Content area
Successful execution of strategy continues to be a top concern of organization executives. Strategy execution is accomplished, at least in part, through strategic projects, and top management support has been found to be a critical success factor. China is one of four emerging markets, along with Brazil, Russia, and India, that have high GDP growth and one would expect high economic growth to be driven by an increase in strategic projects. This study undertook quantitative research of practitioners in China to explore the relationship between sponsor behaviors and strategic project success for Chinese organizations. The respondents to the survey were predominately project managers and project team members who completed work on a strategic project in the past 24 months. The study found that five sponsor behaviors demonstrated a medium to large, positive correlation to strategic project success: provision of resources, structural arrangements, communication, expertise, and power. All five behaviors combined accounted for 33% of the variation in strategic project success. The findings can assist Chinese organizations in further developing sponsor capability that may lead to improved strategic project outcomes.