Communication management practices in international projects in Polish and German higher education institutions

Abstract

Communication management is one of the key project management areas and at the same time one of the most difficult to control and execute properly, as it involves various aspects, numerous tools and methods and is largely dependent on the human factor and soft skills of the project manager and team members. Project-based activities are very common not only in businesses but also in higher education institutions whose scientific and international activities are realized through projects, often co-financed by international programmes. The paper aims at investigating how communication management practices, proved to foster proper communication and documentation processes, are being implemented in projects realized in two higher education institutions, a Polish and a German university. The exploratory multi-case study applied in the research enabled an in-depth analysis of the implemented communication management practices and also revealed which of them were seldom used. There were no significant differences in the type of practices most commonly implemented at the Polish and German university but their implementation degree and methods varied among projects.