Cross-Cultural Challenges of Managing ‘One Belt One Road’ Projects

Arshia Mukhtar is a cross-cultural trainer for global projects and lecturer at International Islamic University (IIUI), Pakistan.Ying Zhu is Professor and Director of the Australian Centre for Asian Business at the University of South Australia. He has been working as a business leader as well as an academic leader in China and Australia for more than 30 years.You-il Lee is Professor of International Business at the University of South Australia (UniSA) and currently serves as Dean of Programs at UniSA Business School.Mary Bambacas is an adjunct research associate at the University of South Australia. She has held senior management positions in the public sector and the non-profit sector, as well as owning and managing a small business.S. Tamer Cavusgil currently serves as Fuller E. Callaway Professorial Chair and Executive Director at the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER), J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University, Atlanta, USA.

"This book should be of particular interest to scholars of cross-cultural management as it contrasts the networking behaviour of employees from two different Asian cultures -- China and Pakistan. The context is the working environment of China Pakistan Economic Corridor projects. Examining the networking behavior of host and home country employees, the authors provide valuable insights on the cultural factors which either facilitate or hinder productivity in these collaborative projects." - Professor Pervez N. Ghauri, University of Birmingham, U.K."China’s Belt and Road Initiative is now a well-known topic. This book makes a unique contribution to the growing to the literature as it discusses China’s investment projects in the specific instance of Pakistan. The so-called China Pakistan Economic Corridor represents numerous projects between the two countries. Based on extensive interviews with managers from both nations, this book addresses the role of social networks. The book should be of great interest to those studying employee adjustment and achievement in binational environments. Through the book, the reader develops an appreciation of the role of cultural, and contextual and individual factors in cross-cultural collaborative projects." - Professor Leigh Anne Liu, Georgia State University, USA "A rare find is how I describe this book. This book provides insightful narratives of how two different cultures and their networking phenomena influence cross-cultural cooperation in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The book shows how important for leaders from different nations to navigate and adapt their masterplan to achieve desired goals." - Professor Teck Yong Eng, Henley Business School, Malaysia"Despite the universalism of globalization and even some predictions of Pax Sinica, cross-cultural variations retain their salience for businesses around the world. The need for both the recognition and management of such differences is paramount to success and a key skill for effective leaders globally. Therefore, the authors are to be congratulated for providing us with well contemporary, well articulated and analysed examples of this important area. This book deserves a prominent place on the shelves of not only libraries but the offices of international business managers." - Professor Chris Rowley, Kellogg College, University of Oxford, UK

• 1. Introduction 2. Regional Political Economy and the CPEC 3. Interview Findings 4. Survey Results 5. Conclusion Appendices 1. Interview Guide 2. Survey Questionnaires