally, approaches for dealing with risk factors that are seen as important by both SEs and PMs are provided.
Year
DOI
Venue
2010
10.1111/j.1365-2575.2009.00333.x
INFORMATION SYSTEMS JOURNAL
Keywords
Field
DocType
Chinese Delphi study, IT project risk, project manager, risk perception, senior executive
Project risk management,Organizational structure,Information technology,Developing country,Knowledge management,Risk perception,Delphi method,Project manager,IT risk management,Engineering
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
20
4
1350-1917
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
29
0.78
40
Authors
4
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Shan Liu126026.63
Jinlong Zhang2413.79
Mark Keil31338106.52
Tao Chen4343.55