Reporting bad news on software projects: the effects of culturally constituted views of face‐saving
Authors: wendy
Journal: Information Systems Journal (2007)
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2575.2006.00235.x
Abstract. The reluctance to report bad news about a project and its status is a known problem in software project management that can contribute to project failure. The reluctance to report bad news is heightened when it bears personal risks. Oftentimes, those who report bad news end up losing face. In extreme cases, they not only lose face, but may end up on the unemployment line. The need to preserve face is a powerful influence on social behaviour. While universal, it manifests itself differently in different cultures. To date, there have been no empirical studies of the extent to which culturally constituted views of face‐saving affect reporting of bad news on software projects. This is a particularly important topic given the increased prevalence of global, dispersed software development teams and offshore outsourcing of software development. In this study, we conducted a role‐playing experiment in the USA and in South Korea, to investigate the effect of culturally constituted views of face‐saving on the willingness to report bad news regarding a software development project. A blame‐shifting opportunity was chosen as the means to operationalize face‐saving in a culturally se…